Success for World ECDIS Day

A dedicated conference dealing with ECDIS and Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) was long overdue. That was the conclusion drawn from World ECDIS Day, an industry initiative which brought together stakeholders involved in the production and use of ENCs. The interest in this first-time event, which took place on 16 September 2015 in Hamburg, Germany, was reported to be overwhelming.

Gilles Bessero, director of the IHO (image), opened the event with a summary about the ECDIS carriage requirement and electronic chart production. Some 250 participants from all around the world attended workshops, presentations and discussions dealing with the ECDIS carriage requirement, type approval, ENC distribution, ECDIS training and hydrographic survey. Capt. Osamu Marumoto of the IMO and Michael Bergmann, president of CIRM, were among several speakers providing news about and insights into all ECDIS-related matters.

Award Ceremony

World ECDIS Day ended with an evening event providing a stunning view on the port of Hamburg on the 20th floor of the ‘Atlantic Haus’. One of the evening’s highlights was certainly the award ceremony introducing the following winners:

• ECDIS Trainer of the Year: Capt. Peter Möller, Promacindo, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Best ECDIS Implementation Award; Geden Lines, Istanbul, Turkey
• Innovation Award: Carnival Maritime, Hamburg, Germany
• Navigation Safety Award: Fleet Management Limited, Hongkong
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Berking, Hamburg, Germany

The next World ECDIS Day is planned for 2017.