New Production System for Dutch Hydrographic Office
The Royal Netherlands Navy has successfully executed the final contractual tests of its System for Hydrographic Information Processes, Part 2 (SHIP2) project. The SHIP2 project was implemented to produce a new production system for the Netherlands Hydrographic Office. The project will deliver a solution for source and bathymetric data management with the production of paper charts and various digital products, and will also include geospatial web publishing capabilities.
The contract, awarded to CARIS after a public tender, contained project management, consultancy, training, and key components from the CARIS Ping-to-Chart workflow, including CARIS Bathy DataBASE for bathymetric data management and CARIS Hydrographic Production Database (HPD) for production of INT1 paper charts, ENCs, and AMLs. The application will also allow for the production of Notice to Mariners and other publications; making the Netherlands Hydrographic Office one of approximately thirty hydrographic offices now using HPD.
In addition to the execution of the new production system, support for existing data has been fully maintained. Test conversions of existing databases have taken place to ensure existing data is migrated to the new system without any loss of information.
The project, which implements commercial of the shelf and bespoke solutions from multiple suppliers, was initiated to ensure the hydrographic office can meet future needs and requirements. With demands for more products that are reliable, quick and accurately updated for existing maritime customers, including the introduction of new (IHO) standards and increased demands for data from new (non-maritime) customers, the Netherlands Hydrographic Office has decided to act and prepare.
