National Maritime Policies and Hydrographic Services

This article is a summary of the IHO Publication M-2 "National Maritime Policies and Hydrographic Services", published by the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB), Monaco, and is intended to provide an overview of the rationale for a national hydrographic service. It describes the benefits which accrue to many aspects of national development. It also suggests how a national hydrographic service should be established, how to define individual national requirements, and how to decide upon the necessary resource levels.

I - THE NEED FOR A HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE

The development of a national maritime policy requires a basic knowledge of the geographical, geological and geophysical features of the sea-bed and coast, as well the currents, tides and certain physical properties of the sea water; all of this data must then be correctly processed so that the nature of the sea bottom, its geographical relationship with the land and the characteristics and dynamics of the ocean can be accurately depicted in all zones of national shipping.

An adequate national maritime policy, designed to achieve the economic benefits necessary for the development of a nation, includes some items related to environment in which the maritime activity takes place. These items are:

• safe and efficient operation of maritime traffic control;
• coastal zone management;
• exploration and exploitation of marine resources;
• environmental protection;
• maritime defence.

To adequately address these areas, it is necessary to create a Hydrographic Service. The Hydrographic Service, through systematic data collection carried out on the coast and at sea, produces and disseminates information in support of maritime navigation safety and marine environmental preservation, defence and exploitation.

In most maritime countries governments have set up a national Hydrographic Service. In certain other countries the governments may have not appreciated the advantages to be gained from the provision of such a service. Recently, when revising the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) found that it was necessary to make this an explicit obligation in the new SOLAS text. The new draft text of Chapter V, Regulation 9 of SOLAS specifies very clearly the hydrographic services which have to be provided by Contracting Governments.

DRAFT TEXT OF REGULATION 9 - CHAPTER V OF SOLAS

Hydrographic Services

1. Contracting Governments undertake to arrange for the collection and compilation of hydrographic data and the publication, dissemination and keeping up to date of all nautical information necessary for safe navigation.
2. In particular, Contracting Governments undertake to co-operate in carrying out, as far as possible, the following nautical and hydrographic services, in the manner most suitable for the purpose of aiding navigation:

2.1. to ensure that hydrographic surveying is carried out, as far as possible, adequate to the requirements of safe navigation;

2.2. to prepare and issue official nautical charts, sailing directions, lists of lights, tide tables and other official nautical publications, where applicable, satisfying the needs of safe navigation;

2.3. to promulgate notices to mariners in order to keep official nautical charts and publications, as far as possible, up to date;

2.4. to provide data management arrangements to support these services.

3. Contracting Governments undertake to ensure the greatest possible uniformity in charts and nautical publications and to take into account, whenever possible, the relevant international resolutions and recommendations.*
4. Contracting Governments undertake to co-ordinate their activities to the greatest possible degree in order to ensure that hydrographic and nautical information is made available on a world-wide scale as timely, reliably and unambiguously as possible.

The Fifty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly approved, in November 1998, Resolution A 53/32 under Agenda item 38 (a) "Oceans and the Law of the Sea".

The role that a Hydrographic Service is called upon to play in each of the areas mentioned above is discussed below.

Efficient and Safe Maritime Transport Control

More than 80% of international trade in the world is carried by sea. Maritime commerce is a basic element of a nation's economy. Many areas and ports in the world do not have accurate nor adequate nautical chart coverage. Modern nautical charts are required for safe navigation through a country's waters and along coasts and to enter its ports. A lack of adequate nautical charts prevents the development of maritime trade in the waters and ports of the concerned nations.

The shipping industry needs efficiency and safety. Poorly charted areas and the associated lack of information can cause voyages to be longer than necessary, and may prevent the optimum loading of ships, thus increasing costs. The saving of time and money resulting from the use of shorter and deeper routes and the potential to use larger ships or load ships more deeply may produce important economic benefits for national industry and commerce.

The high quality maps and charts produced and continually updated and distributed by a Hydrographic Service are essential to this process. These charts, resulting from modern hydrographic surveys, are vital to enable today's larger vessels to navigate through national waters and to enter previously unaccessible ports, thus playing an essential role in the creation of income for coastal nations.

Coastal Zone Management

Adequate coastal zone management includes items such as construction of new ports and the maintenance and development of existing ones; dredging operations to maintain charted depths and to establish, monitor and improve channels; control of coastal erosion; land reclamation from the sea; establishment and monitoring of dumping grounds for industrial waste; extraction of mineral deposits; aquacultural activities; transportation and public works projects including the construction of near-shore infrastructures.

Precise large-scale surveys provide the primary data essential for projects involving all of the items mentioned above. Due to the frequent and rapid changes to which shorelines are subjected, these surveys must be updated at a frequency dictated by monitoring and analysis process. The information about the coastal zone collected by Hydrographic Offices provides essential input to coastal zone GIS (Geographic Information Systems) which are increasingly being used for better overall management and decision-making with regard to conflicting uses within the coastal region. The use of hydrographic information now stretches beyond the traditional seafaring user group, to include government agencies, coastal managers, engineers and scientists.

Exploration and exploitation of marine resources

Although primarily intended to support safety of navigation, the extensive databases amassed by Hydrographic Offices, together with their various products and services, are of considerable economic value in assisting the management and exploitation of natural marine resources. In recent years, it has become more evident that inadequate hydrographic services not only restrict the growth of maritime trade but also lead to costly delays in resource exploration.

The United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) entered into force in November 1994. Signatory nations have 10 years in which to submit claims for boundary extensions beyond 200 nautical miles (not to exceed 350 nautical miles) based on bathymetry (2500 metre depth curve), change in slope of the continental shelf and geology. Hydrographic Offices are the only organizations with the competence to provide the baseline information from which marine boundaries are delineated in order to establish the sovereignty limits of the world's maritime nations. The charts of national Hydrographic Offices are recognized as the official source for such information. This provides an extraordinary economic incentive for coastal nations to develop their marine resources through the co-ordinated use of hydrographic data and data from other marine sources, such as geological data.

Coastal and offshore sedimentary areas may contain mineral deposits, in particular hydrocarbons, which require adequate surveys in order to be identified. If the existence of these hydrocarbons is confirmed, it will almost certainly result in the development of a hydrocarbon production industry by the coastal nation. This in turn raises other issues including interpretation of the sea floor morphology, navigation safety for the transportation of these hazardous cargoes, safety of offshore platforms and related sea floor transmission systems and the placement of production wells and the laying of pipelines. Bathymetric, tidal and meteorological data provided by a Hydrographic Service are fundamental elements in the development of a hydrocarbon industry.

The fishing industry is also a source of wealth. Fishermen require marine information not only for the safe navigation of their vessels but also for safe deployment of their fishing gear, in order to prevent costly losses. Oceanographic charts, compiled and produced by Hydrographic Offices, are now also being used extensively by the fishing industry.

In order to provide optimum access to a wide variety of bodies, all data should be captured and stored with integration into a GIS in mind.

Environment Protection and Management

An essential factor for the protection of the environment is safe and accurate navigation. Pollution resulting from wrecks and oil spills are a major damaging factor, the economic consequences of which are more devastating than is commonly imagined, but which, in some cases, have been estimated at US$3 billion for a single incident.

The value of navigation services in the protection of the marine environment has been internationally recognized. In this respect, the recent first meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans Affairs recognized the importance of Hydrography for fisheries and the management, research and development of the marine environment.

Marine Science

Marine science depends to a large extent on bathymetric information. Global tide and circulation models, local and regional models for a wide variety of scientific studies, marine geology/geophysics, the deployment/placement of scientific instrumentation and many other aspects of marine science depend on bathymetry provided by Hydrographic Services.

Other

Many other applications of hydrography are found in the fields of maritime defence, tourism and recreational boating and other areas.

II - THE NATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC

FRAMEWORK

The roles of a Hydrographic Service

These roles are as follows :

1. To collect, with systematic surveys at sea and along the coast, geo-referenced data related to:
• coastal configuration, including man-made infrastructures for maritime navigation (aids to navigation and port configuration);
• depths of the sea in areas of national interest (including all potential hazards to navigation and other marine activities);
• sea bottom composition;
• tides and currents;
• physical properties of the water column.
2. To process the information collected in order to create organized databases which may be utilized in the production of thematic maps, nautical charts and other types of documentation for the following applications:
• maritime navigation (and traffic control);
• naval operations;
• coastal management and defence;
• marine environmental preservation;
• exploitation of marine resources and laying of submarine cables/pipelines;
• maritime boundary definition (Law of the Sea implementation);
• scientific studies connected to the sea and near-shore zone.
3. To update the databases through re-survey when and where necessary, gathering supplementary information from other maritime authorities.
4. To ensure the production, distribution and updating of charts and maps.
5. To ensure the timely dissemination of maritime safety information.

The creation of a Hydrographic Service

Owing to reasons of economy, lack of trained personnel, hydrographic equipment and other important pre-requisites, a Hydrographic Service cannot be created immediately. Usually, it is the result of a Technical Cooperation project, either established within the framework of international organizations involved, such as the IHO, IMO or UN, or by bilateral arrangements between countries, under the development of an Aid Protocol.

A Technical Report must be prepared as a first step and will form the basis from which the Project of Establishment itself must be drawn up. This report should contain a description of the current Hydrographic situation in the country. It should include, basic statistics such as the length of the coastline, the number of principal and secondary ports, the number of existing charts for national waters, the aids to navigation available, the date of the latest hydrographic surveys carried out and details of those bodies (if any) undertaking hydrographic activities. It should also assess the perceived present and future hydrographic requirements of the country.

Authority

It is necessary to determine the appropriate governmental authority to which a future hydrographic service will report. This authority must approve the organizational structure and the posts resulting from this structure, including status and salaries. In many countries, the Hydrographic Service is part of the national Navy. However, some countries have found it convenient to create their Service under the auspices of their Ministry for Transportation or Fisheries or a Port Authority or even as the Ministry responsible for Land Survey.

In addition it is also important to determine the infrastructure required (building, communications etc.) and an adequate national budget must also be identified.

Since many departments and ministries have an interest in the hydrographic programme, it is desirable to set up a National Coordinating Committee to approve the Work Programme and priorities and support the budget and long term plans. In many countries, the hydrographic responsibilities are defined in legislation.

III - THE FUNCTIONS OF A HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICE

Products

In essence a Hydrographic Service must provide the following services :

• hydrographic surveys;
• charting;
• other nautical documents (Notices to Mariners, Sailing Directions, Lists of Lights and Tide Tables);
• information for scientific, administrative and economic commercial purposes.

Hydrographic surveys

As explained in Part I, economic development, the establishment of new ports, the increasing size of modern ships, and environmental conditions, such as silting in harbour entrances, result in the necessity for all maritime nations to carry out new surveys and periodical re-surveys in many areas, especially ports, in order to ensure safe navigation.

The establishment and provision of the facilities necessary to carry out surveys of ports, approaches and other areas which may be identified as critical for safety in navigation must be the first step in the establishment of a Hydrographic Service.

The surveying capability of a Hydrographic Service could be developed from a previously existing nucleus, such as a small unit to survey port areas. Surveys of larger offshore areas within the national waters would require a larger and properly equipped vessel, as well as a staff of qualified hydrographic surveyors.

Hydrographic surveying is undergoing fundamental changes in measurement technology. Multibeam acoustic and airborne laser systems now provide almost total seafloor coverage and measurement as compared to the earlier sampling by bathymetric profiles. The capability to position the data precisely in the horizontal plane has been increased enormously by the availability of satellite positioning systems, particularly when augmented by differential techniques. This advance in technology has been particularly significant since navigators are now able to position themselves with greater accuracy than that of the data on which older charts are based. It should be noted, however, that the accuracy and completeness of a hydrographic survey cannot currently reach that of land mapping, owing to technological limitations of imaging systems.

Historically the positioning accuracies required from a survey were largely based on the practical limitations of draughtsmanship at a given scale. Automated data management allows data to be presented at any scale. Therefore the accuracy requirements for positions, recently established by the IHO in the new edition of S-44 (Standards for Hydrographic Surveys), must be a function of the errors contributed by positioning and sounding systems and the likely use of the data.

Best results are achieved in hydrographic surveying when the appropriate procedures and equipment are used in conjunction with the expertise and training of the hydrographic surveyor. The importance of professional judgement cannot be overemphasized.

Charts

Provision of charts

Ideally every Maritime State should be responsible for charting its maritime areas as well as for the distribution of the relevant nautical information. In fact many States do not yet have the appropriate structures and organization required to handle this task. For historical reasons some countries (notably France, Portugal, Spain, UK and USA) have continued to play this role on behalf of the international community for territories which are now independent. This means that they continue to maintain a portfolio of nautical documents which are often the only reference available.

The main service provided by a hydrographic department is the national chart series. The department should therefore have access to a production facility. A production facility has a number of key features including :

• facilities for the compilation of new charts including cartographers and computing equipment;
• facilities for the maintenance and updating of these charts on a weekly basis;
• facilities for the publication of charts in digital and analogue form;
• facilities for compiling and publishing supporting texts such as Sailing Directions, Tide Tables, etc;
• facilities for the distribution of information and products to users around the world.

The National Chart Series are usually published by Hydrographic Services in 3 groups :

1. Small Scale charts are provided for passage planning and for navigation out of sight of land. These charts are typically at scales between 1:10 million and 1:1 million.
2. Medium Scale charts are provided for making landfall and for passage along the coast. These charts are typically at a scale of 1:300,000 or 1:150,000.
3. Large Scale charts are provided for port approaches, ports, and other areas where navigation is constrained by land formations, navigational hazards, traffic density etc.

The number of charts in the national chart series will depend upon the length of the national coastline and the extent of the national Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Often the national chart scheme will be linked to the international chart scheme of the region, compiled by Member States within the International Hydrographic Organization. The purpose of the international chart scheme is to ensure that the needs of international shipping are met in an economical and efficient way by co-ordination of the chart schemes of neighbouring nations.

Facilities for the compilation of charts

Perhaps the most important component in any chart compilation facility is the availability of experienced compilers. These compilers have to be capable of ensuring that the correct information is included in the chart by making a skilled selection from a variety of sources. This requires good judgement based upon an understanding of the needs of the mariner. The compilers must also have the skills to operate the advanced computer systems which are now used for the operation of hydrographic databases and for the compilation of charts in electronic media.

The number of compilers to be employed will depend upon the size of the national chart series. It is an accepted approximation among IHO Member States that a skilled compiler will require up to 6 months to compile a new chart, or to prepare a major revision of an existing chart. This figure is being reduced with the introduction of new compilation and database technology. It is also a generally accepted approximation that charts will require replacement or major revision at intervals of no more than ten years, although some areas with special characteristics will require a different periodicity.

The compilation work is undertaken using computer systems designed for such applications. Such systems are often linked to a database of fundamental data from which specific compilations are derived and they may also be linked to output devices which enable the compilation to be customized to a variety of products such as paper charts, electronic navigational charts and military products, etc.

Distribution arrangements

Developing countries often set up an agreement with the Hydrographic Office (HO) of a developed country close to them for economic, geographical or historical reasons. Normally, this HO has previously taken care of the production of charts for the country and usually has Chart Agents there who are able to supply shipping with the necessary up-to-date charts and other nautical documents.

Such an agreement may be maintained until a competent HO is created, but all countries should be prepared to produce charts of their national waters, with their own data, in order to exercise their national sovereignty.

The updating of nautical charts

It is the responsibility of a Hydrographic Office is to collect all the information on any modifications (e.g. installation of new buoyage, new port facilities, new or newly discovered wrecks, changes in the characteristics of a light or radio-communication service). All Harbour Masters in the country must report without delay, information on changes in the depths of channels alongside piers, new dangers (wrecks, sandbars) and other information in the approaches to their harbours. Such information should be immediately entered on the collection of charts. The information is made available through Notices to Mariners, which keep all navigators informed about possible changes and dangers, and should be broadcast to ensure a rapid and world-wide dissemination to all mariners using the waters (foreign or native, professional or recreational boaters) according to procedures agreed at the international level (IMO and IHO) and adapted to the urgency of the information (see following section on Maritime Safety Information).

The existence of a national body empowered to collect relevant information and to forward it to the authority which handles international distribution is therefore essential, and is required by international agreements.

It is essential that no chart or other nautical document be sold unless it is up-to-date or has been made as safe for navigation as is possible given the state of knowledge available to the producing authority.

Nautical documents

The production of other nautical documents, such as Tide Tables, Sailing Directions and Lists of Lights also requires specialized personnel and adequate means for the collection of relevant data and development of these specific products.

Maritime Information System

Maritime Safety Information (MSI) consists of navigational and meteorological warnings and other urgent safety-related messages. The particular navigational warnings contain information relevant to safe navigation such as:

• casualties and/or changes to Aids to Navigation including radio aids;
• presence of dangerous wrecks;
• presence of large unwieldy tows in congested waters;
• drifting mines;
• areas where Search and Rescue operations are being carried out;
• notices related to ships in distress, overdue or missing ships;
• the presence of newly discovered rocks, shoals, reefs and wrecks dangerous to navigation;
• unexpected alteration or suspension of established routes;
• establishment of offshore structures;
• cable or pipe-laying activities, etc.;
• malfunctioning of radio navigational service and shore-based MSI radio or satellite services;
• special operations e.g. naval exercises, nuclear tests, etc.;
• acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships.

The WORLD-WIDE NAVIGATIONAL WARNING SERVICE or WWNWS was jointly created by IMO/IHO for the promulgation of internationally co-ordinated NAVAREA and coastal warnings and, in 1988, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) was developed by IMO as an automated system designed to improve the dissemination and receipt of MSI, not only by ships at sea but also by pertinent shore-based authorities equipped to render assistance to shipping.

Aids to Navigation

Another element for improving maritime safety is the establishment and maintenance of a suitable number of navigational aids and radio-navigational systems. The Port Authorities in any maritime country have legal responsibilities, among which the following must be stressed :

1. To have placed lights and buoyage in the best position for safe navigation.
2. To have sounded and found the best channel for entrance.
3. To periodically monitor the relevant areas to observe the changes in the seabed (i.e. sandbar migration and sedimentation) which must result in an appropriate relocation of aids to navigation or in a need to re-survey the area.
4. To publish this information in a timely fashion.
   Aids to navigation should be established as soon as the hydrographic characteristics of the area have been determined.

Training of the staff

The selection and training of personnel is a key area which frequently is not fully appreciated, as it is somehow assumed that hydrographic surveyors can be trained in a few months "on the job", or by undergoing a short course at a training centre. Hydrographic Offices and other educational institutions of the IHO Member States have implemented courses in Hydrography, some of them created for students from all over the world, such as those of IMA (Trieste), JICA (Japan) and Goa (India). The programmes are different in length and content but address all aspects of training in Hydrography, the student being required to have a good academic background in mathematics and other related sciences and be proficient in the language in which the training is given.

The IHO, together with the FIG-IHO Advisory Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors, has laid down the minimum level of knowledge and experience considered necessary for hydrographic surveyors, and provides a set of course outlines against which the Board may evaluate courses submitted for recognition.

Information about courses in Hydrography run by IHO Member States is maintained and updated at the IHB through the publication S-47.

Ships and equipment

The facilities for hydrographic surveying are the most expensive facilities in the Hydrographic Service, since they involve the use of specialized vessels which have high capital and operating costs.

Generally it is necessary to have, or to have access to, vessels which are capable of operating for long periods in the national offshore areas and in shallow coastal waters. A combination of ocean going ships and inshore vessels is effective, or ocean going ships fitted with embarked survey launches. Aircraft fitted with LIDAR [laser] systems may also be used.

The survey vessels should be fitted with the equipment necessary for them to execute surveys to the standards laid down in IHO Publication S-44, IHO Standards for Hydrographic Surveys.

The International Hydrographic Organization

It is essential that national Hydrographic Services join an international organization, which will facilitate their work and through which they can have access to international forums where all matters pertaining to their competence are discussed and the latest developments in areas pertaining to Hydrography and related sciences are disseminated and introduced. The international body dealing with all these matters is the International Hydrographic Organization, which is an intergovernmental consultative and technical organization formed through an international Convention with the following objectives :

1. The co-ordination of the activities of national Hydrographic Offices.
2. The greatest possible uniformity in nautical charts and documents.
3. The adoption of reliable and efficient methods of carrying out and exploiting hydrographic surveys.
4. The development of the sciences of the field of hydrography and the techniques employed in descriptive oceanography.

The objective of the IHO is to coordinate the activities of national Hydrographic Offices and continue the Organization's proud history of cooperation in the dissemination of essential marine information (nautical charts, maps and related information) for the safety of navigation, environmental protection, and the many users in marine science and industry. This is achieved by ensuring marine data quality, developing standards, seeking uniformity of products, providing for exchange of technology and technical cooperation/assistance (to advance hydrography and charting), fostering the unencumbered exchange of nautical information between nations, and serving the concerns/needs of national Hydrographic Offices in an effective and efficient manner.