UKHO Updates Digital Navigation

Available from Admiralty, the Overlay is now compatible with both Transas and SevenCs systems. Transas was the first to announce availability via the Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS), and the UKHO is also working with other major ECDIS manufacturers to ensure the Admiralty Information Overlay can be displayed on their systems. Further availability will be announced in the next few months.

Mariners the world over use Admiralty updates every day to help them navigate safely, via the weekly ‘Notices to Mariners' publication. It includes all Admiralty Temporary and Preliminary Notices to Mariners (T&P NMs), which are used to manually update paper charts. The Overlay does the same job automatically, displaying the same trusted information directly over the ENC, to make passage planning significantly more efficient.

The Overlay also displays updates from the UKHO's ENC validation programme. To create the Overlay, the UKHO's expert cartographic teams checked over 11,000 ENCs against Admiralty's paper chart equivalent, to make sure that both paper and digital charts are completely consistent. Now, as new navigational or ENC updates are made available to the UKHO by foreign governments and partner hydrographic offices worldwide, the UKHO teams check them for any potential to impact a voyage. If there is, the update is validated by a detailed approval process before the chart is corrected, or an update is added to the Overlay. The ENC validation programme makes the Admiralty Vector Chart Service the world's most accurate and up-to-date global chart series.

Admiral Nick Lambert, Chief Hydrographer at the UKHO, said "AVCS has already set the standard for digital navigation with ENCs for the shipping industry, combining accuracy and ease-of-use with the best worldwide coverage. The Admiralty Information Overlay marks another significant step forward in digital navigation because it delivers a vital range of data to the mariner. It ensures they can instantly see any information which might impact their voyage planning or execution on the ECDIS, allowing them to sail with increased safety, compliance and efficiency."

The Admiralty Information Overlay is available free of charge to all customers of Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) and Admiralty ECDIS Service.

The new version of SevenCs ORCA Master compatible with Admiralty Information Overlay is available as a free six-month trial, and can be downloaded from the SevenCs website.