Navigational Charts

Australian Electronic Chart Service Launched

On the recent UN World Hydrography Day the Hydrographer of Australia announced enlarged ENC coverage & a new AusENC service AMSA's Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mick Kinley, was a guest of honour at a celebration held at the Australian Hydrographic Office in Wollongong on Thursday 21 June to celebrate United Nations World Hydrography Day. Commodore Rod Nairn AM, RAN (Hydrographer of Australia) used the event to mark Australia's achievement of Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) coverage for Australian and Papua New Guinea waters and to launch a new Australian Electronic Navigational Chart service (AusENC). The AusENC service will support vessels operating within Australian and Papua New Guinea waters through simple ordering and easy availability of official charts for use in Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS). This achievement comes ahead of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandate for phased compulsory carriage of ECDIS for certain types of ships on international voyages from July 2012 to 2018. The United Nations World Hydrography Day is celebrated annually on 21 June to raise public awareness of the importance of hydrography and nautical cartography to support safety of life at sea, enable reliable maritime trade and enhance the protection of the marine environment.

Sea Floor Surveys Support Texas Maritime Trade

This winter, NOAA will begin a year-long survey of the sea floor in the Port of Houston and Galveston Bay navigational areas, to aid efforts to bring more trade, more cargo, more jobs, and more economic benefits to the Houston area. The navigation survey team arrived in Galveston this week, to begin pre-survey preparations with mariners and federal partners. "With bigger ships, crowded sea lanes, and more uses of ocean areas

Admiralty Provides New ENC Coverage of Vietnam

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has announced new ENC (Electronic Navigational Chart) coverage of a key shipping route in Vietnam, providing greater navigational detail of the region. The three new ENCs cover the ports and approaches to Vung Tau, which includes the main container port of Cai Mep, and are only available through the Admiralty Vector Chart Service.   The new ENCs have been produced in response to increasing demand from shipping companies for fully

Norwegian Hydrographic Joins With C-Map

The Norwegian Hydrographic Service has signed a contract with C-Map Norway for electronic navigational charts (ENC) and production of paper nautical charts. This long-term plan, which aims to cover the Norwegian coast with modern sea charts by 2006, will be accomplished with data and databases coming from Norwegian Hydrographic Services so that C-Map can produce S57 Edition 3 data, ENC S57 data as outlined in the ENC product specification and data for paper chart production

NOAA to Deliver More Charts, Faster

Revolutionary Change in NOAA Nautical Chart Production Means More Products, Faster, for Maritime Use.     NOAA's development of a new navigational chart processing system, designed to meet the changing needs of the maritime community, moves into initial limited production on September 21. The new system, which slims down the current map production process while it beefs up performance, represents a technological leap forward in creating the navigational charts used to speed ships

New Practices Will Lead to Safer Passage in Arctic Waters

Highlighting the need for safer navigation in Canada’s Arctic, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its report into the August 2010 grounding of the cruise ship, Clipper Adventurer in Coronation Gulf, Nunavut (M10H0006).   "Our investigation determined there were problems with the vessel’s voyage planning but we also found that key safety information was not being proactively provided to vessels transiting the Arctic

ECDIS Manufacturers the Target for New Radar Kit

Cambridge Pixel introduces tool-kit SPx-ECDis modules for Window-based Electronic Chart Display & Information Systems (ECDIS) Cambridge Pixel,  a developer of sensor processing and display solutions, has introduced its SPx-ECDIS radar kit. The new toolkit will allow systems integrators building Windows-based Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) for commercial ships to add radar interfacing, scan conversion, chart display, target tracking

NOAA Receives Funding For Electronic Charts

Congress has appointed money for the National and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) to dramatically increase its survey and charting program. Under the Appropriations bill, NOAA’s navigation services will receive $120.2 million for Fiscal Year 2001, representing a total increase of $24 million over Fiscal Year 2001. The increased funding is in part due to the hard work of a coalition of maritime interests including AWO. A section of the bill which specifically drew focused attention from AWO and

Japan Hydrographic Assoc. Chooses Kelvin Hughes

Kelvin Hughes has been chosen by the Japan Hydrographic Association (JHA) as official distributor for all Japanese W Series paper charts, sailing directions and special publications issued by the Japan Coast Guard. It is a legal requirement that all international commercial ships carry paper charts, many also choose to carry locally produced charts as these are often more specialised and include additional details

The Marine Electronic Highway

Implementation of the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) Demonstration Project in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is set to begin shortly, following the signing of a $6.86 million grant agreement between the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The four-year regional demonstration project aims to link shore-based marine information and communication infrastructure with the corresponding navigational and communication facilities