Feature 4 | ELECTRONIC CHARTING SYSTEMS Implementing ‘special needs’ ECDIS
Professional operators of small ships and boats wanting electronic navigation have found that standard maritime electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) as used on SOLAS ships do not fully meet their needs, writes George Marsh.
F
inding full ECDIS too bulky, expensive, and insufficiently specialised for their particular
applications, the only option for some operators has generally been to resort to one of the electronic chart systems (ECS) produced by private, non-offi cial interests. While these unregulated systems may be functionally able, using them in commercial operations carries risks and concern over their widespread use has prompted the development of approved ‘special needs’ ECDIS.
Mini ECDIS A solution developed in the UK for the fi shing industry has been dubbed ‘Mini ECDIS’. T is came into being as a result of the ‘Electronic Charts for Fishermen’ project funded by the UK government. The Seafish Industry Authority
(Seafi sh), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and the UK Hydrographic Offi ce (UKHO) were the chief players, and the project was led by the Kingfisher information section of Seafi sh - the organisation responsible for
the Kingfi sher information charts well known to fi shermen. Commercial equipment companies were
also involved. T e project came about due to the UK authorities, concern about fi shing safety, with over 800 accidents and incidents being reported each year, and the rising use of ECS not meeting any recognised international performance standards and possibly not fully fi t for purpose. For its part, UKHO showed that it
would be feasible to produce approved electronic charts for fi shermen in which extra S-57 vector layers might include, for example, detailed bathymetry, wreck details, fishing zones and limits, and details of subsea infrastructure. However, cost and other commercial
considerations mean that standard electronic navigation charts (ENCs) in S-57 vector format remain the UKHO’s mainstay product for the fishing community, along with raster navigation charts (RNCs) for areas where S-57 ENCs are as yet unavailable. The point was well made, however, that vector charts can be produced with
information layers that suit particular classes of maritime user. Indeed, many fi shermen have adopted a DIY approach, combining their own data with that from Kingfi sher and other sources for feeding into their chart plotter systems. A more tangible outcome from the
project was a Mini ECDIS performance standard that the MCA accepted as meeting the requirements of SOLAS Chapter V for use in fi shing and other operations under MCA Marine Guidance Note 262. T e latter was subsequently superseded by Marine Guidance Note 319, published in October 2006, on ‘Acceptance of Electronic Chart Plotting Systems for Fishing Vessels under 24m and Small Vessels in Commercial use (Code Boats) up to 24m Load Line Length’. T e Mini ECDIS standard was approved
by the MCA in late 2003, as being suitable for the navigation of such craſt . Seafish, wishing to avoid the stultifying bureaucracy associated with ‘big ship’ ECDIS type approval processes, set up a self-certification scheme under which equipment manufacturers can themselves claim compliance with the new standard,
Vector chart with AIS overlay: vessel approaching shallows near land. Note, land turns red to denote hazard. 46 Ship & Boat International September/October 2008
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