Charting requires a constant and diligent work, diversified in content and never definitive. In order to make navigation safe, continuous monitoring of the marine environment and regular hydrographic surveys are required, as well as constant exchange of information with maritime authorities, who provide part of the data and information necessary to integrate and update official nautical documents.
In order to ensure safety of navigation and therefore the protection of human life at sea, nautical documents need to be updated. To this purpose, Notices to Mariners are issued fortnightly, as a printed booklet and online (they can be downloaded free of charge).
In 2019 the IIM portfolio consisted of 264 ENCs, 370 paper charts, 8 volumes of Sailing Directions and a number of other publications, including for instance the List of lights and fog signals and the List of navigational aids. Electronic Navigational
Ocean Bathymetric Chart
Main publications by the the Istituto Idrografico della Marina
Charts were introduced in 1997, in addition to the traditional paper charts.
The first ENCs were produced in the 1980s by the most advanced hydrographic services in the world, according to technical specifications agreed upon internationally.
The first Italian ENCs were built by the IIM, and supplied on CD-ROMs to Navy vessels to test their potential and possible problems.
The outcome was successful and ENCs started to be issued, divided according to their purpose: from small scale charts covering the entire Mediterranean Sea, to large scale charts of the main harbours. Thus, Italy became one of the first countries worldwide to have complete ENC coverage of national waters.
To ensure worldwide distribution of ENCs and relevant updates, following the recommendations of the International Hydrographic Organization, authorized distributors have been selected, who provide timely and safe supply of the charts required at any time and for any geographical area, as well as the relevant updates and new editions.
In 2016 a radical change in the production flow was introduced at the Istituto Idrografico della Marina: different offices in charge of different products – paper charts, ENCs, nautical documents - were merged into a single Production Office, dealing with different geographical areas. The purpose was to obtain a more efficient, database oriented, production flow.
In 2017, the process was consolidated and rationalized, and the IIM started printing charts on demand, to avoid stocking.
IIM specific products include Kits of Nautical Charts for leisure navigation (CNIK). These charts, derived from ENCs and updated through the Notices
Genoa littoral, leisure chart
Mapping the seafloor Digital printer for leisure charts
Charts were introduced in 1997, in addition to the traditional paper charts.
The first ENCs were produced in the 1980s by the most advanced hydrographic services in the world, according to technical specifications agreed upon internationally.
The first Italian ENCs were built by the IIM, and supplied on CD-ROMs to Navy vessels to test their potential and possible problems.
The outcome was successful and ENCs started to be issued, divided according to their purpose: from small scale charts covering the entire Mediterranean Sea, to large scale charts of the main harbours. Thus, Italy became one of the first countries worldwide to have complete ENC coverage of national waters.
To ensure worldwide distribution of ENCs and relevant updates, following the recommendations of the International Hydrographic Organization, authorized distributors have been selected, who provide timely and safe supply of the charts required at any time and for any geographical area, as well as the relevant updates and new editions.
In 2016 a radical change in the production flow was introduced at the Istituto Idrografico della Marina: different offices in charge of different products – paper charts, ENCs, nautical documents - were merged into a single Production Office, dealing with different geographical areas. The purpose was to obtain a more efficient, database oriented, production flow.
In 2017, the process was consolidated and rationalized, and the IIM started printing charts on demand, to avoid stocking.
IIM specific products include Kits of Nautical Charts for leisure navigation (CNIK). These charts, derived from ENCs and updated through the Notices
Genoa littoral, leisure chart
Mapping the seafloor Digital printer for leisure charts
to Mariners, are smaller than ordinary charts, and therefore easer to use on board smaller craft.
Today the cartographer’s work needs to adapt to the development of a broader concept of hydrography which does not only focus on depths and seabeds but to all sea-related activities. There is a growing need for data to serve the so-called “Blue Economy” and new shipping techniques are being developed, such as autonomous shipping, which must be supported by more efficient and integrated nautical documents.
The IHO is therefore developing new standards – the “S-100” Universal Data Model – to be used with a new ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System), granting interoperability with a wide range of marine geodata. Thus, a global environment will be created for hydrographic data, products and services to meet the demand for marine data to support decision making.
The IHO S-100 standards will support a wide range of users by developing digital products and transferring standards to the international maritime community.
The advantage of these datasets, based on the same paradigm, is their mutual compatibility. Interoperability will support a variety of possible combinations of geographic information encoded in datasets, regardless of their scientific domain. For example, data on an ENC will include 3D bathymetry, currents, weather conditions, tides, maritime traffic, navigational aids, marine protected areas, environmental regulations, and so forth.
Decision making will be easier and more efficient, especially in complex areas with heavy traffic.
The S-100 standardization project requires a joint effort by the international hydrographic community, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ECDIS
Multibeam echo scanner
ENC processing 3D rendering of the seabed
manufacturers, shipowners, and all those entities who operate at sea and for the sea.
In the near future, the S-100 electronic navigational services will have to meet the requirements set in SOLAS Chapter V and IMO ECDIS performance standards.
Over the next years navigational
services, and the new S-100 standards, will undergo the same process faced by electronic charts. The cartographer’s work will change accordingly and new products will be issued by Hydrographic Offices to ensure a more efficient and safer navigation.