The Council election was held during the XVIIIth IALA Conference, which took place in the port city of A Coruna, Spain from 25-31 May 2014. A record 413 delegates and 77 trade exhibition booths from around the world participated in IALA's quadrennial conference.
Highlights included conference addresses by HRH Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and the IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu. The city itself also features the Tower of Hercules, a 2000-year-old UNESCO heritage-listed lighthouse and the world's oldest operational lighthouse.
Brad Groves, General Manager Navigation Safety and International Division, led Australia's delegation and played an active role at the conference. As well as representation at IALA Council and Assembly, the team delivered five presentations, chaired three technical sessions and assisted the IALA Secretariat by acting as rapporteur at the technical sessions (where some ninety presentations on all facets of aids to navigation were made over five days). The conference saw Australia's already good standing as an active member of the IALA community reinforced.
H.R.H Princess Royal (Princess Anne) addresses the conference