Netherlands based Datema and its ENCTrack service has been awarded the 2009 maritime innovation award for its innovative approach to the distribution and management of electronic navigational chart services.
It helped to define the overall project deliverables for ENCTrack, agreeing and examining the basic reporting requirements and criteria for this type of ENC licensing and reporting. “We had three goals,” explained Peter Scott, PRIMAR’s senior technical advisor on the project. “Our first and paramount objective was to increase safety at sea by ensuring that ENC data were always available to the mariner when and if they required it – especially on the many vessels unable to receive permit files (the keys needed to open electronic charts) while at sea.
“Second, we wanted to make the working environment on board as straightforward as possible by removing unwieldy administrative routines where possible, and thereby allowing the navigator to concentrate more time on other bridge operations with a higher priority than ordering ENCs.
”Finally, our aim was to reduce the cost of ENC data by ensuring the most efficient use of the current licensing schemes where possible.
Like most hydrographic offices, Primar believes it is extremely important to support every effort aimed at increasing the adoption of ECDIS systems and to ensure that ENC services meet the requirements of the SOLAS fleet from their own perspective.