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DNV ECDIS Study
15 Nov 2007
If Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) are to become mandatory aboard ships, the number of groundings is likely to be reduced by a third, according to a study commissioned by classification authority Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
The main conclusion of the study is that coverage of electronic charts for coastal areas is already very good and still improving. Global coverage of areas lies between 84% and 96% and is expected to increase to between 87% and 98% within a few years. As a result, said DNV's chief executive, Henrik Madsen, an ECDIS should become a mandatory item for most ships as soon as possible.
The findings have been financed by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, with their collective view that a lack of electronic navigational chart coverage should no longer be seen as a reason not to introduce mandatory ECDIS carriage requirements, since coverage is now shown to be sufficient.
Not quite, according to the IMO's Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (NAV) at its last session in July, which called on the International Hydrographic Organization and its member countries to continue increasing their coverage of ENCs before a mandatory carriage requirement could be considered.
