AVCS on ECDIS ensures digital future
‘ A major step towards creating a compliant digital service that not only fulfils the requirements of the mariner, but assists them during the transition towards the proposed ECDIS mandation that comes into force from 2012,’ is how Mike Robinson, Transas’ CEO, describes the new commercial agreement that will see every future Transas ECDIS pre-loaded with Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) data.
He goes on to say that he sees Transas as smoothing out some of the difficulties that have been associated with the use of official electronic navigational charts (ENCs) in the past. ‘It is fundamental that we foster relationships,’ he says, ‘to enable people to derive the proven benefits from the use of ENC data whilst removing some of the complexities and inconsistencies that have inhibited use to this point’. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) launched AVCS in April 2008, which integrates ENCs from national hydrographic offices across the globe, along with newly manufactured ENCs for gaps in key areas, to provide a comprehensive series for traversing international waters. The service now covers 1,454 of the top 2,000 ports, and coverage will continue to increase.
In total, since launch, 694 new ENCs have been added to the AVCS service with more already in the pipeline, and a new, (and in some cases much cheaper) flexible price has been arranged that takes into account a mixture of needs for individual cells, folios and short term licences. Further, in line with the fact that AVCS will now allow individual ENCs to be purchased without a minimum order value, all existing UKHO ENC service customers will be upgraded free of charge to AVCS.
Transas’ new Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS) builds on this by compiling the ENC data set into the internal format of an ECDIS system, meaning that users will find life easier with significant time savings, simpler installation and (where the producing nation allows) easier updating of official System Electronic Navigational Chart (SENC) data on their systems with automated and semi-automated processes.
Since TADS is based on AVCS, it comprises only official ENCs produced by government hydrographic offices and therefore is fully compliant with Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) legislation for use within ECDIS.
Ian Moncrieff, UKHO National Hydrographer noted, ‘The successful launch of AVCS and its ongoing development has only been achievable through the spirit of international cooperation, with the primary objective of every Hydrographic Office around the world to support the safety of life at sea.’
