ECDIS- ELECTRONIC

CHART DISPLAY AND

INFORMATION SYSTEM
 An electronic chart display system is a general
term for all electronic equipment that is capable
of displaying a vessels position on a chart image
on a screen (eg:computers screens).
There are two classes of electronic chart display
systems. The first is an ECDIS (Electronic Chart
Display and Information System), which can
meet IMO/SOLAS chart carriage requirements.
The second is an ECS (Electronic Chart System),
which can be used to assist navigation, but does
not meet IMO/SOLAS chart carriage
requirements.
 Where the vessel operates with ECS, the paper
chart remains the official basis for navigation
onboard. The vessel must retain and use a full
folio of up to date paper charts onboard,
regardless of the type of electronic charts used.
Some ECS manufacturers also use the term
RCDS to describe their systems. In this case the
manufacturer is stating that the system uses
RNCs and possibly that it has the same
functionality as required by the ECDIS
Performance Standards. However, such systems
cannot be used to meet carriage requirements.
Which are differences between ECS
and ECDIS ?
???

ECS-Electronic Chart System This is an

approved display system which can display a
Raster Chart (paper chart scanned) or an non
approved vectorial chart and all other
informations from different sensors as logs , AIS
, anemometer , echo-sounder , main engine ,
rudder , radar etc.This system is a non-
compliant SOLAS system and his purpose is to
be an aid to navigator.
 ECS-Electronic Chart System

ECS is a navigation information system

that electronically displays vessel position
and relevant nautical chart data and
information from an ECS Database on a
display screen, but does not meet all the
IMO requirements for ECDIS and is not
intended to satisfy the SOLAS Chapter V
requirements to carry a navigational chart.
 ???

ECDIS-Electronic Chart Display and Information

System This is an approved system which is
able to display an approved vectorial chart and
the other informations provided by the vessels
sensors as logs , echo-sounders , AIS , main
engine , radar , rudder etc. This system is an aid
for navigator and is compliant with all SOLAS
requirements.
 ECDIS Electronic Chart Display
and Information System
Electronic Chart Display and Information
System (ECDIS) means a navigation
information system which, with adequate
back up arrangements, can be accepted
as complying with the up-to-date chart
required by regulation V/19 & V/27 of the
1974 SOLAS Convention.
 What is a
nautical chart or
nautical
publication ?
Nautical chart or nautical publication is a special-purpose
map or book, or a specially compiled database from which
such a map or book is derived, that is issued officially by or
on the authority of a Government, authorized Hydrographic
Office or other relevant government institution and is
designed to meet the requirements of marine navigation.
Nautical charts can be distributed in analogue form, as
paper charts or digitally, and are available from a variety of
sources, both governmental and private. Nautical charts and
nautical publications, such as sailing directions, lists of
lights, notices to mariners, tide tables and all other nautical
publications necessary for the intended voyage, shall be
adequate and up to date.
What means official nautical charts
and unofficial nautical charts ?

An official chart means the charts issued

by or on the Authority of a Government,
authorized Hydrographic Office or other
relevant government institutions. Those
charts are official and may be used to
fulfill carriage requirements (provided they
are kept up to date).
 All other nautical charts are by definition not
official and are often referred to as private
charts. These charts are not accepted as the
basis for navigation under the SOLAS
convention.
There are two kinds of official digital charts
commonly available; Electronic Navigational
Charts (ENC) and Raster Navigational Charts
(RNC).
 What is the difference between
Raster Chart and ENC (electronic
navigation chart) ?
First the Raster Chart is the result of a
paper chart scanned and transformed
digitally.
The second ENC is a vectorial chart made
piece by piece inserting inside in a data
base all information regarding depths
lights , dangers , coast line etc.
Example of Raster Navigation Chart

Raster Navigation Charts (RNC) does not

meet SOLAS requirements and cannot be
used as primer source for
navigation.Allways should be used in
conjunction with paper charts.
 RNC means Raster Navigational Chart.
RNCs are digital raster copies of official
paper charts conforming to IHO Product
Specifications RNC (S-61). By definition
RNCs can only be issued by, or on the
authority of, a national Hydrographic Office.
RNCs have the following attributes:
RNCs are a facsimile of official paper
charts;
RNCs are produced according to
international standards;
RNC content is the responsibility of the
issuing Hydrographic Office; and
RNCs are regularly updated with official
update information distributed digitally.
 Regulation V/19 & V/27 of the 1974
SOLAS Convention

The IMO performance standards for ECDIS

states that where ENCs are not available, RNCs
may be used in ECDIS to meet carriage
requirements. However, when the ECDIS is using
RNCs it should be used together with an
appropriate folio of up to date paper charts.
Because of their nature, RNCs when used in
ECDIS do not provide the same level of
functionality that is provided by ENCs; the
limitations of operating with RNCs are outlined in
IMO SN Circulars 207 and 255
 Example of Electronic Navigation
Chart

ENC are meeting SOLAS requirements and

can be used as primer source for navigation
in conjunction with adequate back up and
to be an official chart.
 Regulation V/19 & V/27 of the 1974
SOLAS Convention

ENC stands for Electronic Navigational

Chart. The term was originally introduced
for digital chart data complying with the
IHO chart data transfer standard S-57. By
IMO definition ENCs can only be produced
by or on the authority of a government,
authorised Hydrographic Office or other
relevant government institution. Any other
vector data is unofficial and does not meet
carriage requirements.
 ENCs have the following attributes:
ENC content is based on source data or
official charts of the responsible
Hydrographic Office;
ENCs are compiled and coded
according to international standards;
ENCs are referred to World Geodetic
System 1984 Datum (WGS84);
ENC content is the responsibility and
liability of the issuing Hydrographic
Office;
ENCs are issued only by the responsible
Hydrographic Office; and
- ENCs are regularly updated with official
update information distributed digitally.
 How can I distinguish Official ENC
from unofficial ENC ?
You dont have to do nothing. Any ECDIS
distinguishes an ENC from unofficial data. When
unofficial data is used, ECDIS informs mariners
that they must navigate by means of an official,
up to date, paper chart by a continuous warning
on the screen.
If unofficial data is shown on the ECDIS display,
its boundary is to be identified by a special line
style. This boundary is visualized as a one-
sided RED line with the diagonal stroke on the
unofficial side of the line.
ENC

UNOFFICIAL DATA
 What means unofficial data for
ENC?
On the market there are other sources to
supply ECDIS with ENC data cheaper and
some manufacturers like TRANSAS they
can supply together with electronically
equipment also ENC made by TRANSAS
but unofficial. This method is easier and
more convenient for customers which
does not intend to have on their vessels 2
independent ECDIS but they are running
with paper charts.
 How can we purchase ENCs and
from where?
???

The International Hydrographic Organisation

(IHO) provides an interactive web catalogue
(www.iho.int) displaying the status of worldwide
ENC production. This system has pointers for
guiding users to ENC suppliers and distributors.
A three-colour scheme is used to distinguish
between degrees of accessibility.
This catalogue shows that many common
shipping routes are already covered by ENCs.
 The illustration above shows the front page of
the catalogue, which can be found at the IHO
web-site at www.iho.int, look under ENC.
Some HOs (eg Canada and Australia) make their
RNCs and ENCs available to users via their own
distributor networks; these distributors often
offer additional folio services to shipping
companies.
 A majority of all ENCs are only made available to
the end-users in a protected form compliant with
the IHO S-63 Data Protection scheme. The
standard maintains the integrity in all
transactions between the service provider and
the end-user. The protection scheme enables the
end user systems to check the authenticity of
the supplied information.
The S-63 protection scheme defines a
mechanism for encrypting ENC information and
applying a digital signature to enable
authentication of the chart data by the end-user.
The end-user will require a decryption key to
access and view the ENC data protected by the
scheme.
 Each ENC chart is encrypted with a different key,
and the decryption keys are issued to specific
end-user systems and can consequently not be
exchanged or shared by different systems. The
required decryption keys are distributed to the
end-users as Cell Permits by the service
provider.
The operation of a protection scheme should not
add any operational overhead for the end-users
since all aspects of ENC decryption and
authentication are handled automatically by the
chart system. The end-user will occasionally
receive new Cell Permits from their service
provider when their ENC subscription is renewed
or there are changes to the ENC chart outfit.
The updated Cell Permits must be imported into
the chart system to enable it to automatically
process new ENC deliveries and updates.
 A majority of all ECDIS and ECS suppliers have
developed support for IHO S-63 and can read protected
ENCs.
A few nations distribute their ENCs without using
encryption; all ECDIS systems are able to access and
display these ENCs.
All ENCs can be purchased from IHO or other national
hydrographic office (British Admiralty) sites paying the
access key. This key is sent via internet as e-mail , CD or
letter.
Once the key is introduced in the system the needed
charts will be available and can be displayed in the
ECDIS screen
 The other non-official ENCs are approved to be
sent for internal users of ECDIS manufacturers
and are called as SENC.
SENC title comes from System-ENC.
As an example if your company brought as
Transas ECDIS she can buy as well ENCs from
Transas but those are unofficial ENCs.This charts
are only internal and are named SENC.
How we keep up to date ENCs and
Raster Charts ?
As you maybe know there are NM (notices to
mariners) which are issued every week. Same it
will work with all electronic charts either ENC or
Raster Chart.
The Hydrographic Office from where is
purchased your charts will issue NM weekly and
via internet as zip e-mail , CD or other meaning
up-dates will reach you and you have to insert
CD or floppy disk or other support into ECDIS
and the system will be up-dated and all data
base.
An confirmation message should appear on the
screen and on the charts which were up-dated
will appear the latest correction.
 At present most ENC and RNC updates are
supplied to ships on CD but remote updating
using satellite (or, when in port, shore based)
telecommunications is becoming more and
more common. A number of ENC service
providers already have updating services using
e-mail and web and other means; details may
be obtained from ENC distributors. Port State
Control officers may use the ECDIS listing to
ensure that ENCs are being kept up to date in
accordance with SOLAS V Regulation 27.
How do we know that our ECDIS is
an approved system or not ?
To ensure that ECDIS equipment intended for onboard
use is seaworthy, it must pass type approval and test
procedures developed by the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) based on the ECDIS
Performance Standards of IMO and applying the IHO
requirements, S-52 and S-57 in particular.
Type approval is a method to show conformance with
IMO requirements on a legal basis it is initiated and
required by all Flag States which are Member States of
the European Union and by many others outside
including United States, Japan and Australia. ECDIS type
approval is the certifications process that ECDIS
equipment must undergo before it will be considered to
comply with the IMO Performance Standards for ECDIS
by the international shipping community.
.
 Type approval is normally conducted by recognized
organisations or by marine classification societies
nominated by Flag States. Some maritime nations also
have type approval programs within their maritime safety
administration or Department of Marine Transportation.
European Governments have agreed about mutual
recognition of their ECDIS type approval certificates
indicated by the so-called Wheel Mark sign showing
conformity with the Maritime Equipment Directive of the
European Union.
 Till now we establish the rules that are
guiding differences between ECDIS , ECS ,
ENC , SENC and Raster Charts.
But which are the rules of carriage of such
equipment ? Can we sail only with ECDIS
and how can we do that if it is possible?
 Which are the requirements of
ECDIS carriage ?
Only a type approved ECDIS operating
with up to date ENCs and with appropriate
back up may be used to replace all paper
charts on a vessel. Where ENCs are not
yet available, IMO regulations allow Flag
States to authorise the use of RNCs
(together with an appropriate folio of
paper charts) Note that in all other cases
the vessel must carry all paper charts
necessary for its intended voyage.
 In order to replace paper charts, such systems
must fulfil considerable technical requirements
laid down in ECDIS Performance Standards:
- The chart data in use must be official - ENCs
where these are available;
- The graphic display on the screen must meet
the equipment-independent specification;
The equipment must support the full range of
navigational functions that can be performed on
the traditional paper charts.
 No electronic system is completely failsafe. IMO
Performance Standards therefore require that
the overall system include both a primary
ECDIS and an adequate independent back up
arrangement that provides:
Independent facilities enabling a safe take over
of the ECDIS functions in order to ensure that a
system failure does not result in a critical
situation; and
A means to provide for safe navigation for the
remaining part of the voyage in case of ECDIS
failure.
 Which are the possibilities for
backing up ECDIS ?

There are two commonly accepted options only

for ECDIS running with official ENCs:
A second ECDIS, connected to an independent
power supply and a separate GPS position input;
An appropriate up to date folio of official paper
charts for the intended voyage
Some Flag States may permit other options (e.g.
radar-based systems such as Chart-Radar).
Ship owners should consult their national
maritime administration for specific advice.
If we have on board only Raster Chart or non-
official ENC it is compulsory to have paper chart
folios.
 Depending on the Flag States agreement,
such arrangements may include:
An ECDIS system using ENCs with an
independent power supply
An appropriate folio of corrected up to
date paper charts for the present voyage
A Raster Chart Display System (RCDS),
also known as an Electronic Chart System
(ECS) using Raster Navigational Charts
(RNCs), with an independent power
supply
An RCDS using ENCs
 What we gonna do if there is an
area not covered by ENC but we
are running 2 independent ECDIS
systems ?
Indeed IHO is recognizing that not all areas are
covered by ENCs and if we are sailing with 2
independent ECDIS then it is allowed to run
Raster Charts and in this case ECDIS will be
running as RCDS (raster chart display system)
However, this is only allowed if approved by the
Flag State. The intention of those changes was
to allow the ECDIS to operate as far as possible
on official chart data; ENCs where they were
available and RNCs to fill in the gaps.
 IMO took note of the limitations of RNCs as
compared to ENCs (see IMO SN Circular 207 at
Annex), and the revised ECDIS Performance
Standards require that the ECDIS must be used
together with an appropriate folio of up to date
paper charts for the areas where RCDS mode is
employed. As there is no common interpretation
of the term appropriate ship owners should
consult their Flag State as to whether RCDS
mode is allowed and under what conditions.
 Which are PSC requirements ?

Ships arriving at a port may be subject to Port

State control by local officials based on Flag
State regulations and international agreements.
Nations have formed a number of regional
groups to ensure consistent application of Port
State controls.
In Europe the Port State control acts on the
regulations set out in the Paris Memorandum of
Understanding. Its ECDIS guidelines explain how
a PSCO should assess whether a ship is using
electronic charts in accordance with SOLAS
requirements. Checks may include whether:
 The ship has documentation indicating that the
system complies with IMO Performance
Standards for ECDIS. In the absence of such
documentation, the PSCO should seek
confirmation from the Flag State that the system
does meet the statutory requirements;
The system is being used for primary navigation.
It should be established if ECDIS is used in the
ENC mode or RCDS mode or in both modes;
 There are written procedures onboard the vessel for
using ECDIS;
The master and watch-keeping officers are able to
produce appropriate documentation that generic and
type-specific ECDIS familiarisation has been undertaken;
The charts used for the intended voyage are the latest
official editions;
The charts in use are updated; and
There are approved back up arrangements available to
ensure a safe transfer of the ECDIS functions in the
event of ECDIS failure and to provide safe navigation for
the remaining part of the voyage.
Do we need
compulsory training
to operate ECDIS ?
The IMO Resolution MSC. 282 (86) on
amendments to SOLAS, include the
mandatory carriage of ECDIS for certain
ships, including passenger ships, tankers
and other cargo ships. These amendments
entered into force on 01 January 2011.
Implementation dates for mandatory
carriage of ECDIS for these vessels will be
phased commencing 01 July 2012.
 Effective 01 January 2012, training in safe
navigation using ECDIS will be a mandatory
requirement in the 2010 amendments to
International Convention on Standards of
Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for
Seafarers, 1978 (STCW) and the Seafarers
Training, Certification and Watch-keeping
Seafarers Code (STCW Code) for all officers
serving on vessels fitted with ECDIS.
Guidance on training and assessment in the
operational use of ECDIS is provided in paragraphs
36 ~ 65 of the 2010 STCW Code Part B-1/12.
 Which are the objectives for ECDIS
training ?

The overall objective of ECDIS training is to

enhance navigation safety. In rather general
terms, this includes:
Safe operation of the ECDIS equipment
Use of navigational functions of route planning
and monitoring
Proper action in case of any malfunction
Proper use of ECDIS-related information
Selection, display, and interpretation of relevant
information
 Ambiguities of data management (datum)
Assessment of alarms and indications
Awareness of ECDIS-related limitations
Errors of displayed data and their interpretation
Real and potential limitations
Over-reliance on ECDIS
Knowledge of legal aspects and responsibilities
related to electronic charts
Awareness of the status of ECDIS and ECS; of
official and non-official data
Limitations of RCDS mode
 Which are the
differences between
ECDIS and RCDS ?
The mariners' attention is therefore drawn to the
following limitations of the RCDS mode:
1 unlike ECDIS where there are no chart boundaries,
RCDS is a chart-based system similarto a portfolio of
paper charts;
2 Raster navigational chart (RNC) data, itself, will not
trigger automatic alarms(e.g. anti-grounding). However,
some alarms can be generated by the RCDS fromuser-
inserted information. These can include:-clearing lines-
ship safety contour lines-isolated dangers-danger areas.
3 horizontal datums and chart projections may differ
between RNCs. Mariners shouldunderstandhow the chart
horizontal datum relates to the datum of the position
fixingsystem. In some instances, this may appear as a
shift in position. This difference may bemost noticeable
at grid intersections and during route monitoring;.
 4 chart features cannot be simplified or removed
to suit a particular navigational circumstance or
task at hand. This could affect the
superimposition of radar/ARPA;
5 without selecting different scale charts, the
look-ahead capability may be somewhat limited.
This may lead to some inconvenience when
determining range and bearing or the identity of
distant objects;
 6 orientation of the RCDS display to other than
chart-up, may affect the readability of charttext
and symbols (e.g., course-up, route-up);
7 it may not be possible to interrogate RNC
features to gain additional information about
charted objects;.
 8 it is not possible to display a ship's safety
contour or safety depth and highlight it on the
display, unless these features are manually
entered during route planning;
9 depending on the source of the RNC, different
colours may be used to show similar
chartinformation. There may also be differences
in colours used during day and night time;
 10 an RNC should be displayed at the scale of the
paper chart. Excessive zooming in or zooming out
can seriously degrade RCDS capability, for example,
by degrading the legibility of the chart image; and.
11 mariners should be aware that in confined
waters, the accuracy of chart data (i.e., papercharts,
ENC or RNC data) may be less than that of the
position-fixing system in use. This may be the case
when using differential GNSS. ECDIS provides an
indication in the ENC which allows a determination
of the quality of the data.
 Voyage planning.

Voyage Planning is different on an ECDIS

compared to a paper chart. There are a number
of available features, such as safety contours,
alarms, click-and-drop facilities for waypoints
and markers, etc. While it is still possible to
make errors in Voyage Plans (VPs) they are likely
to be different in type from the errors most
frequently observed on paper charts.
Consideration should be given to developing a
best practise for ECDIS VPs.
Issues such as which chart types are available in
the ECDIS for the segments of the voyage
should be considered.
 The process analysis should also cover the
situations where vessels are operating ECDIS in
addition to traditional paper charts, where VPs
are drawn on paper charts as well as
programmed on the ECDIS.
The VP format should be considered. The
existing formats in use may not have been
drawn up with ECDIS in mind, and a VP format
produced by the ECDIS may not fulfil the needs
of the company. How should an ECDIS VP be
backed up during voyage execution, in case the
ECDIS must be reset or the navigation sensors
fail?
 Approving Voyage
Planning

VP validation or approval presents another set of

new considerations.
Validating a VP made on an ECDIS is different
from validating a paper chart based plan. The
plan may also have to deal with issues such as
the planned settings of the equipment and the
alarms. It requires a different mindset to review
a paper plan than it does to review a plan made
on a computer. It is comparable to the difference
between reading a complex paper on a PC
compared to reading papers in hard copy.
 Bridge Team
Communicating to
Other officers.
VP presentation or communication to other Officers
must also be considered. Once a VP has been
prepared and approved it should be communicated
to the other Officers. The communication of the VP
will in many ways be similar to the approval.
However, it is an issue, which requires separate
attention to ensure that all bridge Officers are
properly prepared for the intended voyage.
Communication of the VP could cover the
presentation to the bridge Officers at the beginning
of the voyage as well as the Officers review of the
part of the voyage likely to be sailed during a watch.
 Voyage execution
The voyage execution impacts on various bridge
procedures, and the consequence of the new
procedures introduced with the ECDIS should be
analysed and appreciated. It concerns e.g.
issues such as the changing of the watch and
the settings of the equipment. VPs may be
stored and shared between several users or
ships. It is possible for an Officer with a few
keystrokes to print and present a complete and
comprehensive VP possibly made for a vessel
with different
 characteristics.VPs can be sent ashore for
approval or for the creation of a VP bank.
Although the sharing of VPs may be
economically attractive, there may be legal
and other considerations
 Where vessels carry an ECDIS in addition to a
paper charts.
In those situations the role of the ECDIS and the
charts should be considered.
If the ECDIS is used for real time navigation, the
statutory requirements regarding monitoring of
the progress of the voyage and marking of
positions
should be considered.
 Example :
Are positions marked in paper charts solely for
record keeping purposes?
What steps are taken to ensure that intended tracks
marked on the paper charts correspond with the
ECDIS information?
Are all persons concerned with the navigation of the
vessel using the sameequipment according to the
bridge procedures?
 Until all the world is covered by
ENCs, it is most likely that most
vessels to some degree will have
to operate a dual or triple
system with paper, rasterand
vector charts.
 Changing the watch

It should be possible for the Officer taking over the

watch to look through the intended track on an ECDIS in
preparation to take over the watch at the same time as
the equipment is in use for manoeuvring in confined
water or in dense traffic conditions.
Considerations should include:
the degree of details regarding the settings of the
equipment to be covered in handing over the watch,the
amount of time to be allocated to the change of
watch,the considerable number of possible settings on
an ECDIS which often requires that a range of sub-
menues are called up,whether the verification of settings
above impacts on the availability of the system for
navigation purposes
 Consideration should be given to which ECDIS settings
shall be dictated by the bridge procedures, and which
settings should be left to the Officer to decide upon. For
most settings the degree of freedom and the level of
authority should be considered, for instance in relation to
the following items:
Statutory requirements
Corporate procedures and guidelines
Masters standing orders
VP recommendations
Officer of the Watch preferences
Day or night
 The human element must also be appreciated. While
young navigators will often be quick to explore the
ECDIS and learn the details, the older and more
experienced senior officers may be more reluctant
users.
The danger is that electronic navigation becomes an
exercise that is controlled by those with a flair for
computers rather than those with experience in
navigation. On the other hand young officers may rely
too much on the electronic systems, and forget to
cross check the informationgiven. Procedures and
training programmes may be designed to
accommodate these concerns. The degree of
familiarisation training required for the various staff
positions onboard should be considered. The approval
of a VP requires equivalentknowledge of the system to
that expected of the person doing the planning.
What level of familiarisation is required of a newly
assigned watch officerbefore that person is allowed to
stand individual watches?
Safety depths
 How we choose a
safe depth ?
Safety Depth: Value set by the mariner that is used by
ECDIS to portray soundings as black if they are equal to
or shoaler than the value and gray if they are deeper.
Safety Contour Depth: Value set by the mariner that
is used by ECDIS to select a Safety Contour from
among the depth contours available in the SENC that is
equal to or deeper than the value.
Safety Contour: A specific depth contour set by ECDIS.
It demarks the boundary between safe-water and
shallow water with an extra wide isoline and is used to
give an alarm if the ship, within a time specified by the
mariner, is going to cross the safety contour. It is also
used to determine the tints used for depth areas and for
other purposes.
 ECDIS allows the mariner to set the Safety
Depth and the Safety Contour Depth
independently.
The mariner sets the Safety Contour Depth
equal to the Vessel Safety Draft, which is
calculated as: Vessel Safety Draft = Vessel
Draft + Dynamic Squat + Safety Margin
Depths are considered safe if they are equal to
or deeper than the Safety Contour Depth.
Depths shoaler than the Safety Contour Depth
are considered unsafe.