UKHO begins releasing Indonesian ENCs

20 July 2009, 7:30pm

20 July 2009 - The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has further developed its relationship with the Indonesian Hydro-Oceanographic Office (DISHIDROS) to include its Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs) within the Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS).

The UKHO has a long-standing relationship with the Indonesian Hydro-Oceanographic Office and has been working in a close mutually-supportive partnership to produce and maintain a total of more than 100 ENCs in the globally significant sea lanes within this region. Thirty ENCs are already available in AVCS and the remainder will be released steadily in the next few months. All Indonesian ENCs will be available within AVCS Flexible Licensing.

AVCS is the market-leading source for official ENC data. It has been regularly upgraded since launch to comprise over 9500 ENCs covering all the world’s major trade lanes between 1823 of the world’s biggest and busiest ports. AVCS gets you into 448 more ports at the appropriate larger scale bands and includes over 600 ENCs more than any other service on the market.

AVCS Product Manager Jason Scholey said: “The Indonesian ENCs will be distributed through AVCS Flexible Licensing. This allows users to accurately match the ENCs that they hold to their operational patterns and lowers the overall cost of subscription by ensuring that ENCs are only paid for over the period that they are required.”

The UKHO’s Flexible Licensing package now extends to the ENCs of 42 nations - all but two of the countries whose ENCs are available through AVCS.

Indonesia is a major trading nation and comprehensive charting, both in paper and, increasingly ENCs, is important for the safe and efficient development of the islands which also harbour many environmentally important marine habitats. Accordingly, the Indonesian Hydro-Oceanographic Office is responsible for charting a vast archipelagic state which stretches over 45 degrees of longitude and three time zones.

The significance of this new ENC coverage to the international mariner in this area is therefore considerable, especially as these islands straddle the primary shipping lanes to and from the Indian Ocean and Western Australia to the main producer nations of the Far East. This means that heavy shipping is concentrated into these Archipelagic Sea Lanes and therefore needs the best and official navigational safety information for planning and passage.

First Admiral Sugeng Supriyanto, Chief Hydrographer of Indonesia explains that ENC production in Indonesia has been done through a very tight quality control by conducting field check and sea trial to confirm between data in the ENC with its reality on the ground, and then to be finalised with a joint verification and validation with UKHO.
Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff said the latest partnership with the Indonesian Hydrographic Office is a further example of the UKHO’s commitment to working with the international hydrographic community to continue to provide worldwide charting of the highest standard.
He added: “Seventy per cent of navigation is in the preparation and the ability to plan routes effectively and efficiently and increasingly, electronically (the remaining thirty per cent being in the execution). SOLAS Chapter V recognises this significance of navigational planning in its Regulation 34.

“With new regulations relating to mandatory use of ECDIS in the near future in addition to environmental concerns, the demands of vessel security, and a constantly changing marine environment, there is increasing pressure on marine superintendents and mariners. They deserve to have this aspect of their lives made easier and clearer through the best integrated official data from a single source in which they can put their complete trust.

“Solutions such as AVCS and the recently announced Admiralty e-Navigator support this essential need and aim to improve planning and fleet management.”

UKHO Channel Management and Marketing Manager Hayley Jopson said: “With the Mandation of ECDIS extending from High Speed Vessels into the wider SOLAS user group progressively from two thousand and twelve as agreed by the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee just a few weeks ago, the UKHO is already delivering on its promise to provide a fully compliant and consistent global ENC service that will support the mariner in meeting this landmark legislation.

“AVCS is a fully integrated service that only contains ENCs and therefore the compiled data is one hundred per cent official since it comes solely from hydrographic offices and is compliant fully with SOLAS Chapter V Regulations. No other chart data provider offers the same degree of compliance matched with coverage in a single package”, she added.

“When taken with the flexible licensing, ordering, updating and support AVCS continues to meet a direct service response to user requirements.”

UK Hydrographic Office

Geo: International