Analysis of the Status of Charting

Analysis of the Status of Charting

The categorisation in the reports is underpinned by detailed national assessment against the criteria in S-4, S-57 and S-61. Coverage of INT charts is shown in S-11.

Major deficiencies:

Although coverage of both paper and electronic charts has increased, in many cases there has not been a concomitant improvement in the source data from which they are derived. The appearance of deeper draught shipping has also exposed the inadequacy of navigational products in many areas. This is apparent, for example, in the assessment of large-scale cover in the states of the W Pacific and Oceania.

Metrication programmes are underway in many areas e.g. in the UK coverage of islands in the Caribbean, but this rarely indicates the availability of significant modern surveys. Some charts have been withdrawn because of lack of data to enable their update e.g. the UK coverage of Lake Victoria in Africa.

The widespread use of GPS, the advent of ECDIS and the introduction of AIS, lends great urgency to efforts to identify datum transfers and to re-publish charts on WGS 84 datum. This requires very close liaison between HOs and national land survey authorities. This is particularly important in some parts of Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific Ocean.