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Nautical Charts News

30 Aug 2023

Report: Submerged Rock Led to Fishing Vessel Grounding

Challenger courtesy of Alward Fisheries

A captain’s decision to navigate close to shore in an area with uncharted rocks led to the grounding and capsizing of a fishing vessel in Alaska last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.The Challenger struck a submerged rock while fishing for salmon along the shore of Kodiak Island, Alaska on August 7, 2022. The vessel began taking on more water than the onboard pumps could handle. The captain and three crewmembers abandoned ship and were rescued by a nearby Good Samaritan fishing vessel, and the vessel capsized soon after.

13 Jun 2023

Navigational Errors Caused Cruise Ship to Strike Pier in Alaska

​Radiance of the Seas pictured before the contact. (Source: NTSB)​

Overreliance on an electronic chart, miscommunication and an outdated navigational chart were among factors that led to a cruise ship striking a pier last year near Sitka, Alaska, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Radiance of the Seas was docking at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal on May 9, 2022, when it struck and damaged a mooring dolphin. The cruise ship sustained a minor hull indentation. The mooring dolphin sustained damage to three of the four pilings supporting it.

27 Apr 2023

Spanish Navy Ship Sent to Draw Up Maps Loses Its Way

A Spanish Navy ship tasked with updating nautical charts to make navigation safer got stranded on Thursday near the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean, the Navy said.The vessel Malaspina was exploring an area of shallows to the west of the island and got stuck on one of them. Rescue teams have been sent to help remove the vessel from the ground, the Navy said in a statement."After an initial inspection... no structural damage can be seen," it said.

13 Apr 2023

Floating Offshore Wind: New Seascape, New Challenges

(Photo: BW Ideol)

Offshore wind energy planners are giving close review to fixed-tower systems in order to extend lessons learned to floating wind towers, under development now. In the U.S., floating towers have been most closely associated with plans for new wind energy areas (WEA) in the Pacific, off of California and maybe Oregon and Washington. But important research is also taking place in Maine, at the University of Maine, because of deep ocean Atlantic areas there, and floating towers may also be used in the Gulf of Mexico.As most readers likely know


03 Jan 2023

Teledyne Acquires ChartWorld International

(Photo: Teledyne)

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced today that it has acquired ChartWorld International Limited and affiliates. ChartWorld, headquartered in Cyprus, with additional locations in Hamburg, Singapore, Vancouver and Tokyo, is a provider of digital marine navigation hardware and software provided through a subscription-based model. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.Commercial maritime subscribers to ChartWorld’s software as a service (SaaS) receive free type-approved Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), a lifetime warranty and global 24/7 support.

28 Oct 2021

UKHO Launches ADMIRALTY Small Craft Charts Service

(Image: UKHO)

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has launched its ADMIRALTY Small Craft Charts service - formerly known as ADMIRALTY Leisure Chart Folios – to bring important safety, quality and flexibility benefits to all marine users who depend on these charts.The launch of this new service follows the announcement in May 2021 that UKHO will withdraw the regional folio structure for these charts. Instead users can purchase only those charts that are relevant to their needs without being required to purchase the full regional folio.Through this updated product


23 Aug 2021

Electronic Navigational Charts: An Update and Some Issues

(Image: NOAA)

In November 2019, the Office of Coast Survey (OCS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced the start of a five-year program to “sunset” all raster and paper nautical charts.NOAA has produced electronic navigational charts (ENCs) since 1993. In the 2019 notice, NOAA writes that “ENC sales increased 425% since 2008, while sales of paper charts are now half of 2008 levels.”For NOAA and mariners, a focus on electronic charts and publications promises many advantages. With a singular focus, NOAA can use its resources more efficiently.

02 Aug 2021

NOAA Continues Transition to Electronic Navigational Charts

© Alexey Seafarer/AdobeStock

NOAA is continuing with the sunset plan for paper and raster nautical charts in August and September. A set of 15 charts covering the eastern half of the North Slope of Alaska will be moved into last edition status on August 5, 2021 and will be canceled on February 2, 2022. Another set of 14 charts covering the western half of the North Slope will be moved into last edition status on September 2, 2021 and be cancelled on March 2, 2022.This set of charts has been fully supplanted by new electronic charts as part of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey Raster Sunset Plan


09 Jun 2021

Need a Survey? There’s a USV for That

Blue Essence hybrid USV. Image courtesy Fugro

While the adoption of unmanned/uncrewed surfaces vessels (USVs) was initially in defence, use of these low footprint systems has spread into other sectors, not least survey, and now the race is on for greater capability, endurance and autonomy. Elaine Maslin reports.After starting small, in inland waterways, use of USVs for survey operations has moved into coastal and now offshore waters. Given the extensive amount of seabed and rapid growth in offshore wind, there’s plenty of work out there for them to do.With the travel restrictions posed by Covid and increasing awareness of climate change


26 Feb 2021

NOAA Begins Transition Exclusively to Electronic Navigation Charts

Chart 18665 of Lake Tahoe is the first traditional paper chart to be fully supplanted by an electronic navigational chart as part of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey Raster Sunset Plan. (Image: NOAA)

NOAA will begin to implement its sunset plan for paper nautical charts this month, starting with the current paper chart 18665 of Lake Tahoe. After August, NOAA’s electronic navigational chart will be the only NOAA nautical chart of the area.This is the first traditional paper chart to be fully supplanted by an electronic chart as part of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey Raster Sunset Plan, which includes a new process to notify mariners of the transition of individual paper charts to electronic charts.

15 Feb 2021

Subsea Defense: Navy Deepens Commitment to Underwater Vehicles

Senior Chief Mineman Abraham Garcia (left) and Aerographer's Mate 1st Class Joshua Gaskill, members of the Knifefish Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) test team, man tending lines during crane operations as part of an operational test conducted by members from Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR). Knifefish is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship. OPTEVFOR is the Navy’s sole test and evaluation organization for surface, air, and un

The U.S. Navy uses unmanned and robotic underwater vehicles for a multitude of functions, including environmental sensing, mine hunting, and salvage. The Navy plans to evolve an unmanned systems operating concept that is platform agnostic and capable of operating in highly complex contested environments with minimal operator interaction.The most recent edition of the Navy’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was issued in 2018, and a new version is expected in the near future. The 2018 document states that UxS will operate in every domain


26 Jan 2021

Managing Risk: Shipowners Not Meeting Emission Regs Face a Big Business Risk

“Shipowners can use the digital tools available to take actions to reduce emissions. The add-on, of course, is you will have more profit and will be more attractive in the market for charterers and other types of customers," said Arild Risholm Saether, NAVTOR’s head of business development.

There is  increasing pressure for shipowners to sharpen their environmental performance, driven by an IMO target to halve greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 2050, regional regulations and market pull from charterers, banks and investors.“This represents a whole new ball game for the industry. Optimization of ship operations has traditionally been dictated by the efficiency of delivery around the globe that has typically meant being able to sail at full speed, thereby burning more fuel, to minimize costs for the charterer.

17 Aug 2020

Fugro's New USV to Chart Waters Off South Australia

Fugro will use its new uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to chart the waters of South Australia’s Gulf St Vincent and Investigator Strait as part of the Australian Government’s HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP).The Dutch-based offshore survey services company will carry out  the 998 km2 survey will be conducted on behalf of the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO), which will use the data to update nautical charts for safer navigation. Data will also be shared with scientific agencies


13 May 2020

SMA Selects Teledyne CARIS

SMA Team Photo (Photo courtesy of Teledyne)

Teledyne CARIS has announced that the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) has selected Teledyne CARIS to provide tools for generalization of bathymetric data in nautical charts.Through a competitive tender process, SMA has chosen Teledyne CARIS to provide CARIS BASE Editor as the solution for the generalization of bathymetric data in nautical charts. The software platform will provide the tools needed to generate contours and sounding selections using automated processes as


13 Feb 2020

NOAA to Order New Research Ships in 2020

(Photo: NOAA)

The U.S.' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it expects to award contracts for the construction of two new oceanographic ships by the end of the year. Once in service, the new large oceangoing, multi-mission research vessels will support missions ranging from general oceanographic research and exploration to marine life, climate and ocean ecosystem studies, NOAA said.“When completed, these new state-of-the-art ships will be vital for collecting high-quality data and leading scientific discoveries,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., acting NOAA administrator.

21 Jul 2019

ChartCo Names Malaika D’souza for Americas

ChartCo,  the provider of navigation and compliance solutions shipping, named Malaika D’souza as its new representative for the North and South American regions.According to the distributor of navigational data, nautical charts, marine technical publications and digital products, Ms D’souza, who has successfully grown ChartCo’s revenues and customer relationships across India and the Middle East over the past 3 years has now relocated to Toronto to take up the full-time position as the commercial lead for the North and South American markets.ChartCo has taken this move to coincide with the market wide roll out of its OneOcean platform which encompasses the entire suite of ChartCo’s navigation


07 Jun 2019

No Navigation Risk from Sunk Ship: MPA

The wreck of the Dominica-flagged supply vessel, OCEAN COOPER 2 that sank near Pedra Branca does not pose a risk to the safety of navigation in the area, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).According to MPA, capsized and sank within Singapore Territorial Waters in the Singapore Strait on 14 February 2019.No oil pollution was reported at the time of the incident and all three Indonesian crew members were rescued without injuries.MPA has since completed a hydrographic survey of the wreck site. The wreck is located at Latitude 1⁰20.030’N and Longitude 104⁰21.409’E, and is 41m below the sea surface.This is significantly deeper


04 Jun 2019

GNS: Pricing Transparency in Navigation Market

Global Navigation Solutions (GNS), provider of maritime navigation information for shipping companies, announced that it will sell all digital and paper nautical charts and publications at cost price as part of its innovative Voyager Navigation as a Service (VNaaS) solution.The maritime technology company said in a press release that VNaaS customers will pay an annual software licence fee to access a complete set of software and data analytics tools that enable officers onboard to order exactly the charts and publications they need for each voyage and shore-based stakeholders to control and manage navigation purchasing and compliance more effectively.All the ENCs


12 Dec 2018

Arctic Region Experiences Second-Warmest Air Temperatures Ever Recorded

Arctic region experienced the second-warmest air temperatures ever recorded; the second-lowest overall sea-ice coverage; lowest recorded winter ice in the Bering Sea; and earlier plankton blooms due to early melting of sea ice in the Bering Sea - these are the findings of NOAA’s annual report card on the Arctic.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report, which measures the changing climate of the polar region including warmer air and ocean temperatures and declines in sea-ice that are driving shifts in animal habitats, said that in addition to annual updates on ocean temperature, snow cover, tundra greenness and melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet


23 Nov 2018

UKHO Shares Marine Geospatial Data with Guyana

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has officially handed over marine geospatial data to the Guyanese Government after a campaign of hydrographic surveying.Delegates from the UKHO presented the data to government officials at a special event to celebrate the completion of the survey. Two workshops were held to brief ministers and provide technical support for applications of the data, which will help Guyana support the development of its marine economy.The data, which was collected over a period of four months between 2016 and 2017, will initially be used to update nautical charts of the Demerara River. This will enable ships to confidently reduce under-keel clearance and maximise cargo-carrying capacity


24 Oct 2018

Weilbach Enable Secure Navigation Data for Navy Vessels

Weilbach enables navy vessels to get secure and reliable navigation data from only one supplier. (Photo: Weilbach)

Protecting navigation data from digital attacks is vital in the military marine segment when conducting navy operations. To provide navy vessels with secure and reliable navigation data, Danish supplier of nautical charts Weilbach has developed their digital solutions to offer a complete service.“When navigation software integrations come from different suppliers, the risk of hacking, cyber-attacks and errors can increase. We can ensure navy vessels are able to get up-to-date and reliable data necessary to plan operations from only one supplier


05 Oct 2018

The Drones are Coming

An ABS technician with a drone. Source: ABS

Nimble and quick, unmanned aerial vehicles have evolved into a valuable tool for marine and offshore applications.When a U.S. oil tanker conducts a Critical Area Inspection Plan (CAIP) as required by ABS, it is an onerous process. For example, each tank requires seven days of set up with scaffolding and staging. An ABS inspector and UDT technicians must access, and be carefully lowered into the tank with instrumentation and tools. Inspection points in far reaching places are surveyed.

23 May 2018

DALO Chooses SARIS to Support SAR Operations

Photo: BMT

The Danish Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) announced the purchase of a major upgrade of BMT’s SARIS, the search and rescue planning tool that helps save lives, plan searches and minimize danger at sea. The upgrade will consist of a deployment of 20 licenses primarily to Denmark but also including Greenland and the Faroe Islands. A large part of the upgrade will include capacity for ongoing in-house training, with initial training being delivered by BMT. The SARIS technology is designed to help locate targets, whether it be people or objects, lost at sea.

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