OUTCOME OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE INTER-REGIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE (IRCC7)

IHB File N° S3/0104 CIRCULAR LETTER 69 /2015 17 September 2015 OUTCOME OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE INTER-REGIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE (IRCC7) Reference: IHO CL 16/2015 dated 20 February –Thirteenth Meeting of the Capacity Building Sub‐Committee (CBSC13), Mexico City, Mexico, 27-29 May 2015 and Seventh Meeting of the Inter‐Regional Coordination Committee (IRCC7) Mexico City, Mexico, 1-3 June 2015 Dear Hydrographer, 1. The seventh meeting of the IHO Inter-Regional Coordination Committee (IRCC7) took place in Mexico City, Mexico, from 1 to 3 June, hosted by the Secretaría de Marina of Mexico in the Centro de Estudios Superiores Navales - the Naval Staff College of Mexico. The meeting was chaired by Rear Admiral Tom Karsten (UK) and attended by the Chairs or representatives of the 15 Regional Hydrographic Commissions (RHCs), the subordinate bodies of the IRCC and 29 observers. A total of 55 participants from 23 countries were present. 2. The minutes of IRCC7, together with the list of actions arising from the meeting and their current status, and the list of IRCC tasks for 2016 are now available from the IRCC section of the IHO website (www.iho.int > Committees & WG > IRCC > IRCC7). 3. It was announced prior to the meeting that the Chair, Rear Admiral Karsten would step-down after the meeting as a consequence of his retirement from UK service. Noting that the current Vice- Chair would then assume the position of Chair, leaving a vacant position of Vice Chair to be filled, the Committee elected Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, the National Hydrographer of the USA, as the next Vice Chair. As a result of the retirement of Rear Admiral Karsten after the meeting, the Vice-Chair, Dr Parry Oei (Singapore) has assumed the position of Chair as of 11 August 2015. Next meeting 4. The 8th meeting of IRCC (IRCC8) will be held from 29 to 31 May 2016 in Abu Dhabi hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Representatives of Member States who may require a visa are advised to submit their applications well in advance. IRCC8 will be preceded by the 14th meeting of the Capacity Building Sub-Committee from 24 to 26 May 2016 which will also be held in Abu Dhabi. On behalf of the Directing Committee Yours sincerely, Mustafa IPTES Director