POSIDONIA 2010 – PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF NAV

27 May 2010, 6:46pm

27.05.2010 - The UKHO today announced its attendance at Posidonia 2010 will focus on helping the maritime community address the business, operational and compliance issues raised by the fundamental shift in maritime navigation from paper charts to digital technology.

Bridge and shore-based personnel will have access to a broad range of advice and information on effective planning for the transition to digital navigation, and gain first-hand experience of the latest Admiralty technology and services to support e-navigation.

Admiralty e-Navigator, the UKHO’s new integrated digital catalogue, product viewer and passage planning tool, will be a central focus of the UKHO presence at the event. e-Navigator is already in advanced sea-trials with a number of global shipping operators. Attendees are invited to try live demonstrations of the service, to gain first-hand experience of how it helps make every stage of navigation and fleet management smarter, simpler and safer.

“Maritime navigation is at the heart of a revolution as it moves from paper to digital,” says Mike Robinson, UKHO chief executive. “Technology is playing a vital role in that revolution, but we are very aware that key to a successful transition is the mariners and their shore-based colleagues who will use tools like Admiralty e-Navigator. That’s why the UKHO works so closely with maritime communities at every stage of our service development, to ensure that we are delivering digital services which bring efficiency and safety to navigation and fleet management in formats that are simple to adopt and operate.”

He continues, “Posidonia is the perfect occasion for maritime organisations to evaluate their progress and to ensure they are on track for the digital future of navigation. Our team will be on hand to provide any advice, information or guidance that attendees may need.”

Admiralty e-Navigator provides bridge and office-based teams with instant access to all the navigational information they need, whenever and wherever they need it. As well as helping manage all paper and Admiralty Raster Chart Service (ARCS) holdings, e-Navigator makes accessing and purchasing Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) ENCs simple and straightforward. AVCS provides official berth-to-berth coverage between 2,124 trading ports worldwide and more than 10,500 charts. Today, it is used by more than 900 shipping companies worldwide with more than 60 vessels a week joining the service.

In addition, e-Navigator is a channel to a world of innovative digital products and services from Admiralty and from other companies. As well as tide and weather data, one of the first new Admiralty digital products available in the e-Navigator is the Admiralty Information Overlay that will provide AVCS customers with worldwide Temporary and Preliminary Notices to Mariners.

The UKHO’s products and services will also be available on the stands of four major Admiralty distributors, including Poly Thomas Gunn.

Thomas Gunn of Poly Thomas Gunn, added: “The move to digital navigation creates a number of challenges for the shipping industry, but we’ve seen that detailed planning delivers success. Companies need to start implementing strategies now, but they can only do this if they have access to the right information and tools to effectively adopt a more ‘pro-active’ approach to navigation. We believe that the UKHO has demonstrated a clear vision of how to achieve that, and its track record of delivering innovative digital services will ensure our customers can successfully embrace a digital future.”

The UKHO will be on Stand 564 in Hall 5, and Poly Thomas Gunn will be on Stand 225 in Hall 2.

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