ceag ee eS — ~=Ss sa Admiralty Guide to the Practical Use of ENCs Ned LES altaya vty) ADMIRALTY | ‘=NP231 | i t ADMIRALTY REFERENCE PUBLICATIONS EDITION | 2012 ADMIRALTY GUIDE TO THE PRACTICAL USE OF ENCs Nouces to Mariners Annual Semanent Pein ne Teper NASON (symbotang Asbestos) MPBOIE The Admit Gude 1D ENC Symbols Uses in ECDIS| The Mariner's Hardbook (especally Chapters | & 2 on the acy an lirtations af chart) Sling Directions (Pits. List of Lights and Fog Spal List of Rado Signals Tide Tables [or er ditt equvatent) IMPORTANT - SEE RELATED ADMIRALTY PUBLICATIONS KEEP CHARTS AND PUBLICATIONS UP TO DATE AND USE THE LARGEST SCALE CHART APPROPRIATE PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED KINGDOM HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE © Crown Copyright 2012<< DIRECTIONS FOR UPDATING TTS VOLUME Subsequent amendments to this book will be included in Section Vil of the Weekly Edition of Admiralty Notices to Mariners, copies of which can be abtained fram autharised Admiralty Distriautars, of fram the UKHO Website www.ukho.gov.uk/msi A cumulative list of amendments is published quarterly in Section Vil and provides a summary list of the entries in the current editfons which have been amended. New of extensivaly attered material 's imended 10 be pasted over the existing material. Shorter amendments should be made in manuscript. The Weekly Edition number is shown on all amendments, The appropriate indexes and diagrams should also be amended if necessary. RECORD OF AMENDMENTS This Volume should only be used once fully updated by Section Vil Notices to Mariners, The inclusion of amendments in this Volume should be recorded in the following table: NEWEDITION First Amendments ‘Weekly Notices te Mariners (Section Vi} Loy £6/y 23 Mp"CONTENTS ° Introduction Hydrographic Notes .... Reference Publications ... 1 Whatis an ENC? I ENC format 1.2 ENCstatus.. 13 ENC content... 14 ENCstructure 15 ENCcells . 16 ENC display symbols. . cee 1? Traditional and Simplified symbols 18 Newsymbols.......... 19 NewECDIS derived symbols . LO Pick Reports - Interrogating ENC data ... 2. User Controls for ENC Display 21 Introduction .........c666 sett seeees : 2.2 ECDIS display modes. . 23. Colour Palettes - day and night use of ECDIS... 24 Safety settings in ECDIS display . 2.5 Display of depth shades. 2.6 Shallow pattern 2.7 The Isolated Danger symbol... 3 Further ENC Display Considerations 3.1 Introduction . 3.2 ENC content and format considerations 3.3 ECDIS software considerations .... 4 ENCs and Display Scale 41 ENC compilation scales .. 42 Selecting appropriate display scales... 43 Zooming in toa larger scale 44 Zooming out toa smailer scale... 4.5 Display variability due to scale ... 5 ENC Accuracy 51 ECDIS and prudent navigation ............ 5.2. The components of accuracy. 5.3. Survey accuracy... 54 Unrelizble depths... 5.5. Vertical datums . 5.6 Horizontal datum 35 -- 36 38 66 266 67 a7 74 76 eid 76 oe 8h we 82 . 846 Voyage Planning with ENCs 61 Appraisal........ . beeeees . : ; 62. Planning : beeen ee 63. Voyage execution and monitoring 7 Installing and Updating ENCs 71 Global ENC distribution. . 72 ENCinstallation 7.3 ECDIS validation checks 74 ENCupdating : 75 Display and review of integrated ENC updates in the SENC 76 Managing ENC service subscriptions Annex { Timeline for mandatory carriage . cette Annex 2 List of S-57 feature objects and attributes, with cross-references to sections of guide : Annex 3 Attributes associated with Cardinal Buoy object Annex 4 List of widely used ENC Producer Codes Annex 5 i) IMO MSC (Maritime Safety Committee) Circular 1391 - Operating Anomalies Identified within ECDIS we - ii) IMO SN (Safety of Navigation) Circular 266 Rew ~ Maintenance of ECDIS Software ili) IMO SN (Safety of Navigation) Circular 276 - Transitioning from Paper Chart to ECDIS Navigation Annex 6 1) 1HO letter to Ships’ Masters, Owners and Operators, October 20Il “ Important ENC/ECDIS Data Presentation and Performance Check in Ships”. ii) Background Information Paper - ENC/ECDIS Data Presentation and Performance Check for Ships. iii) ECDIS Data Presentation and Performance Check Instructions for Mariners .. iv) Feedback Form - ENC/ECDIS Data Presentation and Performance Check for Ships Annex7 Practical tests of how ECDIS applies Isolated Danger symbol Annex 8 Glossary. . 87 2 7 - 102 4o4 108 M2 2 7 ug. 19 129 131 132 133 136 139 140 143 158 lél le4IMPORTANT NOTE Although reasonable skit and care has been taken with the production of this guide, the UKHO cannot warrant that it is free from errors or omissions, The guide has been prepared to address the subject of the use and understanding of ENGs in an ECDIS. No warranty is given that this document deals comprehensively with all the concerns that need to be addressed or where a particular matter is addressed, that the guide sets out the only definitive view of the situation The selection and choice of ECDIS screenshots within this guide does not reflect any preference for or promotion of any particular ECD!$ manufacturer. © Crown Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may he reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photacopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the UK Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset, TAl 2DN, United Kingdom‘The purpose of this publication is to assist mariners to acquire and maintain a high level of knowledge regarding the content and use of ENCs in ECDIS. tis intended to supplement and reinforce elements of ECDIS training on the use of chart data andits interpretation. it does not replace any of the training requirements set out in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Model Course 1.27 or the Manila Amendments to STCW. Navigating with ECDISis fundamentally different fromnavigating withapaperchart. AnECDISpresents the navigator with a highly flexible display which, if correctly configured, offers a significant increase in situational awareness and safety. It shoud permit mare time for the watchkeeper to maintain a proper visual watch. However, if the display and the ECDIS settings are not fully understood, then the chart display can be misinterpreted, and in the worst case the safety of the vessel compromised, It was in 1999 that the first electronic. charting system received type approval against IMO standards and could correctly be termed an ECDIS. ECDIS was first recognised by IMO as being able to meet the carriage requirements in an amendment to SOLAS Chapter V that came into force in 2002. ‘Amendments to the High Speed Craft Code required new build HSC to fit ECDIS from July 2008 with retrofits for existing vessels being required by July 2010. In January 20Il, an amendment to SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 9 came into force introducing a rolling implementation of a carriage requirement for ECDIS on a wide range of vessels from July 2012 onwards (see Annex 1} The IMO Performance Standards define ECDIS as: “Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) means a navigation information system which with odequote back-up arrangements can be accepted as complying with the up-to-date chart ‘required by regulations V/19 and V/27 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, as amended, by displaying selected information from a system electronic navigational chart (SENC) with positional information from navigation sensors ta assist the mariner in route planning and route monitoring, and if required display additional navigation-related information’. For an installed system to be used to fulfil IMO carriage requirements for charts it must: |. be type approved to IEC standards (including IEC61I74 and IEC60945) 2, have been installed apprapriately, for example with regard to power supply 3. beusing ENCs 4, have an approved backup (most commonly a second ECDIS or paper charts) In addition, watchkeeping officers must have been appropriately trained in its use. A chart display system that Is not type-approved cannot be classified as an ECDIS and cannot be used to meet carriage requirements. Such systems are commonly referred to as ‘Electronic Chart Systems’ (ECS). An ECDIS also reverts to ECS status when it is not displaying ENC data or does not meat the other conditions listed above. ‘The key attribute of ECDIS is to be able to integrate information from the three mandatory sensors (position, log and gyro) and to display ship's position and movement through the water superimposed fon an electronic chart, Pasition information is most commonly provided by GNSS, however other position fixing systems may also be interfaced Alimitationof some ECDIS, especially early models. isthe Limited number of system tools to facilitate traditional navigation techniques, such as manual position fixing and parallel indexing, thereby forcing the mariner to rely largely on GNSS positioning. This situation has somewhat improved, and the revision ta the ECDIS Performance Standards that came into force in 2009 now requires ECDIS type approved Later than that date to have a means of entering manually determined bearings and distances 50 as to be able to determine own ship's position.nT Whilst several thousand vessels have aireddy been fitted with ECDIS, the vast majority ofthe world’s fleet still operate with paper charts as the primary aid to navigation, and most mariners remain unfamiliar with, and unpractised in, the use of ECDIS. From 20(2 onwards, with the introduction of ‘the rolling IMO mandatory ECDIS carriage requirement, the number of vessels fitted with ECDIS will grow steadily, and a targe aumber of mariners will undertake the required training to be competent inits operation Aswith any new equipment, there is a need to build confidence in its use. ECDIS is a compiex software based system developed inaccordance with IMO and|HO standards. Its correct operationis dependent on the full and consistent implementation of these standards by both ECDIS manufacturers and ENC producers. Where any errors or inconsistencies exist, problems can arise with ENC Loading and in the way the navigational information is displayed or responds to the various ECDIS settings. {tis vitally important that mariners are fully famitiar with the capabilities and Limitations of ECDIS; with this knowledge mariners can make the most efficient use of the systems and avoid the pitfalls This publication draws on the experience and feedback gained by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) over the last few years to provide matiners with an appreciation of issues related to the interaction of ENCs with ECDIS. Examples of the types of issues which may arise are explained in the relevant sections throughout this guide. It is hoped that this wider knowledge wit assist in building understanding of, and confidence in, the use of ECDIS. esc Rape CEU tae enc ha ue Ce eat CO a ae re ce ects Hydrographic Notes: The UKHO encourages mariners to report new dangers to navigation, changes in aids to navigation. and any anomalies that they identify in the display of ENCs in their ECDIS. The report should be made direct to the UKHO using the Hydrographic Note system available in the Admiralty Weekly Notices to Mariners, and on the UKHO’ website (www.ukho.gov.uk and search for’H102)) The Hydrographic Note document has been modified to include reporting of ENC and ECDIS display issues. Reference Publications: ‘The reader may find the following publications hetpful to supplement the information contained in this guide: ~ NPS0I2 The Admiralty Guide to ENC Symbols Used in ECDIS ~ _NPI00 The Marines’s Handbook ~ NP294 How To Keep Your Admiralty Products Up-to-Date ~ IHO S-66 Facts about Electronic Charts and Carriage Requirements ‘Safety of Navigation - implementation of SOLAS Chapter V’ published by the UX Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) IMO Resolution A.893(21) Guidelines for Voyage Planning Many hydrographic offices provide online information regarding ENCs. The IHO website (wwwiho int) provides a Link to the majority of the world's hydrographic offices (follow the link ‘HO Membership’), as well as downloadabie copies of the relevant standards and test datasets.The UKHO's web site (www.tikho.gov.uk} provides advice and assistince with ECDIS in general. and with all of UKHO's digital products, including the Admiralty Vector Chart Service |AVCS). Pacticularly relevant examples, available from www.ukho govuk/aves using the ‘support’ and ‘overview’ tabs, include — Admiralty Quick Guide to ENC Symbols Admiralty Vector Chart Service user guide 9 Stages to the new ECDIS RegulationsWHAT IS AN ENC? 1.4 ENC format ‘The IMO Performance Standards for ECDIS defines an ENC as: “The database, standardised as to content, structure and format, issued for use with ECDIS by or on the authority of a Government authorised Hydrographic Office or other relevant governement institution, and conforming to IHO standards. The ENC contains all the chart information necessary for safe navigation ‘and may contain supplementary information in addition to that contained in the poper chart (e.g. sailing directions) which may be considered necessary for safe navigation." The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has developed a series of standards used by national hydrographic offices around the world. Collectively they define the professional methods used to produce official navigational charts and publications, and their content, including ENC. ‘The IHO standards which are most relevant to ENCs are as follows: [Reference Number Bescrintion | | ss? ~ |Defines the range of symbols that the ECDIS may draw, and the display, cules that apply to these symbols sa Defines the format of the ENC data, and includes the ENC product ~ ‘specification which defines the content of the ENC. see Describes a series of logical quality asaurance tasts that can be applied [to the ENC date to confirm thatit has been constructed correctly | set A ist of recognised ENC producers, with he cade each must use when creating ENC data, se Defines the data protection scheme designed to protect the integrity of ENC data and controls the proper licensed use ofthat ENC data, ses [A guidance document for national hydrographic offices who wish to develop a new ENC production capabitity for the first time, | 1.2. ENC Status ‘Coastal states that are signatories to the SOLAS convention are responsible for ensuring availability of adequate and regularly updated.chart coverage for their waters, this includes ENCs. They should ensure the ENC data is produced conforming to the latest version of the S~57 standard, and carries the correct producer code of the maritime authority that has produced the ENC data. Only data issued by. ar on behalf of, a government and which are constructed according to the S-S7 standard can be considered to be ENCs, and meet IMO carriage requirements, All ENCs are therefore, by definition, official data ENCs may be distributed to ships in’ the ECDIS's own internal working format known as System Electronic Navigational Chart (SENC}. Where SENC distribution services are provided in accordance with INO specifications, the ENCs in the service meet carriage requirements. Further information on SENC services is provided in Section 71 How da [know the data being displayed on my ECDIS is official? ECDIS is able to determine the status of the chart data being displayed by inspecting information contained within it. When any part of the screen area displays data that is not generated from ENC then ECDIS should provide an indication sirilar to the following: No official data available. Refer to the paper chart.The boundary between ENC and other chart data is also clearly identified on the ECDIS display by a special line style as shown below. The diegonal stroke will appear on the side of the line containing the non-official data. ECDIS which are still Using the first version of the S-52 Presentation Library are Likely to show the diagonal stroke incorrectly on the side of the Line containing ENC data. ENCDATA wry owen oarad {.Now-ENe oxTa? warerarare ‘Convention for highlighting boundary between ENC and other chart data ‘Where the ENC data has been supplemented by other non-official informationin the SENC database, as may be the case with SENC distribution, the specific features in the display which do not originate from the ENC dataset will be highlighted by a yellow information symbal.as described in Section 1.8 of this guide. 1.3. ENC content ENCs are digital datasets containing the information necessary for safe navigation in the same way as paper charts; in fact in the majority of cases, ENC producers capture data directly from paper charts. In some cases the information is supplemented with pictures of the features on the chart, or more detailed descriptions such as is contained in sailing directions. In a few cases, producers have included significantly more bathymetric information than appears ‘on the paper chart, by capturing depth information from original surveys to produce a richer digital dataset which supports the inclusion of significantly more depth contours. A good exemple is the Australian ENCs covering the Great Barrier Reef route. As illustrated below, the Australian Hydrographic Service has populated their large scale ENCs of these waters with depth data at one- metre contour intervals taken largely from new surveys. This enables the full benefits of ECDIS, and particularly its safety depth alarm function (see Section 24), to be used most effectively. ‘Australian ENC with one-metre depth contour interval Dre The content of ENCs may not always exactly match the information contained on the Cog et eee Ck eee uC Ce om ond Overlay (AIO) highlights any significant discrepancies, in particular those related to Bor eee eas POS ICOM CU eae ata en ee rT ag include affected ENCs in the AVCS service until these are reconciled in discussion with Ros cers1.4 ENC structure Unlike raster data, where the digital fite is @ scanned version of the paper chart, and so made up of @ Large number of small pixels that combine to build the picture being displayed, ENCs are an example of what is commonly known as ‘vector’ data, sAn ENC dataset contains a structured list of real world Features, with their geographicat tocation and descriptions of their properties (such as the colour of, alight) Vector data has the advantage that the ECDIS can display the chart dynamically hased on user settings, rather than having a single fixed presentation as is the case with paper charts. For example, this means that + The ECDIS operator has considerable control over which categories of features are displayed, enabling a better focus on just the features navigationally significant to the task (although note the warnings in Section 22}. + Itis easier to zoom to different display scales whilst retaining the size and shape of the text and point symbols (although note the warnings in Chapter 4). + The ECDIS software can interrogate the chart data, and provide automated warning alarms and on-screen indications based on the sattings entered by the ECDIS operator. + Itis possible to rotate the chart display to match, for example, course-up rather than north-up, and still display the text and point symbols upright. Whilst vector data clearly provides enhanced flexibility and control for the user, it is important to ensure that this is apptied wisely so that the benefits of ECDIS are fully realised. Improper use of ENCs in ECDIS will remove these advantages, and may lead to a less safe navigational outcome. ‘This guide therefore highlights some of the issues that a navigator must consider in order to take advantage of this added flexibility and controtin a sensibie and safe way. How chart features are included in ENC Each real world feature is included in the ENC dataset as what is termed a ‘feature object’, There are about 170 classes of ‘feature object’ defined in $-57 and each is identified by a six letter cade based on the name of the feature (for example BOYLAT is the code for a Lateral. Buay). [tis not intended that the mariner should know these codes, however many ECDIS display them when the pick report function is used, so some knowledge of the most commonly used is helpful when using the pick report. For every feature object there is a defined list of ‘attributes’ that can be used to describe it (for ‘example the shape of colour of a buoy). In total there are about 190 attributes which may be used each identified with its own six character code based on the name of the attribute (for example BOYSHP which stands for Buoy Shape). For each attribute there are normally several options that can be set, each is identified with a number ora set of characters; these identifiers are called attribute values. It is these values that are entered into the ENC data, Only attribute values that are valid (ie. allowed by the standard) should be included in the ENC. For most feature objects at least some attributes are mandatory (for example a buoy must always have an attribute related to shape). If a mandatory attribute is missing from a feature then this may be the cause of a warning during ENC installation and it is very likely to have an impact on the display of the item (see Section 1.8}, Equally the inclusion of any invalid attribute values can have the same effect. A full listing of feature objects and attributes available in $-7 can be found in Annex 2 which also includes a cross reference to the section number in the publication where they are explained in more detail ‘The other information needed about a feature object is its geographic Location and its form (ie. whether it’s a point feature such as a buoy or light, a linear feature such as a depth contour, or an area feature such as an anchorage area). Every feature object is linked to one or more spatiat objects’ that contains this information.Feature objects may be one of three general types: Geo: As in geographical - The majority of feature objects fall into t objects (e.g. lights, wrecks) category which is for real world Meta: As in Metadata - This type of feature object contains additional or descriptive information about other objects. All meta object names start with’M, followed by four characters, For example, information about the quality of the bathymetric data used within the ENC is given by the M_QUAL’ feature object. Collection: This type of feature object is used to describe a relationship between objects. For example, the individual components of a traffic separation scheme which is made up of Lanes, separation zones, precautionary areas etc. They all start with 'C_’ followed by four characters. To illustrate how feature objects and attributes are used to describe a charted feature in ENC, consider a pillar-shaped north cardinal buoy named “Falts Head’ in UK waters. In this case, the ENC would contain the Cardinal Buoy feature object (BOYCAR) which is an example of a Geo type object. ‘A Cardinal Buoy feature object has four mandatory attributes which should always be applied, and a further I7 optional ones that can be applied. The illustration below describes the four mandatory attributes (shape, category of mark, colour and colour pattern), and a commonly occurring optional attribute (object name). 46,000: BOYSHP) Penita(ee) Rela Ses om Kecuazes reer AU) ore eRe eC ses ee eect) jour (COLOUR ee en pT} See eat eG Eerie estat) Typical ECDIS pick report for “Falls Head” cardinal buoy Cardinal buoys, like the exampie described above, will normally have black double cone topmarks, and may also come with a special system of flashing white Lights, Where this is the case, separate feature objects, TOPMAR and LIGHTS respectively, will be used to cover these. Each of these separate feature objects will be given their own set of attributes to describe their properties.These buoy, topmark and light objects would then be linked together so that the ECDIS can understand the relationship between them : ‘As can be seen from this simple example, the capture of feature objects can be complex and time ‘consuming. To illustrate this further. the full list of attributes that could be given to the feature ‘object in this example is shown at Annex 3. ‘Some of the information contained on a paper chart (e.g. compass roses, linear scales, grid ticks, Limits of larger scale charts, etc), is not captured in the ENC as it can be generated automatically by the ECDIS software. ‘The IHO standards for ENC are comprehensive and rigorous. Nevertheless, there are varlationsin the way that some chart data is included within ENC depending on the Hydrographic Office producing it. This is not unusual with any complex standard. However, the IHO technical working groups continue to refine standards to minimise this. Some of these variations can impact on the use of ENC in ECDIS. Caution: Different ENC producers have interpreted the $-57 standard in slightly different ways, ee ee ee a ee ce cma ey eect at Oct ee ne Luo eric Une eet Tee ace ss1.5 ENC cells Whilst the ECDIS displays continuous coverage, this is actually made up of a series of individual ENC files known as ‘ENC cells’. Each cell is less than SMb in size. in mast cases, producers allow you to purchase ENC cells individually so that you can build the exact coverage that you require. \n some cases, a small number of neighbouring cells are sold together as a single package (commonly referred to as an ENC unit’ or folic’) ENC cell file names ENC cells are named using a unique eight character identifier together with a three character file type extension as follows: CCPXXXXX.000 .000 = indicates that it is the base dataset. Subsequent updates applied to the ENC cell are sequentially numbered .00I, .002 etc. (CC = producer code as described in S-62. P = Navigational Purpose XXXXX = individual cell name. Each depending on the intended ENC producer has its own policy on use as described below. naming of individual ENC cells. For example, AU4I2I30.001 indicates that the producer (AU) is the Australian Hydrographic Service, the navigational purpose (4) is Approach, the individual cell name is (2130, and that it is the first update for this cell (the file type extension is ‘00!’ Lie Neeson Choy eat Producer code: Each ENC producer js allocated a two character producer code by the IHO as detailed in $-62 (the commonly occurring codes are listed in Annex 4) Codes used by governmental organisations producing ENCs (i.e, those charts that meet IMO carriage requirements) begin with a letter. Chart data produced by private companies can use the same naming system but their codes begin with a number. ECDIS use the producer code to determine the status of the chart data being displayed. If the $-62 list is updated to add a new producer code and the ECDIS is not updated to reflect this new list, any ENC cells using that code will be displayed incorrectly as ‘unofficial’Navigational Purpose: : |HO $-57 defines six navigational purposes that an ENC can be designed to be used for. The values assigned to these navigational purposes are commonly referred to as the “usage bands" of ENCs. Details of the scale bands that are normally associated with each navigation purpose / usage band are provided in Section 41 Value Navigational Purpose | i Overview. —_t General ‘Coastal r Approach 3 Harbour Berthing | Individual cell names: Hydrographic Offices are free to choose the method by which they name individual ENC cells using the five characters available. There is little uniformity in the way this is implemented. + Some producers incorporate the number of the paper chart that the ENC cell was produced from. For example, GB501540.000 originates from UKHO's paper chart 1540. + Some producers use the area that the ENC cell covers. For example, BESZEEBR.000 covers Zeebrugge harbour, and DK2BORNH.000 covers the island of Bornhoim. + Where the producer has broken down their coverage into grids, the ceil name will often denote the position of the call in that grid structure. In the example of AUAi230.001 described earlier, the five characters I2150 indicate that the ENC cell has a southern limit of I2°S and a western Limit of BOE In most cases, itis not possible to determine the area of ENC coverage fromits name alone:reference will need to be made to graphical catalogues (paper or digital) provided by Hydrographic Offices and ENC service providers. ECDIS must be able to display a catalogue of the ENCs that are installed: some are also able to differentiate between those installed and available for use and those that could be purchased from the ENC provider. File type extension: The file containing the full ENC dataset (commonly referred to as the ‘base cell’) will have the file type extension 000’. This file contains data for a particular edition of that ENC. The producer can then update the content of this base cell by releasing smaller update files which contain machine instructions on how to edit the contents of the base cell to reflect the newreal world situation (for example, adding new features, removing existing features, or changing the attributes of existing festuces}. This is similar to the Notices to Mariners (NMs) published by hydrographic offices, except the instructions will be applied automatically by the ECDIS rather than by hand by the mariner. Each update file is given a sequential number (001, 002...) and must be installed into the ECDIS in sequential order to ensure the ECDIS can apply the instructions correctly. For example, update 2 may edit the details of a feature which has only been added ta the ENC by update |. Update | must therefore be installed first. An update file will only work if applied to the correct edition of the base. cell The producer may also decide to release a re-issued version of the base cell which consolidates the changes made by all of the update files released so far into the base cell, but no other information. This base cell will also have the same ‘.000' extension, and rélate to the same edition of that ENC. Thisis like a reprint of a paper chart, New users of this ENC cell therefore only have to install this re-issued version of the ENC cell, rather than the original issue plus all subsequent update files. Further updates released after the re-issue will then continue with the previous number sequence, rather than start again from ‘00’.Ne Pee ase or Coad CE Cts een Cee eos Periodically, the producer will decide to issue a new edition of the base cell, which will incorporate all of the changes made by the updates to the earlier edition, and may also contain new information not previously released. Once installed into the ECDIS, this new edition will overwrite the previous edition of the base cell, and the update number sequence will re-start from 001" eo ENCs produced by UKHO (i.e. those with a ‘GB’ producer code) are kept up-to-date for all new editions and Notices to Mariners in step with those issued for the Admiralty Be ee uel Cert Rena he eee CRO at eset ea issued by the producers. However, these may not always be in step with the No Mariners and new editions produced for a particular national paper chart series. Pre eu ue a ee ee Bee ee ee ete area et aCe ea at aes eee et eum eee ae ones eeu ra eae rt Chapter 7 provides further details on how to install ENC data and keep your ECDIS updatedENC cell coverage . : no In accordance with the $-57 standard, the limits of each ENC cell must be rectangular. However, ‘the data contained in each ENC cell does not have to cover the full extent of these limits. Every ENC cell wit contain one or more meta feature objects (M_COVR) which, when combined, cover the full extent of the cell limits. Each one of these M_COVR objects has an attribute (CATCOV) which defines whether or not the area it describes contains ENC data (i.e. whether or not there is ENC coverage there or not), as illustrated below: ENC cell Limit Area of no coverage {CATCOY = 2) Area of no coverage (catcov=2) Area of coverage {CATCOV=1} ENC cell containing only partial ENC data coverage There are many reasons why actual data coverage does not always extend to the Limits of the ENC cell, For instance, where the ENC data has been captured from a paper chart, that chart may contain areas which cannot be captured an the ENC cell. Good examples of this include: + Paper charts that contain Large scale inset plans which are captured on a separate ENC cell at a more appropriate navigational purpose. ‘+ Where the paper chart contains features such as chart notes and diagrams, or linear scales, which ‘obscure the underlying chart information in that area. + Where the paper chart extends beyond the agreed limit of ENC production responsibility for that hydrographic office, and so the office from the neighbouring country will be producing ENC. coverage there instead In addition, ENC data coverage takes on an irregular shape in order to ensure that, when they are combined, the ENC cells produce a seamless database for the ECDIS to display. This is because the $-57 standard requires that ENC data must not overlap within a given navigational purpose. Therefore, at a particular location, only one harbour cal. may contain data covering that Location, only one approach cell, only one coastal cell, and so on (although note the warnings in Section 3.2) in the example below, actual data coverage limits are displayed showing the ‘Overview’ usage band ENCs around the United Kingdom, These ENC cells are captured from paper charts whose coverage is designed to contain overlaps around their borders to allow the mariner time to safely re-plot their vessel position as it transits from one chart to the next, whilst retaining a sufficient look-ahead.‘The ENC cells therefore have an irregular shape in order to trim away this overlapping coverage: Illustration of ENC cell scheme resulting in irregular data coverage Although irregularin shape, the border of each ENC aligns with the adjoining ENCs seamlessly. It can also be seen from this example that care has been taken not to capture any data on the French side of, ‘the median Line in the English Channel. This avoids any conflict or duplicaticn with ENCs produced by the French hydrographic office. rcs COC e Sere et eee a eee Rance PCC ca hte a et kickers Cte eeu y data coverage limits, and not just the rectangular cell limits which may give a false eee eee aeThis i illustrated by the example below where the Japanese Hydrographic Department has adopted 2 grid based approach to ENC coverage, and has produced ‘Overview’ usage band coverage in two distinct compilation scale bands, A larger scale series (ie, the 4x4 small rectangles in the of the screenshot) covers the Japanese mainland and offshore islands. A smaller scale series then. covers the Pacific Basin, Larger scale series ‘Smaller scale series Ilustration of ENC call scheme based on grid structure This simple cell limit presentation suggests that each ENC cell in the grid has full coverage. However, the image below confirms that the cell JPI4CCMB, whose cell limits cover the entire mainland (as highlighted in red in the image above), actually only has @ small area of data coverage along the northern border of the cell to ensure there is no overlap with the larger scale series of cells to the south. Area of coverage No coverage within this, part of the cell as it is covered by larger scale series of overview cells Actual area of data coverage For JPL4CCMB1.6 ENC display symbols . Display of ENC data within an ECDIS is specified by the IHO standard S-52, and checking its implementation is a major part of ECDIS type approval to ensure a consistent and safe display of chart data, The section of IHO S-52 which deals with the rules for chart display is contained in the Presentation Library. This contrals the colours and symbols of the chart display The Presentation Library is made up of the following components: |. Alibrary of symbols which the ECDIS uses to represent the feature objects contained within the ENC data, 2. Alibrary of symbols which the ECDIS uses to represent other features which do not appear on the chart [for example own ship and vessel track), or which have been defined by the ECDIS. operator. 3. A list of which feature object layers must be displayed at all times and those which may be optionally controlled by the end user in their settings. 4. Aset of colour tables which the ECDIS uses to determine which colour to apply to each symbol on display, and when operating in each of the different colour palettes (dusk, day-brigrt, night} 5. A series of conditional display rules for more complex chart features, such as safety contours and obstructions. They depend! on settings chosen by the ECDIS operator. 6. Supplementary information, such as ECDIS Chart | which illustrates the range of symbols available, $-52 Is meant to ensure that there is a consistent approach to displaying any given feature in the same way across different types of ECDIS. However, ECDIS manufacturers are allowed to provide their own symbol libraries to enhance the presentation of symbols or to improve the efficiency of display. The symbols used must took very similar to those provided in the IHO presentation library s0 that they do not cause any confusion to the mariner. Many manufacturers provide the capabil to switch between their own symbol library and the IHO S-S2 version The end user may therefore notice minor differences between different ECDIS systems, and so it is always important for the end user to familiarise themselves with the display before actual use. The S-52 Presentation Library (s periodically updated by IHO to include new feature objects that are required by the IMO. For example, version 3.4 published in 2008 added Archipelagic Sea Lanes, Environmentally Sensitive Sea Areas, and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas Mariners will only be able to view these new objects properly if the ECDIS has the latest version of, the Presentation Library installed. ECDIS with older versions that do not have the objects included are likely to display a magenta question mark symbol instead as described in Section 18. Where the ECDIS has a very outdated version of the Presentation Library installed, it may not show new features at all. Caution: An ECDIS that is not updated for the Latest version of JHO standards may not meet the See ant erection eet canis Refer to Annex Sii: IMO Circular 266 rev. , 7" December 2010 "Maintenance of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) software” Installing a new version of the Presentation Library or a manufacturer's software update will in most cases require technical support from the ECDIS supplier. Itis important to be able to check the version of the Presentation Library installed on ECDIS to confirm that itis still valid. Manufacturers provide varying means for displaying this version information, and. this should be covered as part of type specific training and should also be included in the ECDIS user manualIn the example shown below, details of which Presentation Library version is installed can be found by using the ECDIS pick report function (see also Section 10), and then viewing the section titled "General info’ ECDIS pick report showing presentation library version In many cases, the symbols used to display chart features on an ECDIS will be easily recognisable, since they are very similar to those used in paper charts, However. changes have been made to the appearance of many of the symbols in order to optimise the speed and clarity of display as described in Section 17 below, and because of the changes some ECDIS manufacturers have made as described above. In some cases, these changes may make the symbols more difficult to interpretif they have not been seen before. In other cases, brand new symbols have been added. If the mariner is presented with a feature on screen they do not recognise, they can either use the pick report function, or consult ECDIS Chart I. This is digital glossary of symbols, grouped according to the layout of INTI, This is usually available for viewing in the ECDIS and includes details of the presentation in both traditional and simplified form as described in Section I,7 below: 2. —., 3 £ ow Tots ao. = 7 oo u eS 2 nose 33° (Gah abe = peo Bey a Vo = Ituustration of ECDIS Chart | Alternatively, the mariner may wish to consult paper-based reference guides to avoid disrupting the ECDIS display (especially whilst on route), such as the UKHO nautical publication NPSOI2 “The Admiralty Guide to ENC Symbols Used in ECDIS”1.7. Traditional and Simplified symbols i ECDIS can display chart symbols in either traditional or simplified form. Traditional symbols are very much Like those used for the paper chart, whilst the simplified version has been designed for ‘optimal display on a screen, The traditional symbols, as described in S-52, are often quite basic, and s0 some ECDIS manufacturers have made some improvements. For example, some manufacturers have added colour to buoys. AILECDIS should allow the user to choose which types of symbols to display: Simplified Mode Traditional Mode ied symbols: When this mode of display is selected, some of the symbols are very different from the paper chart. This mode also introduces some new symbols representing features introduced for ECDIS, such as the daymark. The simplified symbols are primarily used for the display of buoys and beacons. “4 w~1) Simplified buoy symbols ‘The screenshot below contains 2 number of lateral and special purpose buoys, and itustrated how the simplified mode displays them using the sloping topmark symbols that are commonly used on paper charts: Special purpose Lateral ustration of buoys when displayed in simplified mode The simplified symbols for the main types of buoys, and their traditional equivalents, are as follows: Simplified Troditional Default buoys are depicted using a filled grey circle, 7 a nay sees brary. The example to therightincludesanassociated Light symbol: Cardia bunrs we depicted sng the nian Zt t Sloping double cone topmark symbol, and coloured f 4 z f yellow: F 7 a d Isolated danger and safe water buavs are depicted sing the treltiona dtoping sphere topmerk symbol &@ A and coloured red (isolated danger represented by @ double sphere}: @ Lateral buoys are depicted using either the traditionat sloping cone or can topmark symbols depending on 4 the shape of the buay. and coloured either green or ced depending on the single most distinctive colour a of the buoy: a ae symbal (crete = general symbol conical = port TSS lane; can = starboard TSS Lane: cylinder = ice): Special purpose buoys are depicted 95a filled yellow 7 All installation and mooring buoys continue to resemble the paper chart symbol for an installation ‘buoy, with the shape filled in black.When the name or number of the buoy isdisplayed, it is automatically prefixed with the abbreviation “by” as shown in the example below of a safe water buoy named "Fairway". This prefix is to ensure the number of the buoy is not mistaken for a sounding when displayed. All symbols are centred on the geographic position of the buoy. tod The details of buoy characteristics are available by switching on the display of text (or by using the ECDIS pick report function). However, this may cause clutter, and they are difficult to show clearly on an electronic display under all bridge lighting conditions. 2) Simplified beacon symbols The symbois for cardinal and isolated danger beacons follow the seme approach as for cardinal and isolated danger buoys, except that the relevant double topmark symbols are drawn upright rather than sloping to the right. Cardinal Isolated danger The default shape for ather types of beacons is an upright cylinder shape: a The width of the cylinder shape denotes whether it is a major beacon {wider} or a minor beacon (thinner). The colour of the cylinder denotes the type of beacon as follows: General beacon (defautt) Lateral beacon where the single most distinctive colour of the beacan is red Lateral beacon where the single most distinctive colour of the beacon is green Safe water beacon Special purpose beacon Dire When the colour palette is set to night display, safe water beacons will be filled white Pe eset eae When the name or number of the beacon is displayed, itis prefixed with the abbreviation “bn” as shown in this example of a lateral beacon named "Ryde Sands This prefix is to ensure that the number of the beacon is not mistaken for a sounding when displayed Loe AIL simplified point symbols are positioned on the centre of the feature, whereas traditional point symbols and paper chart symbols are positioned using the base of the symbol.Traditional symbols: . When this mode of display is selected, the symbols will Look more like those which appear in paper charts; although in many cases they will still be simplified versions to take account of the Limitations Of displaying these features on screen rather than in print. They may therefore look like rather basic versions of the paper chart symbols, and the exact shape may vary slightly between different ECDIS types. For example the default buoy (aisplayed when buoy isnot fully describedin the ENC) (UO) is depicted as shown right: Returning to the previous example of the area containing a number of lateral and special purpose buoys, the traditional display option will Look something like the image below: Illustration of buoys when disptoyed in traditional mode 1.8 Newsymbols Some new symbols based on the features contained within the ENC data have been introduced to meet the specific requirements of ECDIS display. Notable examples are described below: Dredged area: . Dredged areas are shown by a grey dotted area fill pattern as shown below: Dredged area lustration of dredged area as depicted on ECDISse Depending on how the producer nation has captured the dredged area feature, the Ce eke ace ote omen an ort value is not visible, the ECDIS pick report function can be used to view the value, where Peete eter ere at carne formation notes: Prohibitions, cautions an There are four new symbols in magenta colour as shown below: / \ Depicts a traffic Precautionary Area’ Depicts an area where entry is prohibited, restricted, or to be avoided Depicts a caution area where a specific caution note applies Depicts an area where anchoring is prohibited or restricted The symbols may appear in one of two sizes. Smaller examples depict point applications. Larger examples depict area features, where the symbol will appear at the centre of the area it depicts. In some cases there may be more than one restriction or cautlan affecting a given area, in which case multiple symbols overlaid on each other may be shown as illustrated: In this example the symbols appear to show contradictory information. This is a because whilst there is an anchorage area (denoted by the top left anchor . symbol), restrictions also apply (e.g. anchorage is restricted to small craft only}, hence the second anchor symbol which is crossed through. The restricted anchoring symbol shown above also has @ magenta exclamation mark next to it indicating that a caution applies. The four new symbols may also have the symbol ? associated with them (indicating that information is missing or incomplete), or the symbol i (indicating that further information is available via the ECDIS pick report function) Cautions and notes entered by the mariner and the ECDIS manufacturer are distinguished by the colours orange and yellow respectively, rather than the normal magenta where they originate from. the ENC dataUnknown objects: . Where the ECDIS encounters a feature in the ENC data that it is unable to determine how to displa; properly, it will default to displaying the symbols illustrated below (for point, line and area features, respectively} either alongside. or in place of, the appropriate symbol. —-2-- Q --2 2 a ‘There are a number of reasons why this symbol may appear. For example: a) The ECDIS may not have the latest $-52 Presentation Library installed, and so does not have the necessary instructions on how to draw a new type of feature contained in the ENC data In this case, a large question mark will be displayed in the pasition of the feature which can be interrogated using the ECDIS pick report function. >) The feature in the ENC data is missing key attribute information needed by the ECDIS to determine how to draw the feature exactly. inthis case. the ECDISwill displayasmall question mark next to the feature as illustrated in the example below where the ENC producer does. not know the exact shape of the beacons. Paper chart display ECDIS display By interrogating the feature using the ECDIS pick report function it may be possible to identify which information is missing, although this may not always be possible. ) The feature in the ENC data contains an unexpected, non-standard entry in one of the attributes associated with the feature, Like the previous case, the ECDIS will then display a ‘small question mark next to the feature. This may be the result of a data entry error by the ENC producer, but is more likely to be because the real world object genuinely does not conform to expected standards and feature categories. Far example, a buoy may be painted ina colour that does not conform to its function (such as a lateral buoy painted yellow).Other examples of situations where a question mark may be displayed are shown below: A current or tidal stream whose diestion not known a79 {no orientation specified in the ENC data). : . Recommended route between parts of a traffic separation Scheme, or for ships not needinga deep wateroute withthe 2 direction not specified in the ENC data. Radio reporting point whose direction is not known. 2 Recommended track as an area, where the direction is not ’ detinedin the ENC cat <> Defautt symbol for a buoy in traditional display mode, where a mandatery attribute Is missing in the ENC data so cannot 7, find the appropriate drawing instruction from the Presentation Library . Default symbol for a buoy in simplified display mode, where a 7 mandatory attribute is missing in the ENC data Default symbol fora beacon in traditional display mode, where a mandatory attribute is missing in the ENC data so cannot, ? find the appropriate drawing instruction from the Presentation Library, - Default symbol for a beacon in simplified display mode, where a mandatory attribute is missing in the ENC data New Objects (NEWOBJ): inorder to provide added flexibility, the feature object NEWOB\is included in the S-87 standard (and valid in edition 34 of the S-52 Presentation Library onwards). This caters for future requirements specified by the IMO that may affect safety of navigation, and which cannot adequately be depicted Using any of the remaining available feature objects If the appropriate instructions on how to draw the object have been included in the ENC data, it will be displayed using the appropriate new symbol. Otherwise, the ECDIS will display a generic magenta exclamation mark as illustrated below to indicate that it does not know how to draw the Object correctly e r iN 20When using this generic feature object, the ENC producer wilt include détails of the specific nature of the real world object that itis depicting, and which you can display by using the ECDIS pick report function Radar conspicuous features: oN The solid magenta circle seen on paper charts surrounding transponder beacons that ) ‘will. appear on your radar display has been modified to be a dashed circle on ECDIS displays, a5 shown right. es An advantage of electronic navigation is the integration of information from different sources in a single display, such as ENC chart features combined with radar targets, to improve situational awareness, Overiaying chart features with the details from the radar is also a very useful cross-check of your vessel's position as determined by a satellite positioning device (e.g. GPS). Any misalignment between the two would suggest either the vessel's position is plotted incorrectly, or that there are positional accuracy issues with the ENC data (see Chapter 5 for more details). In both cases, care should be exercised when keeping visual watch and setting navigational tolerances in the ECDIS. A consistent and persistent misalignment may also indicate that the Consistent Common Reference Point (CCRP) has been configured incorrectly on the ECDIS. Care is also required to distinguish between radar echoes due to drying heights and the charted coastline The S-52 standard therefore includes several new display features designed to optimise this integration with radar. For example, a magenta highlight may appear along a coastline or overhead cable where the ENC producer has added ‘radar conspicuous’ as an attribute of these features in the ENC data (for example, a cliff that returns a strong radar echo} The standard also contains rules to define the order in which the radar and ENC chart information is drawn when overlaid on ane another. For example, green buoys and light flare symbols should be drawn on top of the radar information, and given a prominent black outline, to ensure they do not disappear from view behind the green radar returns. Traffic routeing measures: A pattern of diagonal magenta lines is used to identify the areas of a traffic separation scheme which are traffic junctions, crossings or roundabouts, or precautionary areas, Rather than use a pattern of symbols, new magenta symbols will appear at the centre of traffic routeing and regulated areas to explain the direction of traffic, and which have been designed to avoid clutter in these often critical waters. + earion o ratte “ Diagonal pattern inaleating + traffic junction, erossing, ot roundabout area stration of traffic routeing measure as depicted on ECDIS oyDay Mark: The day mark symbols (hollow magenta square or triangular symbols) T are designed so that they can be displayed with, and over-written by, | a beacon which is highlighted by a day mark. Objects of Low Accuracy: New identifiers are provided to allow the ENC producer to highlight to the mariner that specific chart features are considered to be of low accuracy, and so should be used with extra caution when navigating. Chapter 5 describes in more detail how the general quality of the survey information is portrayed in an ECDIS display. The methods for highlighting low accuracy against specific features are described below: This symbol identifies a lack of confidence in the positional accuracy of wrecks, rocks, obstructions, and point land areas. This symbol identifies low accuracy soundings. and equates to soundings of doubtful depth [ie. hairline depths on a paper chart) Where adepth contouris drawn with a dashed line, rather than a solid line, it signifies that the contour is of low accuracy. Where such'a low accuracy contour becomes the safety contour. it should remain a dashed line but is shown in # darker and more prominent line style This line styte identifies an unsurveyed coastline. The dashed Line is highlighted by a question mark symbol pointing to the dashed coastline. This symbol identifies a danger line of low accuracy surrounding a foul area 2 arya ir ote [Bog toe aaa yonAdditional Information: Whenever there is additional information not on display related to a chart feature being displayed, whether it has been added by the ENC producer, ENC service provider, or by the mariner during voyage planning, the ECDIS can highlight this fact with one of the identifiers illustrated below: Symbat | Colour | Remarks CD Magenta Caution note: specific caution applies in the area | | wl Informationnote: additionalinformationis available regarding this object. The ENC producer may have included brief additional information using the attribute INFORM [and NINFOM national language version), or | attached more detailed information about the feature ina text file using oo the attribute TXTDSC (NTXTDS national language version), or as a picture file using the attribute PICREP Magenta Mariner's information note: usually added by the mariner during voyage i Orange planning to provide a reminder of important information not otherwise contained in the ENC data. Mariner's caution note: again usu: «mariner duving voyage ® | orange | ition note: again usually added by th during voyag: planning I Manufacturer's information note; commonly used by a service provider i Yellow | who wishes to include additional non-official information to supplement the ENC data, | Orton | Mantscurersnaonnot ce Pe OCU ea Au ea CCU uns eae is selected. The highlighted objects can then be interrogated using the ECDIS pick eee UR Ck ee ear eC emcee appear at the midpoint of a Line object, or the centre of an area objett. ferris rin Ney Ca ee Coe aa Eee oa are Ukely to cause display clutter, and may therefore obscure other important Dern te a eer cet eer cae g ate er en ie ei are record Penne eC Cen te ene cre Cee a ee ee ee cenaUnsurveyed areas: ENC producers will sometimes have toinclude areas on thelr charts where there sno survey data, or where only basic survey data is available in complicated waters with many hazards to navigation, and which is therefore not adequate to support safe navigation. An ECDIS will display these unsurveyed areas using filled grey symbol with a dashed Line pattern, as, illustrated below. The ENC producer is therefore highlighting that itis not safe to enter these waters given the level of information that is available about the area. Unsurveyed area Illustration of unsurveved' area os depicted on ECDIS. Other charted features may exist in these unsurveyed areas, but they will not contain any depth area information. They therefore form part of the area of overall ENC coverage, and so should not be confused with areas of no data coverage which are displayed in a very similar way by the ECDIS. The two can be distinguished by considering the ECDIS symbols and warnings related to the limit of, official data as described in Section 19 below: 1.9 New ECDIS derived symbols Some new symbols have been introduced to support specific ECDIS display functionality, rather than ‘to draw features contained in the ENC data. They are therefore driven by the ECDIS software itself. ‘The important new safety contour and isolated danger symbols are examples, and are described in detail in Chapter 2 of this guide. Other notable examples of these new symbols are listed below: No Data area: When compiling the display, the ECDIS software will start by filling the screen with the default grey “no data” pattern. It will then build up the display, overwriting this grey display with the data that is installed in the ECDIS. giving first priority to the most appropriate scale ENC data that is available, and then to other non-ENC datasets Where there is no ENC data available. “Once this process is complete, the original default grey no data symbol will remain in areas where there is no data available, and may remain where there is data, but not of a suitable scale to display. For example, there may be a very small scate ENC cell (e.g. 1:3,500,000) available covering the open oceans, but the ECDIS is zoomed in to display at a very large scale (e.g. 1:25,000), ana so the available ENC cell would have to be magnified to a dangerous level if it were to be displayed. This ENC cell should appear if the display scale is reduced (i. zoomed out). Area of no data coverage 2lustrotion of na data area as depicted on ECDIS Scale boundary: ‘The ECOIS will attempt to display ENC coverage in aseamless manner, selecting from the various ENC cells that are installed in the ECDIS to build this overall. display. At times, this means that the ECDIS will be displaying more than one ENC cell on the sereen at the same time, and depending on the data available this may be ENC cells from a different navigational purpose (and hence compilation scale) Consider the situation where a vessels leaving port, and entering open waters. it willreach the limit of the Large scale ‘harbour’ ENC coverage, beyond which there is only smaller scale ‘coastal’ and ‘approach’ ENC coverage. Asit approaches this Limit, the ECDIS display will still be zoomed to match the large scale ‘harbour’ ENC. In this instance, the boundary between the two ENC cells is likely to be visually obvious simply by noting the different density of information being displayed. The ECDIS will be magnifying the smaller scale ENC cell, which contains less detailed information to start with, to match the larger disptay scale. The information from the ‘coastal’ or ‘approach’ ENC will therefore look very sparse compared to the larger scale ‘harbour’ ENC. As the vessel moves beyond the limit of the ‘harbour’ ENC, and the display scale changes to match the smaller scale, this difference in data density will either: + Become more prominent, as the detail in the larger scale ‘harbour’ ENC becomes squeezed into a smatier area on scr2en (and thus become very cluttered}. + Disappear if the ENC producer has populated the attribute SCAMIN (see Section 44 for details). This attribute will allow the ECDIS to switch of display of the less important features contained in the large scale ‘harbour’ ENC so that it does not become cluttered as it is squeezed into a smaller area on screen Considering the opposite situation, where a vessel makes an approach towards a port covered by a large scale ENC cell with SCAMIN applied, the boundary between the two ENC cells will not always, be obvious until after the vessel passes the boundary and the display is zoomed in toa larger display scate, whichis when more of the detail in the Larger scale ENC cell becomes visible on screen for the first time. {tis therefore not always possible to identify in advance when the ECDIS display is about to move into an area covered by a larger scate. This may be especially true in some display modes, like ‘Base’ or ‘Standard’, where the ECDIS will not display much of the extra detail that would give cise to the tell tale density differences on screen,To address this, some ECDIS displays will indicate to the mariner a change in chart scale by drawing the boundary between different scales. The exact format of this boundary varies between different ECDIS types. An example of one methods illustrated below: Only the major changes in scale will be shown. Small changes in scale within a navigational purpose will not normally be indicated Scale boundary depicted on ECDIS by thick black line in See ea Len le ee it OR ec) ee eae te oe eC ee Raa ose the ENC Limits are permanently displayed, and so cannot be switched off. Re eo LC eC Ra a eu ee eae Ree ec as boundary line to indicate which side contains larger scale ENC data (these lines appear ontey scr} Scale bar o Latitude scale: In order to quickly assess how close displayed navigational hazards really are, and how much time there is before avoiding action must be taken, the ECDIS Performance Standards require an indication of scale and range to be displayed at all times. This indication is visible in one of two forms depending on the display scale in use at the time: | mile scale bar - where the 10 mile latitude scale - where ECDIS display scale is larger the ECDIS display scale is than 1:80,000. 1:80,000 or smatter. North arrow: A true north arrow has to be displayed at all times in the top left corner of the display, clear of the scale bar or latitude scale so as to alert the mariner when the display is in course-up or head-up mode.splay of non-ENC data: s . . Asdescribedin Section i2 above, an ECDISis required to indicate whenever itis displaying information that is not drawn from an ENC dataset, and to clearly define the outer limit of ENC coverage. When an area of the display is drawn entirely from a non-ENC dataset, the ECDIS will provide warning indication similar to the following: No official data available, Refer to the paper chart ‘The boundary between the ENC and non-ENC data, if within the limits of the display screen, should be defined by an orange line with diagonal strokes pointing to the side where no ENC coverage exists {except in very old versions of some ECDIS equipment where it may incorrectly point to the side of ENC coverage). displaying non-ENC data, withthe warning indicator and boundary delimiter both displayed In situations where the ECDIS is displaying ENC data that has been supplemented by other non- official information, the ECDIS will highlight which features in the display do not originate from the ENC dataset using the yellow manufacturer's information symbol. This additional information should not affect the integrity of the official information provided by the coastal state authority, and contained in the ENC data. Boundary symbols and text names in area features: ‘Where the ECDIS is displaying the boundary of an area feature, such as an anchorage area, but the whole area of the features not visible on the screen, the ECDIS can be configured to change the way ‘the limit of the feature is dravin, adding a one-sided Line style to make it obvious which side of the boundary the area feature exists. In the following example, the whole anchorage area can be seen in the image on the right. and when. zoomed in (as shown on the left) the added arrow shapes make it clear that the anchorage area lies on the south side of the line. ° Zoomed in ~ one-sided! tine style appears Zoomed out ~ whole anchorage area displayed ”In most ECDIS types, the operator can choose whether or not to, use this option by selecting “symbolised line styles". When including area features, such as caution or anchorage areas, there is often a symbol or label to be centred in the portion of the area feature on screen at the time. Where the whole of the area feature is being displayed, this symbol or label will appear at the centre of the displayed area. Where only part of the area feature is displayed, this symbol or label should appear at the centre of the part which is being displayed. The ECDIS will therefore dynamically re-draw this symbol or label as the ECDIS display pans across the ENC coverage, and this may give the appearance that the feature is moving each time the screen refreshes. Screenshot? - Screenshot 3 In the main image above, where the whole of 'Worbarrow Bay’ is shown, the name is in the centre of the area. In screenshots 2 and 3, where the ECDIS operator has zoomed in to areas at either end of the bay, the name remains displayed in the centre of the screen. The same is also true for the magenta caution area and magnetic variation symbols. Nc Not all ECDIS types operate in this way, and some continue to draw the symbol or Label Pea eet Cea ee eat acing poe ec 1B————— Tidat Data: ; The IMO Performance Standard states that “Depth information shalt only be displayed os it has been provided in the ENC and not adjusted by tidal height.” However, S-57 does allaw ENC Producers to ‘include tidal information as features which may be interrogated by the ECDIS user. Tidal stream information may be added as a tabulated List of streams and heights similar to tidal diamonds on paper charts. The example below illustrates the symbol used (highlighted by the green, box) and the information that can be accessed via the pick report function Eero | [eerener pon DOVER Time Dir Rae sh 0S 07 kn O87 354, O52" 1640 052" 154m O56 98 kn 210° 02k Ber arte 250 17 ® Tidal diamond symbol Mlustration of tidal diamond information as depicted on ECDIS ‘The Location of tidal height information is indicated by the symbol as shown right. Further details are then available via the pick report function. Magnetic Variation: Feature objects representing magnetic variation may be added to ENC data. A new magenta arrow symbol, as shown right, is used to represent magnetic variation features. Individual ENC producers vary in their practices for including magnetic variation information within ENCs, On large scale ENC celts a symbol is either included at a fixed position within the ENC cell (simiar to the inclusion of variation information at the compass position on a paper chart), or as an area feature where the symbol is automatically placed in the centre of that part of the area that is displayed. In some cases the variation value will be displayed next to the magenta symbol as illustrated in the left-hand screenshot below; in both cases further details (including rate of change of variation} can be obtained using the pick report function. 7 Magnetic veriation as a point feature Magnetic variation as an ofee FeatureSome ENC producers include magnetic variation isogonats on small'scale ENC cells. Where this is the case, the variation value is preceded with the text label ‘varn’ as shown in the illustration below: Depth 4,000 metes I i so y 7 a F a i ¥ i , t Be t Pg ie Paper chart ENC display errs PCa ce Ce Cee CC eC Re Cy care whenever encountering an isolated danger symbol. The ECDIS pick report should Pee Ses ee eee ay Reet The application of the isolated danger symbol for features which sit in waters deeper than the displayed safety contour is a useful tool to help focus the voyage planning work on just those examples which may pose a danger to the vessel in otherwise ‘safe’ waters. However, as explained in Section 24, the limited range of depth contours that are commonly available in ENC data reduces the benefit of the safety contour feature, especially where the difference between the value of the safety contour entered and the value being displayed is quite large. Consider a vessel with a draught of Im navigating on an ENC cell with only 10m and 20m contours. It is therefore possible that not all danger features sitting in waters shallower than the displayed safety contour pose a danger to the vessel. As explained in Section 24, sensible use of the safety depth feature gives the ability to quickly distinguish the soundings which are deeper than the entered safety contour value, and so help visualise the size and shape of this area where it may remain safe to navigate. However, to build a complete picture itis also important to confirm that any danger features Located in this area of extended ‘safe waters’ are also deeper than the entered safety contour value. 48In the example below, a wreck of depth [38m sits in the 10-I5m depth area which is withia the (5m displayed safety contour where the operator has entered a safety contour value of IIm. This wreck is therefore ‘safe’ whereas the other wrecks to the south-west (with depths 9'3m and 99m respectively) are unsafe, ‘Safe’ wreck ‘Unsafe’ wrecks Significant area behind displayed safety contour deeper than lim value entered ‘ALU display; Safety contour « tf metres To support this appraisal, many (but not all) ECDIS types also allow display of the isolated danger symbol for submerged features which reside in the ‘unsafe’ sha\low waters within the displayed safety contour, and which are known to (or may) have a depth less than or equal to the safety contour value entecad by the user (i.e. the 9:9m and 9:3m examples in the image above). This extended use of the new symbol may be the standard method of operation for some ECDIS types, whilst others offer this as an option which can be switched on or off. Where this extended use of the new symbol is in operation (usually the default setting where it is offered as an option), and the ECDIS is set to ‘Standard’ display mode, only potentially dangerous examples will appear on screen. and be depicted using the magenta isolated danger symbol. Where this extended use is not in operation, such examples would not appear on screen in‘Standard display. If the ECDIS is set to ‘Al’ or ‘Custom’ display mode, this extended use of operation will distinguish between those examples which are potentially dangerous (i.e. depicted using the magenta isolated danger symbol) and those which are not {i¢, depicted using the standard chart symbol) By setting the ECDIS to ‘Custom’ mode with both soundings and other obstructions switched on, and making use of this extended use of the new symbol, the ECDIS user can identify areas behind the safety contour where there are ao soundings in bold, no magenta isolated danger symbols, and no other dangers which are not submerged (e.g. stranded wrecks). Assuming the ENC producer has indicated that these areas are charted using accurate and modern surveys which have captured all significant seafloor features, these areas may be considered available for navigation if required, in this situation, proper voyage appraisal is essential and display of all dangers and soundings should be enabled. ce Meee cee OU ar ee cco and manufacturers have interpreted them in different ways. The particular ECDIS in use may therefore not behave exactly as described above. {t is important to understand eR ee elo ee eee eon eae Pee es eee es eee cna ere ks the vessel are not overlooked during voyage planning.The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has produced a sample ENC dataset designed to allow the mariner to check how their ECDIS performs in this important regard. Full details on this sample dataset can be found in Annex 6. The IHO Check dataset can be used to establish how a particular ECDIS behaves under the conditions described in this chapter. If the end user is in any doubt as to how the various safety settings affect. the display of ENC then the exploratory tests described in Annex 7 may be performed to identify any idiosyncrasies that may exist. In order to illustrate the isolated danger symbol, and the effect on the ECDIS of the various safety settings, the cross section diagram on the next page summarises the symbols that the ECDIS should display for wrecks at varying depths and different ECDIS display modes, it assumes that the ECDIS operator has entered a safety contour and safety depth value of 6 metres, and which the ECLIS turns into a displayed safety contour value of ‘0 metres. The diagram shows four wrecks sitting in waters deeper than the displayed safety contour of 10m. Only one has a clearance of less than the 6m safety contour value entered, and so will always be displayed using the magenta symbol. The remaining three have a clearance of more than 6m, and so should only be displayed when the obstruction layer is switched on, and then depicted using the standard chart danger symbol rather than the magentaisolated danger symbol (although some ECDIS may use this symbol for the example which has a clearance of less than 10m if the ECDIS uses the displayed safety contour value rather ‘than the entered value - this is highlighted using grey shading in the diagram) The exact chart danger symbol that is displayed for these remaining three will depend on whether a depth value has been added to the wreck feature (ie. if the wrack or sounding symbol appears) and whether the wreck is shallower than 20m or not (i. If the dashed circle is coloured blue or white). The diagram also shows four wrecks sitting in waters shallower than the displayed safety contour of 10m. One of these has a clearance of more than the 6m safety contour value entered, and so should not be displayed using the magenta symbol, even when the option to use this symbol in shallow waters is active (although this may not be true of all ECDIS types), It should also only appear on screen where the obstruction layer is switched on. The remaining three have a clearance less than 6m. Except for the stranded wreck, which is not fully submerged, they should be displayed using the magenta symbol where the option to use this symbol in shallow waters is turned on. Otherwise, where the obstruction layer is switched on, they will be displayed with the appropriate chart danger symbol depending on whether a depth value has been added or not. Where a depth value has been added, it will be displayed in bold where it is less than or equal to the safety depth value, The example of the stranded wreck, which appears above water at the sounding datum, should always be displayed in ‘Standard’ mode, using the standard stranded wreck symbol regardless of the isolated danger symbol settings. However, in many cases, ECDIS will only display stranded wrecks located behind the safety contour when the obstruction Layer is switched on as illustrated in the diagram. If this stranded wreck is located in the deeper ‘safe waters’ beyond the displayed safety contour, it will remain on display (using the same stranded wreck symbol) whether the obstruction layer is switched on or off (,e. remains displayed in ‘Standard’ mode]FURTHER ENC DISPLAY CONSIDERATIONS 3.1 Introduction Section 21 describes the many variables which determine how an ENC cell is displayed dynamically in an ECDIS, in contrast to the fixed display provided by paper charts. Chapter 2 has already described ‘the various ECDIS user controls which affect ENC display. However, there are also a wide variety of factors affecting display which are determined by the way the ECDIS software has been developed, and how the ENC data has been produced, which the ECDIS user cannot control. This chapter concentrates on these elements, highlighting some of the more significant display variability that the mariner is likely to encounter as a result. The display issues which result from how ENC producers populate their ENC data are well known, and the IHO has published various guidelines which hydrographic offices are ad apzing to improve the quality and consistency of their ENC data. This is an ongoing process, At the same time, the IMO was informed in 2010 of the various issues discovered so far which stem from the way some ECDIS softwere has been developed, and which affect both display and alarm behaviour in affected systems. They are based on observations from only @ small number of the many ECDIS types which are available in the market today. This section therefore only reflects some of the issues that are known about at time of publication, and it is considered possible that further variability may also exist. In addition to the descriptions in this section, the ECDIS users advised to refer to the following IMO circular notes which are contained in Annex 5: + IMO circular 1391, dated December 2010, titted “Operating Anomalies Identified within ECDIS". + IMO circular 266, dated December 2010, titled “Maintenance of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) software’ IF the content of the ENC data, or ECDIS display behaviour, is unexpected and is likely to affect safe navigation, this fact should be reported to the equipment manufacturer or service agent for ECDIS issues and to the relevant ENC service provider for data issues 3.2. ENC content and format considerations Each coastal state authority is responsible for ensuring the provision of ENC data for the waters they are responsible for charting, and at time of publication there are around 50 different hydrographic offices that already have active ENC production programmes, and this number is steadily growing. This is different to the regime which exists with paper charts where there are several international series of paper charts, each produced by a single hydrographic office (for example the Admiralty series produced by UKHO], in addition to the wide range of national and regional series. When conducting international voyages, itis likely that many mariners will be using ENC products created by a larger number of producing nations than may have been the case with paper charts. ‘Whilst each hydrographic office will broadly follow the charting guidelines established by the IHO, they may apply their own individualised charting practices which have evolved separately over time, and which reftect various local factors. For example, the density of information and degree of generalisation charted at different scales is likely to vary. Such differences are standardised in the international series of paper charts, but this cannot be done with ENCs which will tend to inherit these variations. Most ENCs are derived from existing paper charts, digitised according to the relevant standards. ‘These paper charts were themselves compiled individually, and often neighbouring charts will have been produced at different scales and different times, anc by different cartographers. Itis therefore Likely that they will contain subtle differences in both content and presentation, which are not always easily noticeable when used in their printed form. 52With the introduction of electronic navigation, however, this chart datais now presented together on screeninaseamless display, and linked to. system of automated alarms. ENC data taken from'several paper charts and several hydrographic offices can be on display side-by-side. Any discrepancies ‘between adjacent charts, or charts of the same area at different scales, will therefore become more obvious as they are displayed together, and may impact the performance of the new features offered, by ECDIS such as the safety settings described in Section 24. ‘The more notable examples of such vari ity are described below: Attributes of chart features: ‘There may be differences in interpretation of the S-57 standard by different ENC producers; these can result in variations in the display of the same feature from different ENC producers on ECDIS systems. For example, the same type of navigational aid may be populated differently by different ENC producers. Interpreted as « beacon with topmark Interpreted as © beacon with daymark Note: BOO eh OAS Ooo omc CRC caer te] A a he a ecg Oe ease eee Poca eRe an ae ee eae incorrectly populated, then the display will be affected. Missing attributes: [As described in Chapter |, the S-S7 standard defines the attributes that can be assigned to each type of chart feature that may be included in ENC data, In some cases, these attributes are mandatory as they are required by the ECDIS in order to determine which $~52 based symbol to display, or because they provide information Fundamental to navigation, In the example of a cardinal buoy described in Section 14, the shape of the buoy, the category of cardinal mark, and the colour arid colour pattern of the buoy are mandatory attributes. In other cases, the attribute may not be mandatory, butts presence and value may shape how the ECDIS display and alarm features respond to the feature. However, in some cases, the ENC producer may not have all of the mandatory information available for inclusion in the ENC data. The most common examples are wrecks and obstructions where the attribute ‘value of sounding’ (VALSOU) is considered mandatory to indicate the depth of water that can be found over the feature. This information is not always derived during a survey and not always included on paper charts and so the information cannot always be populated with certainty. As explained in Section 2.7 this will affect how often the ECDIS applies the magenta isolated danger symbol, resulting in a more cluttered display. Similarly, the ENC producer may not know the shape of a buay or af a beacon, and so the ECDIS will have to display the default buoy and beacon symbols instead, together with a magenta question mark alongside these default symbols. Section |.8 provides further detailed examples of where you may encounter this magenta question mark. cxEdge matching: Itis quite common to experience some inconsistency in the chart data display, such as a mismatch of contours at the boundary of two ENC cells, particularly when they are at different compilation scales, or produced by different hydrographic offices. An example of this is illustrated below. Inconsistent depth area depiction at ENC cet! boundary The inconsistencies are most noticeable on tine features, such as where contours cross from one ENC cell to another and da not match, This may be because they were compited at different times using different survey materials. Similar examples are where lines and area boundaries (for example cables and restricted areas) stop at the ENC cell boundary, and do not continue into the adjoining ENC cel Contour intervats: As outlined above, depth contours may not align at the boundary of ENC cells, particularly in deeper waters. In addition, you may find adjacent ENC cells include a different range of depth contours. ‘The IHO publishes guidelines which define the minimum contour intervals that should be included inan ENC, and normally depth contours defining 2rn, 5m, 10m, 20m, 30m, 50m, 00m, 200m would be expected. However, use of additional contour values will vary from cell to cell. For example, a number of ENC producers are including additional depth contours to allow a richer depiction of the bathymetry but this tends to be limited to specifie areas of complex or busy waters where navigational tolerances are reduced (For example ENC cells covering the pilotage routes of the Great Barrier Reef which are depicted at |m contour intervals). This results in contours that appear to stop abruptly, and a stepped effect may occur where the ECDIS has to change the safety contour to a deeper depth. For example, in addition to the 10m and 20m contours, one ENC cell may include a |Sm contour which the ECDIS displays as the safety contour where the mariner has entered a safety contour value of 12m, However, this contour may not be included in the adjacent ENC cell, and so the ECDIS defaults the safety contour to the next available 20m contour. This is illustrated below.15m contour not present in adjacent \5m contour in Harbour ENC Approach ENC so 20m used as safety used as safety contour contour Boundary between adjacent Harbour and Approach ENC cells Inconsistent depth areas between adjacent ENC cells In some cases, the ENC producer may have captured the ENC data from existing paper fathoms charts. The ENC Product Specification requires that depths and heights shown on ENCS are always, in metres. The conversion from fathoms to metres therefore results in unusual contaur values For example, a 4 fathom contour on the paper chart will convert to become a 73m contour on the ‘equivalent ENC as shown below. These unusual values will therefore cause further inconsistency where they adjoin an ENC cell produced from a metric chart using the standard contour interval values. Depth areas in fathoms Placenames: Place names that appear on Admiralty paper charts, commonly used by international mariners, may not be included in the ENC data, or they may be included but referred to by a different name. This is because the content of the ENC is the sole responsibility of the prime charting organisation of the geographic area. Caution areas: Many paper charts contain chart notes which provide general information related to a number of features contained in the chart, for example an area where there are numerous submarine cables and. pipetines. An ENC producer will therefore typically include a caution area which covers the whole ENC cel to encompass these types of chart note, and will sometimes include a separate caution area feature for each chart noteECDIS atarm threshotds have been configured to activate when approaching the limit of caution areas. As a result, multiple alarms or indications will be triggered as soon as any part of that ENC cell comes into view on the ECDIS display. However the vessel may not yet be in close proximity to any of the features that the warnings relate to, and so the mariner can soon lose visibility of those dangers when the alarms and notes are no Longer visible or audible, Bates cate {aformaen (FORD OSH SPEED CHANT Sele monn CARIN 37/79 Teal deren FNTBSC) E004 08 ET Hiatt Fatale rman INFORM VPECES Sele mn SCAB) 99°79 Tear deen (FXTDSC) 062.08 7 Iaformacen (BFORLD) SUENAED CASTES, ‘Seale minum (SCAB) 1999 Teanalarceigien TDSC) B00 20 TOT ‘Multiple caution areas covering whole ENC cell It is therefore important that the information contained within these caution areas, available via the ECDIS pick report function, is taken into account during the appraisal and planning phases of a voyage. If appropriate, mariner’s information notes can then be added at the relevant points along the chosen route to serve as 3 reminder, where the contents of the caution note are pertinent to the planned voyage. Non-standard Compilation scales: As described in Chapter 4, IHO guidelines describe a series of recommended scales which ENC producers should apply to ENC data, and how these scales are commonly assigned to each of the six navigational purposes. Whilst most ENC cells conform to one of these standard scales, there are a number of ENC cells which still have a compilation scale derived from the original paper chart. For example. a large proportion of Overview" cetls are assigned to the common paper chart scale of 1:5,500,000. There is also some variability in how ENC cells of a particular compilation scale are then assigned to a navigational purpose. Such variability may result in unexpected display outcomes, especially where it interacts with the rules used by the ECDIS to determine which ENC cells to display. and with the minimum scale attribute described in more detail in Section 44. Signiticant variability in compilation scales between adjacent ENC cells is therefore likely to cause greater unpredictability in the way the ENC ceils will display, and 50 may reduce the effectiveness of the loading strategies implemented by the ECDIS manufacturer, and of the consistency in the reduction of clutter across the display, {t is advisable to consider the compilation scale of an ENC celt, as well as its assigned navigational purpose, when deciding which ENC cells to purchase. The graphical catalogues of most ENC service providers include scale information Overlapping data: When creating ENC data, ENC producers are expected to ensure that the areas of coverage contained in their ENC cells do not overlap with other ENC cells of the same navigational purpose. This ensures that the ECDIS has a seamtess database to work from.In the vast majority of cases this important part of the $-57 standard is followed, and ENC producers remove areas of overlap which exist in their paper chart series from their ENC data, and agree production boundaries with other ENC producers in adjacent areas, In some cases, these agreements divide production responsibilities based on scale. For example, one hydrographic office may produce the small scale ENCs of an area, whilst another hydrographic office will produce the large scale ENCs using the more detailed information they have avaiable to them. In such cases, it is worth noting that the updating regime and charting practices may vary between these two ENC producers. Unfortunately, not all ENC producers have succeeded in removing overlapping data in all cases. An ENC service provider should highlight any examples where the range of ENC data that they offer contains overlapping data. They are typically listed in the README.TXT file found on each copy of the service media (CD-ROM or DVD) where the ENC data is stored. The presence of overlapping datais also likely to be apparent when viewing the graphical catalogues offered by most ENC service providers, and which can usually be filtered by navigational purpose. orca Ore a One ec a aca eae toe Cee eee an ee Re Re ec ee ee eo CU em Cee eu Ree ee a ome nC ee ce kd overlapping data, and the potential for disruption to key safety features such as alarms peat austere Itis impossible to state with complete confidence exactly how all, ECDIS will behave if overlapping ENC data is installed. Usually the ECDIS will allow the overlapping data to be installed. However, each ECDIS manufacturer has defined their own criteria for how their system will then try to display and utilise this overlapping data. The ECDIS user is therefore advised to check the documentation provided by the ECDIS supplier, and test how the system responds to the ENC data under different display conditions during voyage planning. Particular attention should be paid to how the ECDIS behaves as the safety contour and safety depth settings are changed. Its Ukely that the ECDIS will respond in one of three ways te overlapping data: |. The system selects the most appropriate ENC cell whose compilation scale is closest in value to the viewing scale and displays this. When interrogating objects on screen the system only returns pick report for that ENC cell. 2. The system selects the most appropriate ENC cell whose compilation scale is closestin value to the viewing scale and displays this. But the pick report returns information on all ENC cells in the area being viewed. 3. The system displays all ENC cells in the appropriate usage band for the viewing scale. The pick report returns information on all ENC cells in the display. Scenario | is likely to be safe to continue to Use, and there should not be any deterioration in performance. Scenario 2 may appear to be safe to use, but the user should confirm that the system is only using the ENC cell being displayed to control the system alarms based on safety settings. ‘Scenario 3 is unlikely to be safe to use, particularly if the overlapping ENC cells being displayed contain inconsistent information on bathymetry and navigational aids. og‘The screenshot below illustrates an example of scenario 3, with the tell-tale signs of overlapping data visible in the coastline and depth contours which cross over themselves in places. Example of overopping ENC deta it may be possible to minimise these display issues through careful selection of which ENC att to purchase. When evaluating which out of two overlapping ENC cells to purchase, the following should be considered: +The compilation scale of each ENC cell. Normally the larger of the two scales should be selected. ue date of the ENC cell. An ENC cell with a mare recent issue date is likely to contain more up-to-date information. + The updating history of the ENC cell. Keep in ming that in many cases an ENC produceris more likely to keep the portion of their ENCs within their awn territoriat waters fully updated than the portion beyond their own waters where they may not issue any updates at all. In such cases, the ‘Admiralty Information Overlay should highlight any discrepancies that may arise as a result of this lack of updating. Gaps in Data Coverage: In addition to the issues resutting from overlapping data, problems may also arise in areas where there are gaps in data coverage. in such cases, the ECDIS will try to fill these gaps with the best scale coverage available in this area. In some cases, this may be in a much smaller scale navigational purpose ENC. This will result in the potential for ENCs to be displayed dangerously over scaled or, depending on the loading rules adopted by your ECDIS, result in no data being toaded in the affected area because the scale differences are too large to be safely displayed together. The user should therefore keep this in mind when selecting which ENC cells to purchase in their ares of operation, and ensure a sufficient range of scales is available in the ECDIS to support a safe approach into port, and an appropriate range of ENC cellsis selected that will support safe navigation along the planned route.Noy Ou COe ee ee os ec ee cane adjacent ENC cells. This will Leave very small gaps in ENC coverage, often representi et era eines acs) This is most common along complex ENC production boundaries between two ENC producer nations, and along the 180° meridian where producers do not create ENC ceils which cross this meridian to prevent serious display issues in some ECDIS types. These small gaps may trigger the warning indicators and boundary delimiter described ee Oran ete eeu tence eae) Da US ee Oa enue oo eae ee ie ee certain display settings when the vessel crosses these gaps. eR ee eeu Cu being displayed in a particular location. Temporary and preliminary information: There are a variety of features that appear on a nautical chart whose relevance is time dependent. In some cases, this is a repeating seasonal pattern, such as racing buoys which are only present during surnmer months, or ferry routes which only operate at specific times of the year. In other cases, 3 regulatory feature will come into force at a pre-defined time and cease to be valid froma pre-defined time. A common example of this is the introduction of a new IMO routeing measure, for example @ new Traffic Separation Scherne coming into force at 00:00UTC on the Ist of July. The 5-57 standard includes certain attributes which allow the ENC producer to convey this time- related information in a format which the ECDIS can interpret, and compare with its own internal system time to determine whether or not these features should be displayed (although please note ‘the warnings in Section 3.3 regarding this). Not all ENC producers make use ofthese time-related attributes to control the display of temporary bjects, and they may not include Such objects in their ENC data at all, Where this information missingin the relevant ENC data, should be contained in the Admiralty Information Overlay Similarly, not all ENC producers make use of these time-related attributes to provide preliminary Information about changes to routeing measures in advance. instead they will. release an update when the change to the routeing measure comes into effect, and so it is important to ensure that the ENC supplier is providing a regular updating service to ensure the ECDISis kept current for important new navigational information. 3.3. ECDIS software considerations ‘There are a variety of factors affecting ECDIS display and alarm behaviour which are determined by the way the ECDIS software has been developed, and the display standards the software is working to, as well as whether the installed ECDIS has been updates to the latest version. The more notable examples are described below: Time-related objects: ‘The S-S7 standard supports the concept of time-related objects. The ENC producer can therefore add time-based attributes (DATSTA and DATEND; PERSTA and PEREND) to define the start and end dates of these features, ECDIS approved to IEC 61174 Edition 2 (2002) or later should be able to display these time-related features correctly. However, ECDIS type-approved prior to IEC 61174 Edition 2 may not be sensitive to these attribute values, and so incorrectly display the objects before the valid period starts, and after ‘the valid period endsSome ENC producers {including UKHO} issue an update to their ENC data about a month in advance of a new routeing measure taking effect to insert the details of this new measure with a start date. This is designed to ensure all users of that ENC data have plenty of time to receive this important update information, and to support advance voyage planning. However, where this update is applied to an old ECDIS type. this may then result in the system displaying both the current and the new versions of the routeing measures at the same time, rather than displaying only the appropriate version and switching the display between the two at the appropriate time. The ENC producer will normally issue a further update immediately after the new routeing measure comes into force, in order to remove the previous routeing measure that has been superseded, plus any caution note that might have also been added some time ago to pre-announce the change. After applying this update, the duplicated display will be resolved. Display of soundings: Soundings play an important role, together with the safety depth as described in Section 24, tohelp ‘the mariner visualise areas of safe water. They should therefore be considered part of the minimum complement of information required to support safe navigation. Despite this, soundings are not currently included as part of the ECDIS ‘Standard’ display mode, and soarenot displayed when using this default mode. This includes soundings which are shallower than the entered safety depth, Soundings must therefore be switched on manually by the ECDIS operator. Furthermore, the 5-87 standard allows ENC producers to place isolated shoal depths within deeper depth areas. The ENC producer will then add an attribute to these features (EXPSOU) te highlight that the sounding is shallower than the depth area in which it sits. In the screenshot below, set to All’ display mode, a collection of shoal depths ranging between 4m and 19m are displayed located in a depth area of between 30m and 100m which is Beyond the safety contour set to 50m, ‘Shoal soundings located in deeper water visible in ‘Al display modeThese important hazards to navigation are also not displayed when operating in ‘Standard’ display mode, as illustrated below: a ‘Shoal soundings located in deeper water disappear in ‘Standard’ dispicy mode Furthermore, most ECDIS types have alarm functions which are not sensitive to soundings, even shoal depths which have been flagged solely using the attribute EXPSOU. The look-ahead watch vector will therefore not trigger an alarm if it crosses one of these shoal depths. Caution: Ce nt eC oe aoe eC een te ct monitoring to ensure that there are no shoal depths in the voyage path. Given this limitation, most ENC producers will now tend to avoid adding shoal depths using the attribute EXPSOU, but instead either include them as obstruction features, or add new depth areas, around the soundings. These alternative approaches should trigger the appropriate ECDIS alarms or indications. However, mariners are advised to continue to exercise caution, as examples may continue to exist in some ENC data. éli Placement of text: Unlike the paper chart where the cartographer has applied their skills in placing text to present the mariner with a clear and concise picture of features, the ENC places text based on display rules in the software. Depending on display settings, the user may experience text overwriting other text, or becoming truncated at cell limits, as illustrated below where the ENCs are being cisplayed at compilation scale: Text truncated ‘Text overwritten ustration of obscured text information Where tt information, occurs, panning or zooming the ECDIS display will give 2 clearer presentation of the Anchorage area names: Names of anchorage areas do nat display in the default ECDIS ‘Standard’ display mode, whereas an anchor berth name is displayed. As shown below, “Mouse Anchorage" is not shown, but the Anchor Berth “Warp W2" is clearly seen. ‘Anchorage area in ‘Standard’ display mode To identify the name of the anchorage area, you will need to interrogate the anchorage feature using the ECDIS pick report function. Priority display of lights: Major lights with an afl round arc of visibility (ie. without a sector) do not stand out as well on the ECDIS display when compared with sectored lights, and may be obscured by other features in the area, The sectors of relatively insignificant lights may therefore appear more prominently, giving the impression that they are more important than they are. ‘The landfall tight in the picture below has 2 nominal range of 24 nautical miles and is by far the most important light in this area, However, the sectored lights with a nominal range of only 5 nautical miles appear more important in the display.‘On a paper chart, the cartographer will ensure the light description is carefully positioned so that it is not obscured by other objects. This is not always the case on ENCs where the text Is positioned automatically using a fixed offset i Important landfall light (cieled) obscured by isolated danger symbols Display of light sectors: Some older ECDIS types do not always display correctly some light sector arcs which extend across 0°. When two sectored lights are co-located and have overlapping sectors, the sectors should be shown with a 25mm offset as in the example below: Correct presentation ~ red sector offset There are numerous cases where ECDIS fails to draw this complex situation properly. Generally the problems are either where the light sector offsets are drawn with an incorrect spacing, or where the 25mm offset is not implemented at all. Often these issues arise when the inaividual light sectors span the 0° boundary [as measured frorn the vessel} as ilWustrated in the example below where the red sector has not been drawn with the required 25mm offset. Incorrect presentation ~ red sector not offset ‘The IHO Check dataset detailed in Annex 6 contains a number of tests to assist users in evaluating how their individual system behaves in this respect. . Display of additional information; An ENC producer is able to add short textual descriptions to features in the ENC data using the attributes INFORM and NINFOM, and which are highlighted by the ECDIS with the magenta information symbol.‘These descriptions are expected to be short, with more detailed descriptions normally reserved for text files which can be issued alongside the ENC data. However, the standards do not currently specify the maximum length. Different ECDIS manufacturers have therefore configured their systems differently, and some will truncate the display if the text is longer than a set number of characters 300 characters has become the generally accepted limit to observe, although some ENC data may still contain examples longer than this, and some ECDIS types may truncate data shorter than this. If a user experiences truncated data in this way, they are advised to consult alternative sources, such as nautical publications. Display of foul areas: The IHO defines a foul area as “an area of numerous unidentified dangers to navigation. The area serves 5.4 warning to the mariner that all dangers are not identified individually and that navigation through the areo may be hazardous”. The IHO defines foul ground as “areas over which itis safe to navigate but which should be avoitied for ‘anchoring, taking the ground, or ground fishing". In terms of ECDIS display, a foul area should be seen as a hazard to surface navigation, but foul ground should not. There are a number of older ECDIS types which confuse the two definitions, and incorrectly show foul ground as a danger using the isolated danger symbol. Additionally, there are a number of ENC producers who have confused the definitions and, in some cases, have incorrectly encoded foul groundas foul area, again leading to the isolated danger symbol being shown where it isnot necessary. The ECDIS user is advised to use the IO Check dataset (Annex 6) to establish whether their system is affected, as it includes an example of foul ground within it as a point obstruction. If the ECDIS incorrectly displays foul ground as a danger then the ECDIS pick report function may be used to establish an object's true nature during voyage planning. Display of dangerous wrecks: There are a number of issues with some older models of ECDIS in the display of wrecks and obstructions. Examples have included stranded wrecks in otherwise ‘safe’ waters (as defined by the safety contour) not appearing in any display mode, and wrecks which fall exactly on a linear feature such as a depth contour not appearing in ‘Standard’ display mode. Usable workarounds exist for end users in most cases, and relate to features being displayed in the wrong layer (e.g. ‘AU / ‘Other’ instead of ‘Standard’ mode for example). In a small number of cases, however, certain ECDIS types do not display some types of dangerous wrecks and obstructions in any display mode. As described in Section 2.7, ECDIS end users are strongly encouraged to use the IHO check dataset to evaluate how their system displays obstructions and wrecks. Users are also strongly encouraged to familiarise themselves with any idiosyncrasies of their particular model of ECDIS, and to report them to the manufacturer. Small land areas: The S-57 standard allows producers to include point land features (rather than the more usual area features} where there are small islands or islets that are too small to digitise at the scale of the chart As they are defined as a point feature. they do not change size when the chart is zoomed to display them at a larger scale. 64Size of point Lend area remains unchanged when zoomed in The route checking alarm function in same ECDIS types are not sensitive to point land areas, and 50 may not highlight if any exist along your planned route. This is especially important when using very small scale ENCs in the ‘overview’ and ‘general’ navigetional purpose bands as the point land areas can be obscured by text or contour labels and may not be easy to see. In addition, some ECDIS ‘operate a minimum scale criterion to determine which data to check when performing the route checking function. The scale value is either set in the ECDIS (often the Limiting scale is 1:500,000} or is configurable by the user. In many cases there is no indication to the user that a scale cut off is being applied. There are many ares of the world, especially open ocean areas, where the largest scale charts (paper and ENC) available are |:|-5 million or smaller. Extra caution is therefore required when relying solely on very small scale ENC data for significant parts of a route. A route should be carefully inspected visually to ensure it is free of dangers, and the warnings provided by your ECDIS should never be relied on solely. Small land features will be difficult to see at small scales, and may become obscured by text. “A close inspection along the planned route is therefore recommended. Displaying textual descriptions in national language: ‘The defautt Language used in ENC data is English, but ENC producers are able optionally to include the same textual descriptions in their own national {anguages in addition to the English version. The various attributes which allow text to be displayed, such as INFORM (short information), OBJNAM (name of feature), TXTOSC (Longer information contained in text file), and PILDST (details of the pilotage services operating in the area) therefore have equivalent national language attribute versions (NINFOM, NOBJNM, NTXTDS and NPLDST).. Some older ECDIS versions do nat allow access to these national Language versions within the pick report function. In other cases, where these national language versions are available, the text may be unreadable, especially where it is written in a language which uses a different character set to that Used in English. Where this is the case, the mariner will need to rely on the English version.ENCs AND DISPLAY SCALE 41 ENC compilation scales Like paper charts, every ENC cell is assigned a compitation scale by the ENC producer This is the ECDIS display scale at which the ENC cell is intended to be used for navigation, and provides the ECDIS with a reference point from which it can calculate the various scale warning indicators described in this chapter. ENC producers use a variety of methods to define the compilation scale of their ENC data, but for safety reasons these will always take into account the scale at which the source information was captured. To ensure consistency, and thus improved display, most ENCs are assigned to one of the IHO's recommended standard scales. This is illustrated below based on the recommendations in JHO's $-65 publication, together with the navigational purpose each ENC scale is commonly assigned to. [Usage Bands | 1 Overview Small scale 3 Coastal 4 Approach Two 200m steps —s | 5 Harbour { Berthing So, for example, an ENC cell may have been captured from a 1:50,000 paper chart which in turn. was compiled from 1:25,000 survey data. In most cases, the ENC producer will assign this ENC a compilation scale of 1:45,000 (and possibly 1:22,000 if the survey data is of very good quality), and assign it to the ‘Approach’ navigational purpose (also known as usage band) Zoom in Large scale Ve Itis quite commen for the ENC compilation scale to be set toa slightly larger scale than the equivalent paper chart like this in order to reduce display clutter. An ENC displayed at the same scale as the equivalent paper chart witl tend to look more cluttered because: + The ECDIS has to follow rules on minimum sizes when drawing symbols and text. + The ECDIS displayis drawn dynamically Leading to an unpredictable placement of text information 4.2 Selecting appropriate display scates Unlike paper charts, which have to be used at the fixed compilation scale, ECDIS allows the operator to zoom in and zoom out, which changes the scale at which the ENC data is displayed Whilst this is a significant benefit in certain scenarios, and cannot be avoided in others (such as displaying two adjacent ENC cells of different scales on screen at the same time), caution is always advised whenever displaying an ENC cell at anything other than the compilation scaie assigned by the ENC producer. Zooming in to a larger scale introduces the risk that any positional errors that may exist in the ENC data are magnified to a point where the data becomes unsafe to use - and this fact will not be immediately apparent as the ECDIS will continue to display the text and symbols at a fixed size.Zooming out to 2 smaller scale introduces the risk that the display may become clutteréd as the ‘same amount of information is compressed into a smaller area on the screen. Important navigational features may therefore become obscured from view. When selecting which ENC cells to purchase. itis therefore important to ensure sufficient coverage at an appropriate scale is installed in order to avoid the need to have to spend long periods of time displaying ENC data at scales other than those they were intended to be used at. When deciding which ENC coverage to purchase, itis also helpful to be familiar with how the ECDIS in.use determines which ENC cells to load based on different combinations of ENC scale and display scale, Different ECDIS types will use different ENC loading strategies which will affect how the data is displayed. By having an understanding of this, the mariner can reduce the risk that he will end up ‘with the ‘no data area’ symbol described in Section 19 at the display scale required to navigate at in that area, 4.3, Zooming in to a larger scale When compiting a chart, the accuracy of the position that is seen on the chart wilt depend on a number of factors, and which includes the accuracy with which: + The position of the real world object was determined originally. ‘+ This position is then plotted on the survey by the cartographer. + This survey position is then translated into the horizontal datum used to draw the final chart. where this is different to the survey datum (WGS84 for ENCs, as used with GNSS). + This position is then plotted on the chart by the cartographer. It is likely that a small error will be introduced at each stage, and in the worst case scenario each of these individual errors will add up to one large error rather than cancel each other out. The aspects. listed above related to plotting positions are scale dependent. If we assume a cartographer can reproduce a plotted position to within 0-5mm on the chart, then this may be a total of Imm error when one considers the possible error introduced when plotting the survey, and then plotting the chart from the survey. If the cartographer is plotting at the scale 1:1,000, a Imm error will equate to only I-metre in reatity. However, if the cartographer is plotting at 1:700,000, a Imm error will equate to 700m in reality. The same 700m error will become an error of 70cm if plotted on the |:1,000 chart. It is for this reason that an ENC producer wil not usually compile a chart at a scale larger than the scale of the underlying survey information. It is also the same reason why it is not recommended to navigate using an ENC cell zoomed in to a larger scale. If one assumes that an ENC cell with a ‘compilation scale of 1:700,000 is only accurate to 700m in reality, this is much lass thar the accuracy of a vessel's own position can be determined. As a result, when viewing a small scale ENC cell at a much larger scale, potential hazerds may appezr on screen to be at a safe distance from the vessel when in reality they are not. Caution: The apparent precision of the chart display, and the overtaid ship's position from GPS, ere a ems eet Ce kt charts and their content and accuracy is therefore dependent on the source information Eres The ability of ECDIS to zoom in to a scale larger than the compilation scale of the paper chart, whilst displayed symbols stay the same size, can give a false sense of sea com PeeThere are occasions where displaying an ENC cell zoomed in to a larger scale is unavoidable. For instance, where a vessel is leaving port and heading outbound towards open waters the Limit of the large scale ‘harbour’ ENC coverage will soon be reached. beyond which there is only smaller scale ‘coastal’ and approach’ ENC coverage. As the vessel approaches this Limit, it will come into view on the screen, which will still be zoomed to match the large scale ‘harbour’ ENC. At this point, the ECDIS should automatically toad the smaller scale ENC cell which exists beyond this timit, displaying it at a Larger scale in order to match the scate of the ‘harbour’ ENC. As this will result in eniarging the smaller scale ENC cell, the ECDIS should display an ‘over scale area’ warning symbol over the area of the chart display which is being enlarged. This warning symbol. consisting of a series of parallel vertical lines, should only appear where the ‘smaller scale ENC cell is being enlarged by more than twice its compilation scale, as illustrated in the ‘example below where three ENC cells of different scales are being displayed together on screen Overview ENC at 1:750,000 General ENC at 1:187,500 cL “ ae ie Display scale = 1:250,000 Coastal ENC at 1:150,000 ‘Over scale area’ warning symbol displayed across Overview ENC cell Na Mk Car O wea Zu enc Lae ae eRe a aes Ln Dees ae ae hun a Ree ci ee een eee eC Ln ite einen taster cl cer een the smaller scale being enlarged by more than 2x its scale, but this is not true of all esr ee The symbol should not appear more generally whenever the ECDIS operator zooms in to alarger scale, but this is not true of all ECDIS types. Where the symbol appears as a result of the ECDIS matching adjacent ENC cells, and the operator then zooms in further, the symbol may disappear and be replaced by the appropriate warning indicator described below. 68In the example illustrated below, the :22,000 smaller scale ENC cell to the east comes intoview, and is enlarged to the display scale of 1:12,500 designed to match the |:12,000 scale of the larger scale ENG cell to the west. Even though this is less than twice magnification, the ECOIS has added the ‘over scale area’ symbol regardless to highlight that the smaller scale ENC cell is being enlarged. No other warnings are provided since the 1:12,000 ENC cell is not being enlarged as well. No other warnings provided [:I2,000ENCcelL —1:22,000ENC cell 112,500 display scale “Over scale area’ warning symbol displayed across smaller scale ENC cell If the ECDIS operator chooses to zoom in manually to display an ENC cell at a Larger scale, then the ECDIS will include an on-screen warning to the side of the chart display to indicate that the ENC data is being displayed over scale. The content of this warning will vary depending on how far the ENC data has been enlarged. As soon as the ECDIS is zoomed in so that the ENC cell is displayed Larger than its compilation scale, a warning message should appear confirming that the ENC data is no longer being used at its, recommended scale. The warning will state something like: ‘Not recom, scale" Most ECDIS will also provide an on-screen indication of the magnification ratio that is now being used to display the ENC data. Taking the example above, by displaying the |:12,000 ENG at 1:10,000, the magnification ratio will be x 1.2. It is generally considered unsafe to zoom in to a magnification ratio of more than x2 (Le. 1:6,000 in the ‘example above). Lt ENC data is compiled to be used at a certain scale, and the accuracy of the compilation Pee ee Oe en ten cee ated data is more accurate and could therefore be inappropriately used for a purpose for Reece)‘At magnifications greater than x2 the ECDIS should chahge the message te indicat that the ENC cell ts boing displayed grossly over scale, Returning to the eaample above, and sooming to 14000, the Gnplay wil look a follows Newwerning provided Note that over scale Zoomed in to area warning has now 1:4,000 display disappearedas expected scale ‘Over scale area’ warning symbol replaced with « gross over scale warning message Dire Pen Ceo ee eRe CRT oa Ca Pee CC ae Not all ECDIS types work exactly as described above, and so may respond to different Perc rete enn ae eet eo ee eu kee Cone oa tite ocd pee er ee ce Tie It is therefore advisable for the operator to familiarise himself with the properties of the ECDIS which will be used in this regard to develop a sufficient understanding of how and when the ECDIS prompts that ENC data is being displayed at an unsafe scale so that Cee Eee net techni ite Of course, there will be occasions when it is sensible to zoom in to a larger display scale in order to display a larger scale ENC cell covering the area. For example, as a vessel approaches a port. it will eventually crass the limit of coverage of the larger scale ‘harbour’ ENC, but may still be displaying the smaller scale ‘coastal’ or ‘approach’ ENC. Depending on the type of ECDIS in use, and the mode of operation, the ECDIS is likely to switch to displaying the larger scale ENC cell automatically, and may also change the display scale to suit However, in some cases the ECDIS operator will need to change the display scale manually toload the larger scale ENC cell. Where this is the case, the ECDIS will usually provide an ort screen indication that a better scale exists, This may take the form of the ECDIS displaying the boundary of the ENC cell, or may take the form of a textual warning stating something like “Larger scale data exists” 704.4 Zooming out to a smaller scale There witt be occasions where it is appropriate to display ENC data at smaller than its compilation scale (i.e, zoomed out). For example, it may be appropriate toimprove the look-ahead when navigating in confined waters. Equally, when heading inbound towards a port such that the limit of the Larger scale ‘harbour’ ENC comes into view on the edge of the screen, the ECDIS may choose to load this, ENC cell rather than continue to display the smaller scale ‘approach’ ENC that is currently being used to cover this area, The larger scale ‘harbour’ ENC will therefore be reduced in size to match the scale of the ‘approach’ ENC. By viewing an ENC cell under scale in this way, its content will be compressed into a smaller area on screen, Halving the display scale, say from 1:50,000 to |:100,000, reduces the data into an area only a quarter of the size Whilst the problem of enlarging any positional inaccuracies in the ENC data is no longer a concern when zooming out (like it is when zooming in), compressing the same data into a smaller area introduces the problem that the display may become too cluttered such that important navigational information becomes obscured from view. As described in Section 2.2, the ECDIS operator can limit this problem by changing his ECDIS display settings to filter the information being displayed. However, this change of display mode has the effect of switching off all examples of a given category of feature, such as all soundings, and so important navigational information which should remain displayed may be lost. Where it is likely that an ENC cell may be required to be used at smaller scales in certain situations, ENC producers are able to use the scale minimum attribute (SCAMIN) that forms part of the S-57 standard, and which allows the ENC producer to define the minimum display scale at which they wish individual features in the ENC data to remain on display. If the ECDIS is zoomed out beyond this, scale, it will no Longer display the feature, and therefore reduce clutter, SCAMIN OFF Display scale: 1:300,000 Compilation scales: 1;187,500 (northern cell) 1:75,000 (southern cell) Large scale ENC to the south is cluttered when zoomed out, ”‘SCAMIN ON play scale: 1:300,000 SCAMIN applied according to IHO recommended settings, With SCAMIN switched on, the large scale ENC to the south 's de-cluttered Unlike the example illustrated above, where different SCAMIN values are assigned to specific examples of a particular feature type depending on their navigational significance, in many cases the ENC producer may simply apply the same value to all examples of a specific feature type giving a similar result to altering the ECDIS display settings. For example, the ENC producer may set the value of 179999 against all scundings contained in an ‘approach’ ENC with compilation scale of |:45,000. If this ENC cell is displayed at its intended scale of 1:45,000, or zoomed out one step to 1:90,000, all of the soundings will be displayed. However, if the ENC cell is zoomed out a second step to |:180,000, none of the soundings will be displayed. Whilst at face value this may not appear to be any better than simply changing the ECDIS display settings yourself, when defining these minimum values ENC producers will normally consider the relative priority of different types of feature to navigation. So for example, a producer is likely to set a higher value (i.e. the feature remains on display longer) for important navigational feature types such as caution areas, floating navigational aids, obstructions, and overhead cables. Similarly they are likely to set a lower value (ve. the feature disappears quickly as the ENC cell is zoomed out) for features which are tess important to navigation, such as lakes and other shore-based features. This therefore ensures the filtering of the display is conducted in a controlled manner automatically. HO publishes guidelines on the number of zoom steps that should normally be used for each type of feature object that may appear in ENC data. The guidelines recognise that these values will need to be applied flexibly to ensure the o} play outcome given the density of detail in the given area, the specific attributes of the features in the area, and the range of scales of ENCs that are available. For example, an anchorage area with a restriction would be given @ higher value than one ‘that has no restriction, or a feature which is known to be visually conspicuous or radar conspicuous, ‘would also be given a higher value than one which is not conspicuous. These guidelines also define those features where a scale minimum value should not be applied, such as the coastline end depth areas, and so will continue to be displayed for as long as the ECDIS allows that ENC cell to be presented before loading the next available smaller scale (or no dataif this is the smallest scale available). This includes the features covered by the ECDIS ‘Base’ display mode explained in Section 2.2. Ina growing number of cases, ENC producers are applying # more advanced approach which takes into account not only the relative importance of particular examples of a feature, but also whether or not it appears on the next available scale ENC cell. This ensures consistency of display as you progressively zoom out. Otherwise, itis possible that features such es soundings may temporarily disappear and then re-appear when the ECDIS finally loads the smaller scale ENC cell. n &This is illustrated in the theoretical example below: ; 190000 euocaie + 199.000 ‘Soundings are thinned to ensure consistent depiction as you 200m aut In the illustration above, three soundings (5:3m, 2-7m and 2:5m) appear in bath ENC cell A (scale 1:45,000) and ENC cell & (scale (+180,000). The ENC producer has therefore given these soundings a scale minimum value of 349.999 (i.e. they remain on display in both ENC celts at 1:180,000 display scale, but would disappear in ENC cell A if itis zoomed out further by which time the mariner should be using the smaller scale ENC cell 8). As it is larger scale, ENC cell A contains more detailed information, and so also has a further four soundings (65m, 3:3m, 4"1m, 7:5m). The ENC producer has decided that keeping all four of these would tead to clutter if the mariner zooms out one step to 1:90,000. The ENC producer has therefore set a scale minimum value of 89999 to three of them Consequently only the 33m sounding out of the four extra soundings remains on display at 1:90,000 50 that the mariner can still usefully visualise the approximate location of the 3 metre contour. This sounding is then given a scale minimum value of 179999 so that it disappears when zoomed out a further step. This ensures that ENC cell Ais left presenting the same range of information as shown ‘on ENC cell B which covers the same area when displayed at the scale of ENC cell B. ea Dea ol See ee ae ee ed Renee) Re One eC Ca ae oe ad Be Ore What uence eo Feature objects which are not being displayed because of their SCAMIN value should still be detected by the ECDIS alarm functions. Howevér, mariners should not rely on DCCC OCC ORC Ut ere} (rEg nT a ec ne Ca Run Led Prats4.5. Display variability due to scale Guidance on the appropriate use of the SCAMIN attribute nas onty recently been published By IHO, and so significant variability occurs across the ENC data that exists at the time of publication, and some ENC cells do not include any minimum scale values at all. If different approaches have been applied between adjacent ENC cells, the user will notice inconsistencies in the density of data appearing as the display scale is changed. In the illustration below, the ENC cell to the north has a minimum scale applied to all soundings, whilst the ENC cell to the south does not. As the ECDIS is zoomed out, the soundings in the northern cell isappet resulting inthe nconlstency demonstrated, Zoomed in - soundings appear Zoomed out - soundings disappear Some ECDIS types also apply fixed display scale steps which do not always match the IHO's recommended standard scales listed in Section 41, This makes it difficult for ENC producers to apply optimal SCAMIN values in cases where the compilation scale of the ENC cell cannot be set larger than the scale of the paper chart from which it is derived due to the limitations of the underlying sourceinformation, and which therefore becomes very cluttered the moment one zooms out beyond this compilation scale. It is likely that ECDIS using different display scale steps will initially load the ENC cell at a stightly reduced scale (e.g. 1:25,000 rather than 1:22,000). In such cases, either the ENC cell will look Cluttered upon loading, or a number of the features contained in the ENC data will not be displayed if the ENC producer has set a SCAMIN value designed to ensure they are switched off the moment ‘the ENC cell is zoomed out (e.g. 22,001). In such cases, these features are only displayed when the ENC cell is viewed over scale. In situations like this, itis not always possible for the ENC producer to know with absolute confidence where to draw the Line when setting the minimum scale value to ensure the desired display outcorne on all types of ECDIS. And the optimum value may change over time if the relative scales of the surrounding ENC cells also change, some of which may be produced by a different hydrographic office To complicate matters further, not all ENC cells conform to one of the IHO’s recommended standard scales, and there are a number of ENC cells which still have a compilation scale derived from the original paper chart. For exemple, a large proportion of ‘Overview’ ENCs are assigned to the common paper chart scale of 1:3,500,000. In addition to the variability in scates used, there is also some variability in how ENC cells of a particular compilation scale are then assigned to a navigational purpose. By itself, failing to assign an ENC cell to one of these recommended compilation scales should not be a particular problem. However, most ECDIS use this scale to drive which ENC cells to load at different display scales. Furthermore, the minimum scale attribute (SCAMIN) will typically work based on a set number of zoom steps from the compilation scale, or be based on the scale of the next available ENC cell of the same area In the majority of cases, the ENC cells in a specific usage band covering a particular area will have broadly consistent compilation scales, and co-ordination between adjacent ENC producers should ensure that significant variations are avoided across the boundary of respective ENC coverage. 7%Any great variabitity in compilation scales between adjacent ENC cells would cause ‘increased unpredictability in the way the ENCs will display, and so may reduce the effectiveness of the loading, strategies operated by the ECDIS, and of the consistency in the reduction of clutter across the display. It is therefore worth considering compilation scales, a5 well as usage bands, when selecting which folio of ENC cells to purchase. The graphical catalogues of most ENC service providers include scale information. The ECDIS display is therefore affected by a complex relationship between the different compilation scales of available ENC cells, the minimum scale attribute values assigned to features within these ENC cells, the loading rules applied by the ECDIS, the exact zoom steps avaiable in the ECDIS, and the display settings applied by the ECDIS operator. Different ECDIS, with different zoom settings or ENC loading rules, may give a different display outcome under a particular range of conditions, and 50 itis important for the mariner to be familiar with the behaviour of the ECDIS in use. Dri ‘Some degree of display inconsistency is to be expected, and should be identified and evaluated as part of the appraisal and planning phases of a voyage in order to ensure the Bee tea a ee eR et ue homey Pee eer cer Ch eee cane ete rae Deu C Rea ot fenENC ACCURACY 5.1 ECDIS and prudent navigation Itis easy to be misted into thinking that, because ENC data is in digital format, and the ECDISis linked to GNSS, that everything seen on the ECDIS screen must be complete and accurate. However, the ENC datas only as complete and accurate as the original survey data from whichit has been derived. In the majority of cases this will be the same as used to derive the equivalent paper charts currently available. As described in detail in the Admiralty publication NP100 (‘The Mariner’s Handbook’), mariners have always been advised that itis good practice to use nautical charts with caution, and to recognise that no chart is infallible either through imperfections in the original survey. orin terms of changes which have occurred since. Mariners must be the final judge of the reliance they can place on the information given, bearing in mind their particular circumstances, safe and prudent navigation, Local pilotage guidance and the judicious use of available navigational aids. Whilst navigating with ECOIS has the potential to provide significant safety benefits through improved situational awareness, this important advice holds equally true when using ENC data in an ECDIS, and perhaps more so given the trust that end users tend to place on electronic devices over paper products. It is therefore important that the appraisal stage of voyage planning (Chapter 6) includes a careful assessment of the information contained in the ENC data regarding its sources and their degree of completeness and accuracy. This chapter outlines what types of accuracy information is likely to be available in ENC data, and how it can be accessed and interpreted. 5.2. The components of accuracy ‘The chart features seen on the ECDIS display have gone through a number of complex processes, from the initial recording during survey to the display on ECDIS. These processes all have the potential to affect the eventual accuracy of the ENC data, The individual elements of the compilation process are explored in detail within NP|00. This chapter concentrates on how survey accuracy and quality information may be accessed from an ECDIS. 5.3. Survey accuracy Since many areas of the world have not been surveyed to modern standards, the positional accuracy of the chart features being displayed on the ECDIS may not be as accurate as positions derived from GNSS. forts The prudent navigator should never rely sotely on GNSS derived positions for navigation, pte gee ee ee Ce ee oe een Per acu eu ee eee enero ies ”%The survey data used in the ENC is often based on information from different sources whose relative accuracies may vary widely. On the paper chart. this information is shown on the source data diagram which the mariner is advised to use at the appraisal stage of voyage planning. This ensures that the mariner can apply an appropriate safety margin when determining their route. Bigger margins should be applied where the survey data is old, or is of insufficient resolution or quality to fully depict the sea floor. ENCs do not contain an equivalent source data diagram, but provide information on the quality of data within the ENCs in other ways. The primary mechanism used to communicate this information is through an attribute known as ‘CATZOC’' (category of zone of confidence in data). ENC producers divide the ENC data into areas of differing survey quality based on positional accuracy, depth accuracy and seafloor coverage. Each area is included in the ENC data as an area meta-feature object knownas ‘Quality of Data’ (M QUAL) andis allocated one of the six possible CATZOC attribute values. In’All’ /‘Other’ display mode. the ECDIS will display the appropriate CATZOC symbol within each area (but not the limits of the areas] depending onits assigned value as detailed in the following table [sea cage] Seatloor Coverage | [osm+txdenr —_| KK | 25m | | Significant seafloor [Bevis Syme _[ Postion Aeuracy [Oop Acura Fullarea search. | fie. 08m accuracy for features detected and. ) 5 | 30m depth) | depths measured : —— — TT a OO |) Ge OK | | tom-+2% depth | Fatt areasearen } Signeant seafloor | one 20m lie Lémaccuraeyfor | features detected ond | | \ | 30m depth) epths measured, \ SS - OT oy | >? | |someree | Sateracnanes | * | 250m | fie, om accuracy for | hazardous features | [sens rovers rent | L expected | PT eae | Depth anomalies ma | GE _%K_FK) | s500m |i Smaccurey fr be evpected ” \ — 30m depth) L _ | More than 20m+5% | Large depth anomaties sept may be expectes | Table of CATZOC values and theic meanings Five and six star symbols therefore denote high accuracy surveys produced using modern equipment and techniques. A fourstar symbol denotes a medium accuracy survey where the positional accuracy is not quite as high and full seafloor coverage cannot be guaranteed Two and three star symbols denote low accuracy surveys, often based on data collected on an opportunity basis only (such as soundings reported whilst on passage), ard so where significant seafloor features (i.e. those which are more than 10% shallower than the soundings being shown in the area) are considered likely to exist.In the example illustrated below, itis clear that the area is covered by mixture of high and medium accuracy surveys, with only a four star rating given within the main channels. Illustration of varying CATZOC values across an ENC cell When determining which category to assign to any given area on the chart, the ENC producer will choose the minimum value where all three criteria (i.e. positional accuracy, depth accuracy and seafloor coverage) are met. This may mean that in some cases, specific accuracy ratings are understated. Therefore the CATZOC symbol displayed on the ECDIS will only give a partial description of the quality of the chart information being displayed, and does not include all the information available from the traditional paper chart source data diagram. However, there are other attributes that may be added to the ‘Quatity of data’ feature objects in the ENC data. Where known, the ENC producer may optionally include the following related information, S-57 Code Description DRVALt PoSsAcc Depth Range Value | - Defines the minimum depth that can be found in the area. This, may be used when the area has been swept so that itis known that the area Is not shallower than this particular depth, but the details of the seabed below this depth have not been determined, In some cases this may allow a survey with a very high positional and depth accuracy, but which has not attained full seafloor coverage, to be given five or six star CATZOC rating. as we know that there will not be any uncharted features shallower than this swept depth, It Is therefore always advisable to use the pick report to check this information when planning aroute, even where intending to sail in areas with apparently high accuracy surveys, to ensure this value does not conflict with the chosen safety depth value. Positional Accuracy ~ This allows the ENC producer to define more precisely the positional accuracy in a particular area, This may be better than otherwise indicated by the CATZOC. rating, particularly where this rating has been reduced because other factors are at a lower value, 18