KINGS POINT, N.Y., May 26, 2016 – United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Marine Transportation Professor and Master Mariner Capt. David Moskoff, USMS, represented the United States and its National Coordination Office for Space-Based Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) at the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) 10th Annual Baška Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Conference at Krk Island, Croatia, in May.

The Baška GNSS conference gathers worldwide experts in satellite navigation and related disciplines, and focuses on GNSS resilience and GNSS applications development. RIN, London, cosponsored the event with Beihang University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing, China.

As a keynote speaker, Moskoff provided the participants updates on the GPS program and U.S. Space-Based PNT policy developments.  His presentation, “U.S. Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Policy and Program Update,” is available at GPS.gov at this link.

The U.S. presentation, among presentations from Croatia, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and others, was extremely well-received as it provided important information on the current status of the U.S. GPS (NAVSTAR) PNT system, along with recent related global developments.  Professor Renato Filjar, FRIN, of Zagreb University has been the event’s dynamic organizer from the beginning, ten years ago, and ensured the visit to Croatia was excellent.  

While in Croatia, Moskoff also visited their uppermost maritime training Institution, the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies, where he toured many of the simulators, labs and classroom facilities of the 2000 student national maritime academy.  This key facility provides undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to students who must also achieve STCW-certified license credentials, and are world-renown for their superior seamanship skills.  He was also able to observe a short voyage while aboard the Training Vessel “KRALIJICA MORA” (The Sea Queen) in the Adriatic Sea, as well as a tour aboard a 7000 HP Croatian Navy Patrol Boat under the command of one of the conference presenters.

In Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city, Moskoff visited the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, and like in Rijeka, was warmly welcomed as a visiting professor and hosted by the Dean of the Faculty Professor Hrvoje Gold.   He toured several departments and received short presentations from faculty including the Department of Aeronautics where he saw Air Traffic Control and Aeronautical Training simulators, the Department of Logistics and The Department of Water Transport.

By Capt. David Moskoff, USMS, and Cmdr. Benjamin Benson, USMS