International Hydrographic Organization

Following meetings in St. Petersburg in 1908 and 1912, twenty-four nations gathered in London in 1919 for a Hydrographic Conference during which they decided to create an International Hydrographic Bureau to make worldwide navigation easier and safer. At the invitation of HSH Prince Albert I of Monaco, a noted marine scientist, the Bureau was headquartered in the Principality of Monaco and began its activities in 1921 with eighteen member states. Today it has seventy-seven, with a further seven pending membership.

Restructuring
In 1970 an intergovernmental convention changed the name and legal status of the organisation, creating the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). This had a consultative and purely technical nature and comprised the International Hydrographic Conference (IHC) and the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), or secretariat, which remained in Monaco.

During the third Extraordinary IHC in 2005, member states approved amendments to the IHO Convention in order to make the organisation more effective, efficient and responsive to the maritime needs of the twenty-first century. These amendments are available for ratification by member states. Once ratified by two thirds of the membership, an Assembly will replace the IHC, to meet every three years, and a Council will be established to meet every year. An elected secretary-general will lead the Secretariat, currently the Bureau (IHB). Two directors will be elected to run the two main committees: Hydrographic Services and Standards, and Inter-Regional Co-ordination. The seventeenth IHC, to be held in May 2007, will consider amendments to the general and financial regulations, the rules of procedure, and details of committee structure. If approved, the revised committee structure is proposed for introduction as of 1st January 2009.

Much IHO co-ordination and co-operation activity takes place within the fifteen Regional Hydrographic Commissions (RHCs), which between them cover most of the world. In 2002 the IHO created a Capacity Building Committee which is now very active in assisting the development of hydrographic and cartographic capabilities around the world, much of its work being done in co-operation with the RHCs.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) in November 2005 welcomed the adoption of World Hydrography Day, celebrated on 21st June. In 2006 HSH Prince Albert II and government ministers joined the IHO for these celebrations in Monaco.

Standardisation
The first edition of Standards for Hydrographic Surveys (S-44) was published in 1968, and a fifth edition is currently in preparation. Each new edition has reflected the increasing capabilities of new equipment and balanced this with the changing designs and needs of international shipping.

Since its inception the IHO has worked towards achieving maximum standardisation in specifications, symbols, style and formats used for naut–ical charts and related publications, so that today mariners are able with confidence to use charts compiled by any member of the Organization. One highly significant milestone in the standardisation of nautical charts was the adoption of international chart specifications in the 1980s (Publication M-4). The idea of a common, standardised worldwide chart series (INT Charts) produced to a single set of agreed specifications, was adopted in 1971. Under this arrangement one nation produces a chart and all other nations wishing to cover the same area print their charts from the producer nation’s data.
With the advent of the digital era and the concept of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) in the 1980s it quickly became apparent that there was a need to standardise the transfer and display of digital chart data. The latter data was organised in databases termed Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC). As a result, standards were developed for the transfer of hydrographic data and for ENCs (Publication S-57), and for the chart display and content of ECDIS (Publication S-52). Digital data development has had a considerable impact on hydrographic and navigation technology, and has become a major focus of IHO activity.

Education and Training
In co-operation with the Fédération Internationale des Géomètres (FIG) and the International Cartographic Association (ICA), a comprehensive set of Standards of Competence for hydrographic surveyors and nautical cartographers has been drawn up, together with appropriate syllabi for the guidance of universities and teaching establishments throughout the world. An international Advisory Board supervises the application of these standards with a view to achieving internationally recognised qualifications in the hydrographic profession. The Advisory Board reviews the training syllabi of worldwide educational institutions and awards international certificates of recognition to those programmes achieving the required minimum standards of competence.

Co-operation
The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), initiated by HSH Prince Albert I, is supported jointly by the IHO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). GEBCO is managed by the GEBCO Guiding Committee, comprising five members from each of the two parent organisations and supported by a large number of volunteers from academia and marine institutions around the world. An IHO Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB), based at the US National Geophysical Data Centre (NGDC) in Boulder, Colorado, was created in 1990 to assist in this task. The fifth edition of the GEBCO was completed in 1982 and its latest digital equivalent, the GEBCO Digital Atlas (GDA) on CD-Rom, was launched on the occasion of the GEBCO Centenary Conference in Monaco in April 2003.

The IHO actively participates in many international forums. It carries observer status at both the UNGA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Several UNGA resolutions have acknowledged the needs for and benefits of improved hydrography and have endorsed the work of the IHO in promoting these goals. The IHO pioneered the recent revision of Performance Standards for the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) which was adopted by the IMO in December 2006. With the support of the IMO, the IHO is currently working on development of a worldwide electronic catalogue of available ENCs in order to support maritime operations and improve safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment.

The IHO, together with the IMO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), set the standards for the World Wide Navigational Warning Service (WWNWS) which forms part of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The WWNWS aims to ensure that all mariners are supplied with the relevant navigational safety-related information in time for them to initiate any necessary avoidance procedures.

Current Issues
The IHO, along with numerous other international bodies, both intergovernmental and non-governmental, are working in the IMO Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation to develop a strategy for E-Navigation. This in acknowledgement of the fact that the continuing developments in electronics and computers are increasingly affecting all equipment used in ships, and especially on the bridge. It is important that this equipment is developed in such a way that it may be used together in an integrated, seamless and coherent manner so as to provide the watch officer with all the information that he needs. ECDIS and ENCs are clearly a vital component within this strategy.
Two other ongoing projects clearly related to E-Navigation are the Marine Electronic Highway for the Malacca and Singapore Straits (MEH) and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Highway (MHIO). The MEH, a demonstration project funded by the World Bank, will deliver new surveys, ENCs, tide-and-current stations, shore control offices and data links between ship and shore. This to ensure that both shore authorities and masters are fully aware of the complete maritime picture during their transit of the Straits. The IHO is represented on the Project Steering Committee and will participate in the work of the Hydrographic Committee. The MHIO project is also World Bank funded, with a goal of increasing the capacity of the region in maintenance of ENC, Aids to Navigation (AtN) and pollution-response capabilities.