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During the 2023 International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Assembly, Secretary General Dr. Mathias Jonas announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA has supported the IHO since 1990 by hosting the IHO Data Center for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB), an online, open-access database that stores ocean depth data from around the world.

Representatives of the 98 Member States of the International Hydrographic Organization will gather for the Assembly, Member State and Industry Exhibition from 1 to 5 May 2023. Held every three years, the gathering provides a forum for countries to come together, discuss new developments in technical standards, ocean mapping and agree on resolutions to guide activities. Key topics this year will include the future of charts and steps to ensure the transition to digital data systems.

The ARHC has prepared a summary of activities for the past year which includes an update on the development of a pan-Arctic nautical grid and access to data and discusses the IHO roadmap for the implementation of S-100 based services, which will contribute to safety of navigation, environmental protection, and cost efficiencies.

Representatives of 26 countries sitting on the IHO Council and Observers gathered last week in Monaco to review the work carried out and establish priorities for the coming years. This included progress with the transition to digital data services through the implementation of S-100, the Universal Digital Data Model, as well as hydrography’s contribution to global initiatives such as the Digital Twin of the Ocean.

As part of its mission to induce “transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development, connecting people and our ocean”, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UN Ocean Decade) has endorsed the IHO’s Empowering Women in Hydrography (EWH) project as an Ocean Decade Action.

The IHO participated in the XIII Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium held in Venice, Italy from 5-7 October to discuss the IHO’s tasks, mission and challenges within the UN Ocean Decade. Organized by the Italian Navy and hosted in the historical setting of the Arsenal of Venice, the symposium provided an open and inclusive forum where navies, industries, public institutions, academia and international organizations engaged in across-the-board debates involving the diverse community of players in the national and international marine cluster.

The IHO paid a high level visit to the Plurinational State of Bolivia on 5 and 6 September, during which hydrographic services for inland waterways were discussed. The landlocked nation borders on several lakes, including Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and also has rivers which form part of the Amazon Basin. These play a vital role in the transport of people and goods in the region.

Due to uncertainties regarding the availability of the traditional venue for the Assembly linked with its current use, the IHO Secretariat looked for alternatives. The Directing Committee has, after careful consideration and bearing in mind the organizational, logistical and financial consequences not limited to the Secretariat, decided that the 3rd Session of the IHO Assembly will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in the Principality of Monaco from 2 to 5 May 2023.

The IHO attended the graduation ceremony for the ten Hydrographic Science students at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), USA, on Friday 29 July . Of these, three students from Bangladesh, Philippines, and Thailand were part of the Category "A" Master of Science in Hydrographic Science Programme under the IHO-Republic of Korea (ROK) Programme of Technical Cooperation.