Big cuts in ENC prices from Primar Stavanger

Prices for electronic navigation charts (ENCs) from Primar Stavanger - the Norway-based international ENC coordinating center - have been slashed to their lowest-ever level. The new recommended sales prices from Primar Stavanger's distributors is now as low as $24 for an ENC equivalent in size to the comparable paper chart. This represents a cut of more than 70 percent on the purchase price for a new ENC. All weekly updates for a year are also covered in the price, which will now remain unchanged for subsequent annual renewals of a subscription. "Our distributors are very happy about this price change, and will also be giving more emphasis to marketing our ENCs," says marketing manager Rune H. Johnsen at Primar Stavanger. Low prices to the user are one of the key performance drivers for the nations which belong to the Primar Stavanger service. "Increased use of ENCs is critical for safety at sea, and making them affordable for all users will be in the interests of every country," says Kjell Birkevold, marketing director for the Norwegian Hydrographic Service (NHS). Primar Stavanger delivers a complete service to its distributors - including secured and authentic data, which means the distributor has no need to make data changes before sending an ENC to the user. This in turn ensures that the information is identical to the data provided by the national authority, and thereby conforms to all relevant IMO and Solas regulations.