Standards in Force

Introduction

SOLAS regulations V/18 and V/19, requires that in order to achieve chart carriage requirements (in terms of SOLAS), the ECDIS equipment must conform to the relevant IMO performance standards. ECDIS units on board  are  required  to  comply  with  one  of  two  performance  standards  (either  IMO resolution A.817(19), as amended; or resolution MSC.232(82)), depending on the date of their installation.

Additional guidance for mariners regarding electronic charts, carriage requirements and ECDIS can be found in IHO Publication S-66 - Facts About Electronic Charts and Carriage Requirements. This Publication can be downloaded from the Standards and Specifications page; and consists of a number of interrelated sections:

  • Information on IHO Standards related to ENC and ECDIS
  • Regulations regarding charts;
  • General facts about ENCs and RNCs;
  • General facts about ECDIS;
  • ECDIS and Port State control;
  • Operational use of ECDIS and electronic charts;
  • Accuracy of depth information in ENCs;
  • Information on ENC Generalization, Over-Scaling and Safety Checking Functions in ECDIS;
  • Distribution of ENCs and RNCs; and
  • ECDIS and ENC cyber security.

Where an ECDIS is being used to meet the chart carriage requirements of SOLAS, it must:

  • be type-approved;
  • use up to date electronic navigational charts (ENC);
  • be maintained  so  as  to  be  compatible  with  the  latest  applicable IHO standards; and
  • have adequate, independent back-up arrangements in place.

The following ENC and ECDIS related Standards apply.  These Standards can be downloaded from the Standards and Specifications page.

Latest IHO Standards that Apply to ECDIS Equipment and Data
(Last updated - 21 February 2021)
 Edition in Force  Title

 S-57 Edition 3.1, November 2000

 See Note 1

  IHO Transfer Standard for Digital Hydrographic Data.

 S-52 Edition 6.1.(1), October 2014 (with Clarifications up to June 2015)

 See Note 2

  Specifications for Chart Content and Display Aspects of ECDIS

 S-52 (Annex A) Edition 4.0.(3), October 2014 (with Clarifications up to December 2020)

 See Note 2

  IHO ECDIS Presentation Library

 S-64 Edition 3.0.(3), December 2020

 See Note 2

  IHO Test Data Sets for ECDIS

 S-61 Edition 1.0, January 1999

 See Note 3

  Product Specification for Raster Navigational Charts (RNC)

 S-63 Edition 1.2.(1), March 2020

 See Note 2 & 4

 IHO Data Protection Scheme
 Note 1: Edition 3.1 should be used in conjunction with: Supplement 3 (June 2014); and Maintenance Document 8 (Clarifications which are also classified as corrections should not be applied).
 Note 2: -  The up-to-datedness of the ECDIS in regard to the installation of the latest Edition of the Standards is represented by the first 2 digits of the Edition number. The 3rd digit of the Edition number (in brackets) indicates a clarification version of the Standard; clarifications have no impact on safety of navigation or ECDIS performance.
              -  These Editions are the normative references for the type approval of ECDIS systems referring to the 4th edition of IEC61174 (2015). Despite the care taken in preparing these New Editions, their effective implementation may reveal imperfections. Please use the change proposal form to report any change that may be required.
 Note 3: Only if ECDIS software supports RCDS mode.

 Note 4: The changes to edition 1.1.0 (2008) introduced in the subsequent versions are as follows:
 - Edition 1.1.1 (April 2012): The changes affect the manufacturer identifier (M_ID). They are transparent for the end user.
 - Edition 1.2.0 (January 2015): An additional Annex C is added to Edition 1.1.1 to provide a normative reference for the ENC update status report. Compliance with this new Annex applies only to those ECDIS systems that are type-approved in accordance with the 4th Edition of IEC61174 (2015). There is no retrospective impact on ECDIS systems which have been type-approved earlier.
 - Edition 1.2.1 (March 2020): Includes a minor clarification to Edition 1.2.0 providing guidance to more formally structure the README.TXT file at section 6.6.  There is no impact from this clarification on ECDIS systems or ECDIS type-approval.

 


(In addition to the Standards listed above) - > Latest IHO Standards that apply to ENC Producers (Hydrographic Offices)
 Edition in force   Title
 S-11 Part A Edition 3.1.0, February 2018  Guidance for the Preparation and Maintenance of International (INT) Chart and ENC Schemes
 S-58 Edition 8.0.0, October 2024  ENC Validation Checks
 S-62 Current Edition  Data Producer Codes
 S-65 Edition 2.1.0, May 2017  ENCs: Production, Maintenance and Distribution Guidance

 

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Last modified: 31/10/2024 - 11:57