Regional Centres for ECDIS01/01/1970 |
| As far back as 1989 a provisional performance standard for Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) was published and a final standard adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 1995 under resolution A.817(19). There are now many ECDIS systems on the market. Strong, co-ordinated international efforts are urgently required to manage and control this data. |
| Wyn Williams, UK Hydrographic Office, UK and Frode Klepsvik, Norwegian Hydrographic Service, Norway |
The data transfer standard for the digital charts (ENCs) designed to be used on an ECDIS was published in 1992 as Special Publication 57 (S-57). In the same year, a special committee of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) called the WEND Committee (from World-wide Electronic Navigational Chart Database) was formed to consider how to encourage the development and distribution of such ENCs in a co-ordinated and harmonised way. The Committee had its first meeting in 1995. It is believed that there are over 4,500 ENCs on the market today.
This obviously represents a genuine plea for help from the maritime industry and one that the international hydrographic community ignores at its peril. What Next, Then? In its recommendations the Hailwood report suggests the following:
Demystification Following revision of SOLAS regulation V in 2002, ECDIS for the first time became recognised as meeting IMO chart carriage requirements. However, the wording of V/19 paragraph 2.1 was unfortunate, since it used the phrase "ECDIS may be accepted as meeting the chart carriage requirements". This was interpreted by many as a conditional statement, subject to approval on a national basis. Significant confusion has resulted, with some flag states yet to make clear their policies on the matter and others defining varying policies, particularly with regard to back-up arrangements. This variability has left mariners uncertain as to where they stand; there is also a lack of confidence regarding whether the policy adopted by one flag state will be upheld by port inspectors of another, as vessels move from country to country. Added to this uncertainty, there is growing evidence of a lack of basic understanding of the differences between the various digital products and electronic display systems on the market, and how they each relate to the prevailing regulations. In particular, there appears to be a lack of appreciation of which products are in fact official charts and which are not. Recent evidence suggests that such poor understanding extended to national authority representatives, port controllers and even pilots. This is particularly worrying, and given this background it is not surprising that many in the shipping industry are reluctant to invest in the new technology. It is clear from the Hailwood report that the relevant regulations and status of the different products need to be communicated more clearly and more widely. And the need for this becomes urgent as the debate on mandating ECDIS gets underway in the corridors of IMO. RENC Response As operators of the leading Regional ENC co-ordinating centres IC-ENC (International Centre for ENCs) and PRIMAR-Stavanger, and as joint authors of this paper, we recognise the important role we have to play in responding to this plea for help. We need strong, regional co-ordinating centres, collectively managing ENC data for the whole international community and working together to address the issues of product quality, consistency and distribution. Otherwise we simply do not stand a realistic chance of solving these problems within a timeframe acceptable to the end-user. In short, unless we find a way to turn the WEND principles into an efficient and effective operational reality, then we face the real risk of ECDIS and ENCs becoming permanently overshadowed by alternative, unofficial products. The chairman of the PRIMAR-Stavanger Advisory Committee has taken the initiative of forming a working group to collate the relevant information and create a single reference manual on the subject. Given the importance of this work, IC-ENC was invited to join the working group to form what is now the ‘Joint Information Working Group’. The document entitled ‘Facts about charts and carriage requirements’ has now been released and is available free from the websites of both RENCs. Written in an easy-to-read ‘question and answer’ style, this guide provides answers to over twenty of the most commonly asked questions and comes with extensive annexes detailing the regulations in force today. We hope that this new guide will act as a useful reference document for anyone involved in the production, purchase, regulation or use of electronic charts. The Joint Working Group will continue to expand and update the document to ensure it provides accurate information, and versions in French and Spanish are planned for release soon. Of course, it is one thing to have such a document available, it is quite another to ensure that those who will benefit from it are aware of its existence and can easily access it. We therefore encourage all national authorities, such as Hydrographic Offices, to promote the document nationally and play an active role in demystifying the whole subject. Other Recent Developments Based on instructions from the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, the IMO Sub-Committee on Navigation decided at its 50th session (NAV 50) to establish a Correspondence Group (CG) on ECDIS to consider, among other possibilities, the phased implementation of a mandatory carriage requirement for ECDIS for certain classes of vessel. This issue will be discussed further at the forthcoming NAV 51 meeting in June 2005, and proposals for this meeting include:
Concerted Effort It is clear that only a concerted and consistent international effort involving relevant actors will lead us to success. The recent co-operation between IC-ENC and PRIMAR-Stavanger is a fine example of what can be achieved by working together. We now have a much clearer understanding of the issues facing us and therefore of what needs to be done. Although we still have a lot to do, the general direction and momentum for change is clearly building. Membership of the RENCs is steadily increasing, along with ENC coverage. The efforts of, and co-operation between, the RENCs in tackling the issues related to product quality, distribution and clarification of the regulation is beginning to show tangible results. And moves within IMO, in close co-operation with IHO, to actively support ECDIS and review the carriage requirements should be strongly supported by the hydrographic community. This clearly demonstrates that the time is now ripe for us all to start convincing the shipping industry to invest in ECDIS and ENC. |
| Biography of the author Dr David Wynford Williams (Wyn) (BSc PhD FInstP FRAeS CPhys CEng) gained a BSc and PhD in Physics from the University of Wales, Swansea. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He commenced his career with the Ministry of Defence in 1971 at the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment, near Portsmouth. In 1981, he joined the Royal Navy staff at the British Embassy in Washington DC to be responsible for scientific exchanges between the UK and USA in all areas of Above Water Warfare. He then became the Assistant Chief of Staff (Operational Analysis) to the Commander-in-Chief Fleet at Northwood (the first civilian to hold such a post) and in 1987, he took over the management of the UK’s guided weapon Test Ranges, headquartered at Aberporth on Cardigan Bay. On promotion to the Senior Civil Service in 1991 he became Chief Superintendent of the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment at Boscombe Down. He was appointed Director of Assessment & Evaluation in the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). In 1996 he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, and in 1997 joined DERA Sea Systems Sector (covering all research for the RN) - as Operations Director, then Technical Director, then on promotion as Sector Director. He was the UK’s Scientific Representative to NATO’s Undersea Research Centre at La Spezia, Italy and a member of the UK’s Foresight Marine Panel. In January 2001 he was further promoted and appointed UK National Hydrographer and Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. Dr Williams is also Chief Executive of Admiralty Holdings Ltd (a government-owned company which he created as the commercial outlet for the UKHO), and Chairman of a joint venture company he created with Swedish partners. |
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| Archive > June 2005, Volume 9, Number 5 > Regional Centres for ECDIS |
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