ECDIS COURSE

ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information System
 ECDIS COURSE

ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information System

ECDIS: An Electronic Chart Display and Information System is a

Geographic Information System (GIS) that complies with International
Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and can be used in replacement of
paper navigation charts.

GIS: Computer-based technologies for storage, manipulation, and analysis

of geographically referenced information.
A Geographic Information System differs from other computerized
information systems for the following reasons:
1. the information is geographically referenced (geo-coded);
2. higher capabilities for data analysis and scientific modelling, in addition to
the usual data input, storage, retrieval, and output functions.
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ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information System

The system displays information from electronic navigational charts and

integrates position information from the Global Positioning System (GPS)
and other navigational sensors, such as:
1. Radar (Target and display on top);
2. Echo-sounder;
3. Gyro-compass;
4. Wind sensors;
5. Speed-Log;
6. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS).

For these reasons ECDIS represents a real time Geographical Information

System.
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ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information System

Allarms
Software for Software for
“Route Planning” “Route Monitoring”
Autopilot

GPS/DGPS
Navigation Chart Database
Speed-Log
System (vector)
Gyro-Compass
C.P.U.
Data Logger
Radar
AIS Real time
Echo-sounder information
Wind-sensors
Keyboard

Display Print Manual Trackball

Data Input
Mouse
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ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information System

The primary function of an ECDIS is to contribute to safe navigation.

IMPORTANT: ECDIS IS AN INSTRUMENT FOR “SUPPORTING”
DECISION PROCESS.
There is a tendency to put too much trust in computer based systems and
believe whatever is on the display (Over reliance on ECDIS).
It is essential that officers remember to cross check the information
displayed by all other means available, especially by looking out the
window and watching the display.
At the same time the officer has to take care of the accuracy of the
integrated navigational sensors.
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ECDIS
International Organizations
To ensure that ECDIS equipment intended for onboard use is seaworthy, it
must pass type approval and test procedures developed by the IEC
(International Electrotechnical Commission) based on the ECDIS
Performance Standards of IMO (International Maritime Organization) and
applying the IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) technical
standards related to the digital data format.
Type approval is a method to show conformance with IMO requirements on
a legal basis. It is initiated and required by all Flag States which are Member
States of the European Union and by many others including United States,
Japan and Australia.
ECDIS type approval is the certification process that ECDIS equipment must
undergo before it will be considered to comply with the IMO Performance
Standards for ECDIS by the international shipping community.
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ECDIS
International Organizations

IMO IHO
S-52 S-57
Specifications for ECDIS Transfer
Performance Standards for ECDIS S-52 S-57
App.1 Guidance on Updating Standard for
IMO Model Course 1.27 Specifications for ECDIS Digital
Transfer
App.2 Colour and Symbol
SOLAS Convention App.1 Guidance on Updating Hydrographic
Standard for
App.3 Glossary of ECDIS- Data
Digital
App.2 Colour
related Termsand Symbol
STCW Hydrographic
App.3 Glossary of ECDIS- Data
related Terms

IEC
IEC
Publication 61174
Publication 61174
Maritime Navigation and Radiocommunication Equipment and Systems - Electronic
Maritime Navigation
Chart Display and and Radiocommunication
Information System (ECDIS)Equipment and Systems
– Operational - Electronic
and performance
Chart Display methods
requirements, and Information
of testingSystem (ECDIS)
and required test–results.
Operational and performance
requirements, methods of testing and required test results.
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ECDIS
Legacy Aspects – “IMO Performance Standards”
There are two classes of navigational electronic chart system:
1. ECDIS, which meets the IMO/SOLAS chart carriage requirements;
2. ECS (Electronic Chart System), which can be used to assist
navigation, but does not meet IMO/SOLAS chart carriage
requirements.
ECDIS equipment is specified in the IMO “ECDIS PERFORMANCE
STANDARDS” IMO Resolution A817(19) & IMO Resolution
232(82):”Adoption of the revised Performance Standards for ECDIS"; as
follows:

“Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) means a

navigation information system which, with adequate back up
arrangements, can be accepted as complying with the up-to-date
chart required by regulation V/19 & V/27 of the 1974 SOLAS
Convention”
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ECDIS
Legacy Aspects – “IMO Performance Standards”
IMO SOLAS V/19:
2.1 All ships irrespective of size shall have:
(…)
2.1.4 nautical charts and nautical publications to plan and display the ship’s
route for the intended voyage and to plot and monitor positions throughout
the voyage; an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS)
may be accepted as meeting the chart carriage requirements of this
subparagraph;
2.1.5 back-up arrangements to meet the functional requirements of
subparagraph 2.1.4, if this function is partly or fully fulfilled by electronic
means;*
*An appropriate folio of paper nautical charts may be used as a back-up
arrangement for ECDIS. Other back-up arrangements for ECDIS are
acceptable (see appendix 6 to resolution A.817(19), as amended).
IMO SOLAS V/27:
Nautical charts and nautical publications, such as sailing directions, lists of
lights, notices to mariners, tide tables and all other nautical publications
necessary for the intended voyage, shall be adequate and up to date.
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ECDIS
Legacy Aspects – “Back Up Requirements”
No electronic system is completely failsafe!

IMO Performance Standards therefore require that the ”overall system”

include both a primary ECDIS and an adequate independent back up
arrangement.
IMO added Appendix 6 to the performance standards for ECDIS back up
requirements, lists the required functions and availability requirements of
back up arrangements, including:
• Chart information using the latest official edition that are kept up-to-date
for the entire voyage;
• Route planning capable of performing route planning functions, including
taking over the route plan of the primary system, and adjusting a planned
route;
• Route monitoring enabling take-over of the route monitoring function
originally performed by the primary system, including plotting own ship’s
position and displaying the planned route;
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ECDIS
Legacy Aspects – “Back Up Requirements”
• Voyage recording that keeps a record of the ship’s actual track, including
positions and corresponding times.
The definition of these key functional requirements still leaves open
technical solutions representing adequate back up arrangements. Finally:

A second ECDIS connected to an independent

power supply and a separate GPS position input;

An ECDIS operating in the
RCDS mode of operation;
An appropriate up-to-
date folio of official
Back Up
Systems paper charts for the
intended voyage;

A radar-based system called ”Chart-Radar” according

to IMO Performance Standards for Chart Radar;
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ECDIS
Legacy Aspects – “ENC”
Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) means the database
standardised as to content, structure and format issued for use
with ECDIS on the authority of government-authorized
hydrographic offices.

The ENC contains all the chart information necessary for safe
navigation, and may contain supplementary information in
addition to that contained in the paper chart (e.g. sailing
directions), which may be considered necessary for safe
navigation.
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ECDIS
“Numeric Cartography”
There are two types of Numeric Chart:
1. Vector
2. Raster
The difference between them is the data archiving modality.
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ECDIS
Numeric Cartography – “Vector Charts”

VANTAGE:
●
Adding or removing layers of data;
●
Zooming and seeing more or less data appear according to the level of
zoom;
●
Displaying the chart at a larger scale than the source paper chart;
●
Not large data volumes - Compact data structure.

DISADVANTAGE:
●
The nature of the vector display is such that the chart data is not
displayed electronically as it was compiled (as a paper document) and the
original cartographic design of the paper chart is lost.
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ECDIS
IHO S57

To ensure that ECDIS function uniformly anywhere in the world, the

information elements contained in the database must be consistent.
It would make non sense for each Hydrographic Office to develop different
types of chart “objects”.
For this reason the IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) develop
an Object Catalogue that described the range of attributes to be assigned
to each object (www.S-57.com).
As the key component of the “IHO Transfer Standard for Digital
Hydrographic Data” (IHO S-57), the object catalogue ensures that the
database for ECDIS, the “Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC)”, is
properly constructed and organized.
So…
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ECDIS
IHO S57

…the “IHO Transfer Data for Digital Hydrographic Data” (usually

abbreviated as IHO S-57) establishes the requirements for producing
an ENC to be used with an ECDIS satisfying the ECDIS Performance
Standard A817(19).
It was completed in November 1996 and published in March 1997 (a new
version has been published in 2000).
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ECDIS
WEND (World-wide Electronic Navigational Chart Data Base)
The Electronic Chart are produced under the authority of a government
organisation (Hydrographic Organization). The user, then, can obtain the
ENC’s from the various HOs directly. This becomes prohibitively
cumbersome if the user engaged on international voyage.
Therefore service providers have been established which collect the ENCs
from different HOs and maybe other sources, to deliver to the end user all
data he needs for his voyage.
A particular problem is to ensure that all official ENCs produced by a
large number of different HOs are of the same quality.
Without an additional intervening mechanism ensuring uniform data
quality, Mariners would be left with inconsistencies between ENCs from
different HOs.
This the background why IHO has developed a concept for a worldwide
official ENC service.
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ECDIS
WEND – ECDIS Data Service
The concept of an official data Service was developed in conjunction with
the IMO requirements to establish a worldwide uniform updating service.
An official ECDIS data service include:

●
Global Uniformity of data: All participants must work in accordance
with the same standard, i.e. S-57 data transfer standard. It must
ensured that ENCs from all producing HOs worldwide exhibit
consistent contents and display.
●
Quickest way from the source to ECDIS: This excludes any
additional levels of processing. That is why the data must come directly
from the originators. The Hydrographic Offices must have strict sharing
of work in close co-operation. This ensures at the same time the global
uniformity of data.
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ECDIS
WEND – ECDIS Data Service
A reasonable solution is to have an arrangement for sharing the work of
setting up and facilitating the provision of a world-wide ECDIS data service
based upon agreed upon standard.
This arrangement was established by the IHO as the World-wide
Electronic Navigational Chart Data Base (WEND).
The purpose of WEND is “to ensure a world-wide consistent level of high
quality, updated official ENCs trough integrated services that support chart
carriage requirements of SOLAS Chapter V and requirements of the IMO
Performance Standards for ECDIS”.
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ECDIS
WEND – ECDIS Data Service - RENC
WEND consists of two components to achieve its purpose:

●
A charter describes the principles governing the co-operation. This
includes the following provisions:
o By definition, the organization responsible for hydrographic survey
of an area is also responsible for the ECDIS data;
o The relevant ECDIS standards, especially S-57 Edition 3 must be
observed;
o The rules and responsibilities for producing and validating the data.

●
So called Regional Electronic Chart Co-ordinating Centres
(RENC) which “are organisational entities where IHO members have
established co-operation amongst each other to guarantee a world-
wide consistent level of high quality data, and for bringing about co-
coordinated service with official ENCs and updates to them”.
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ECDIS
Numeric Cartography – “Vector and Raster Charts”

Raster Vector
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ECDIS
Numeric Cartography – “Official Charts”
Official electronic chart data and private chart data

Official electronic chart data are of two general types:

• Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC);
• Raster Navigational Charts (RNC).

The inner construction of ENCs and RNCs is fundamentally different:

•
ENCs are vector charts;
• RNCs are raster charts.

The term “Official”, indicates that those chart data have been produced
under the authority of a government organisation – in contrast to private.
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ECDIS
Numeric Cartography – “ENC”
ENC means the database, standardized in the content, structure and
format, issued for use with ECDIS on the authority of government-
authorized Hydrographic Offices.
ENCs are vector charts compiled from a database of individual geo-
referenced objects from Hydrographic Office’s archives including existing
paper charts.

ENCs have the following attributes:

•
ENC content is based on source data or official charts of the responsible
Hydrographic Office;
• ENCs are compiled and coded according to international standards;

• ENCs are referred to World Geodetic System 1984 Datum (WGS84);

• ENC content is the responsibility and liability of the issuing Hydrographic

Office;
• ENCs are issued only by the responsible Hydrographic Office;

• ENCs are regularly updated with official update information distributed

digitally.
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ECDIS
Numeric Cartography – “ENC – S52/S57”
In conjunction with the development of IMO Performance Standards for
ECDIS, the International Hydrographic Organization has developed
technical standards related to the digital data format, specifications for
ECDIS content and display, and data protection.

•IHO Special Publication 52 (S-52): includes appendices describing the

means/process for updating, colour and symbol specifications, and a
glossary of ECDIS-related terms.

• IHO Special Publication 57 (S-57): includes a description of the data

format, product specification for the production of ENC data, and an
updating profile.

Both IHO S-57 and S-52 are specified in the IMO Performance
Standards for ECDIS.
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ECDIS
Displaying ENCs by means of the Presentation Library

ENCs don’t contain any explicit visualisation items. An ENC contains an

abstract description of geographic entities but does not contain any
presentation rules.
All presentation rules to get ENC’s content displayed are contained in a
separate software module – the so called “Presentation Library”.
Both the Geo-referenced object contained in the ENC and the fitting
symbolization contained in the Presentation Library are linked to each
other only in the very moment of their call up for display.
The definition of the Presentation Library for ENCs is contained in Annex A
of the IHO Special Publication S52, Appendix 2 “Colours & Symbols
specifications for ECDIS”.
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ECDIS
Displaying ENCs by means of the Presentation Library

ENC PRESENTATION LIBRARY

Description of Geographic Entities Contains all presentation rules
(S57) (S52)