Safety Issues

1. SafetyIssues Use of ENCs in ECDIS

2. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. Bathymetric data (depth contours and points) in nautical charts is subject to a security regime. This means that bathymetric data in ungraded nautical charts has a minimum distance between points on 50 meters. Creation of maps which has less than 50 meter distance between points require security clearance. In Norway, a new law is established to remove all limitations of point density for depths down to 30 meter. The defence department is managing the new regulations. Until new regulations are available, we must comply with old law, ie apply for the delimitation of individual areas. You will find similar security regime all over the world. The fact that the bathymetric data in ENCs are poor, create a problem in navigation using ECDIS.

3. Poorbathmetry, Lovisenbergsundet Lovisenbergsundet is considered to be risky navigation waters and has been subject for several groundings, also with pilot on board. It is used as a testbed by Norwegian Mapping Authority for testing the effect of improved quality of bathymetric data. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

4. Poorbathmetry, Lovisenbergsundet This is a screen dump of an ECDIS screen showingexisting ENC cell NO4X0718 for Lovisenbergsundet. This is the most detailed ENC for the area, and it is a bit over scaled using 1: 1500 as the vertical lines indicates. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

5. Poorbathmetry, Lovisenbergsundet This is the same NO4X0718 cell but updated with a new survey for improved point density which allow creation of new depth curves. There are depth curves for each meter which again creates a more accurate bathymetric shape of the seabed. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

6. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. The subject poor graphic display of the ENC contain several topics. In this presentation I will mention just a few. The overall stand is the fact that the formats of the todays ENC, the S-57, S-52 is not sufficient, especially not in visualisation of data vs the nautica (paper) chart. The standard is rather old, and will be replaced by the S-100 format.

7. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension

8. No whitesectorextention In Norwegian nautical (paper) charts, the white sectors are drawn with extended length to clearly indicate the safe route. The lack of extension of white sectors in the ENC makes it difficult to see where to go. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

9. No whitesectorextention Look at this ENC map. Consider where to go in confined water from south to north. Do you see it? I guess you will have to use some time to be sure, unless you already know. Image credits: Kystinfo

10. No whitesectorextention Isn’t it better using a nautical «paper» chart, here represented by a raster chart copy? Image credits: Kystinfo

11. No whitesectorextention This is the main and secondary route from south to north. It is much easier to see this in the paper chart, right? In this case it is due to drawing of extended white sectors which shows where the routes are in this area. Extended white sectors will not be used in the S52 standard. Image credits: Kystinfo

12. No whitesectorextention Here are another example of white sector layout. On the nautical chart you will easily see what the extended white sector is ment to guide for …… Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

13. No whitesectorextention …. wich is missing in the ENC. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

14. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension • Text in the ENC, limited use of font and size. In an ENC you will find less name and text. At the same time you may not have the same opportunity to use different fonts and size on text as in the nautical chart.

15. Text and fonts In an ENC will all names look similar. At present stage there are no opportunity to change size and fonts. Some ECDIS systems have no separation between names and lighthouse characters. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

16. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension • Text in the ENC, limited use of font and size. • Text in the ENC, spot depth along the quayside. Text in an ENC is a geographical point to where the characters is linked. The fact that it is linked to a position sometimes creates a problem.

17. Text and fonts Depths along the quay (berth) is measured 2 meter out from the actual egde. In a harbour ENC on scale1:8000 can not be read even if you scale down to 1:4000 as in the picture. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

18. Text and fonts You have to do over-scale to 1:800 to be able to read the depth 2 meter out of the quay. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

19. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension • Text in the ENC, limited use of font and size. • Text in the ENC, spot depth along the quayside. • Text in the ENC, underwater rock The way the ENC standard displays the underwater rock may hide other important information.

20. Underwater rock This is symbol and text for underwater rock in an ENC. And this is the symbol and text for underwater rock in a nautical (paper) chart. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

21. Underwater rock Underwater rock in an ENC Underwater rock in a nautical chart The way the ENC standard displays an underwater rock may hide other important information. This is due to the fact that it is a symbol which has the same size on all scales and may cover a smal or bigger area. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

22. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension • Text in the ENC, limited use of font and size. • Text in the ENC, spot depth along the quayside. • Text in the ENC, underwater rock • Poor density of spot depths in ENC. If the distance between spot depts in the ENC are short, you could actually use them to show safe see room. Simply, adjust i.e Safety depth to 7 meter, all spot depts less than 7 meter will be highlighted, the spot depts deeper than 7 meter will be light gray.

23. This example shows how this could work. Normally there are no sufficient density of spot depths in ENC as shown on this example. A density like this makes it easy to see the safe sea room for your ship. Safety depth adjustment on 14.9 m show safe water channel. On the picture you can see how it could work in case of coverage spot depths. Poordensityof spot depths. Image credits: Jørgen Strandberg

24. Poordensityof spot depths. On this picture the safety depth is set to 13.9 meter. This is a good example showing how spot depths can be used to display safe sea room in US ENC cell. Image credits: Jørgen Strandberg

25. Weakness in the ENC Safety items by using ENC Electronic Nautical Chart: An increasing number of people are not confident with the official chart format for ECDIS namely the ENC. In this presentation I will like to highlight some of the problems. • Poor bathymetric data on depths <30meter in the ENC. • Poor graphical display of the ENC. • No white sector extension • Text in the ENC, limited use of font and size. • Text in the ENC, spot depth along the quayside. • Text in the ENC, underwater rock • Poor density of spot depths in ENC. • Too large distance between depth contours in the ENC.

26. Large distancebetweencontours The fact that todays ENC is using the same limits for depth contours as the nautical chart, create a problem both when it comes to unwanted alarms and poor visualisation of safe sea room. As the figure shows the regular depth contours are 0, 2, 5, 10, 20 meter and so on. If you adjust the Safety contour level to 11 meter the ECDIS will use the 20 meter contour. Image credits: Norwegian Mapping Authority

27. Large distancebetweencontours Safety contour set to 11m The picture shows an area where the ship has to cross and trigg an alarm. This is due to the ship draft is 9 meter + 20 % UCK means Safety contour setting on 11 meter. By setting a Safety contour on 11 meter the Safety contour will be drawn at 20 meter as there are no other contours between 10 and 20 meter. The lack of contours between 10-20 meter will reduce the area of displaid safe sea room.

28. Weakness in the ENC, conclution The mention creates several problems in costal navigation using ENC´s: • Unreliable data in shallow water • Difficult to see important navigation information • Poor visible safe sea room. • Large number of unwanted alarms on some ships. THE BIG QUESTION IS …. WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT ?

29. Recomendations • WAY AROUND THE PROBLEMS: • Visual study of the map : Spend more time to actual study the ENC map. No doubt, ”practise makes perfect”. • Better voyage plans: Do more detailed voyage planning. Make notes in your ECDIS voyage plan and prepare for the voyage for your coluages too. • User Editor: Use the ECDIS User Editor function to provide visual information about the safe sea room and navigation notes along the route. • S-101 ENC: There are a new chart format underway. It is called S-100 and will solve the most of the technical problems mentioned. According to the plan S-100 will be start implemented around 2022. To use S-100 formated data will require new ECDIS systems or upgrade of existing ones. When it comes to data accuracy and production of better maps the time schedule is not avaliable.

30. Maybesomething like this? This is the view of a passage plan ”from north to Dunkirk” in an ECDIS. The User Editor is used to provide necessary visual information about the safe sea room in costal navigation. What is nesesary to add is non sattelite position fixing alternatives. Image credits: Jørgen Strandberg