'As it Is'

The Turkish Navy’s Department of Navigation, Hydrography and Oceanography (TN-DNHO) is responsible for surveying, charting and supporting the navigational safety of Turkish waters covering more than 8,000km of Turkish coastline where the continents of Asia and Europe geographically meet.

While trying to keep the nautical charts of this very large sea area up to date, TN-DNHO is continually improving its surveying and charting capabilities and standards to keep up with rapidly developing technology and meet the expectations of different disciplines requiring daily increasing volumes of hydrographic and oceanographic data.
TCG ÇES, ME, the 2,800-ton survey TN-DNHO vessel, and her survey launch, became fully operational in August 2002. Equipped with state-of-the-art survey systems such as shallow and deep-water multi-beam and single-beam bathymetric systems, oceanographic and meteorological sensors, deep-towed geophysical and seismic systems, precise positioning and attitude sensors, TCG ÇES, ME has conducted a great number of multidisciplinary surveys over recent years. These have covered territorial waters, EEZ and international waters surrounding Turkey. The area surveyed per year in compliance with IHO S-44 has increased by over 400%. Inevitably, large volumes of multi-sensor data bring new challenges, such as processing, organising and making them accessible for end users, no longer only chart makers.
For the purpose of improving the exchange of hydrographic and oceanographic data, products, services and experience, bilateral agreements have been signed with the hydrographic offices of the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Co-operation protocols on navigation, hydrography and oceanography have been signed with Ukraine and Israel. In addition, bilateral agreement discussions are still going on with Russia, Romania and Bulgaria.
TN-DNHO feels the responsibility of having one of the largest survey fleets in the region. In an effort to promote co-operation in hydrography in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, we have conducted hydrographic surveys in Romanian, Georgian and Israeli territorial waters with the participation of hydrographers of the host countries. I deem these joint surveys not only to offer opportunities to cover the unsurveyed waters of neighbouring countries but also great chances to share know-how and experience.
TN-DNHO maintains about 170 nautical paper charts at different scales. Since 1997, ENC production has been underway along, with the digitisation of paper charts and survey fair sheets. As of 2004, we have achieved ENC coverage of the sea area under charting responsibility of Turkey with 83 ENCs and digitised all the paper charts in the portfolio. We are planning to have the rest of the ENCs produced on a sub-contracted basis under the MEDCHARTNET project and to complete the ENC catalogue of 131 charts by mid-2005. The Turkish Navy is currently using the completed ENCs, and seventeen of them are being used in Turkish Straits Vessel Traffic Management and Information System. In accordance with a bilateral agreement between TN-DNHO and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, IC-ENC began officially distributing TN-DNHO ENCs in late 2004.
In addition to hydrographic surveying and charting,
TN-DNHO is also tasked with meeting the environmental data needs of the Navy and to serve as National Oceanographic Data Center in accordance with a special law. In this context, the Oceanography Division carries out studies in physical oceanography, geology and geophysics and gathers all available environmental data from governmental institutions and universities.
In line with the above-summarised information, the TN-DNHO vision is to provide hydrographic and oceanographic data and products compliant with IHO standards to meet both traditional and emerging requirements and to become an internationally respected hydrographic institution.