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UKHO AVCS partnering agreements
The UK Hydrographic Office has signed major partnering agreements with Kelvin Hughes and Transas under which the two manufacturing companies are to pre-load its Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) facilities on their respective ECDIS units.
Launched earlier this year at conferences in London and Singapore, AVCS is claimed to provide the most comprehensive worldwide series of electronic navigational charts available. Based on official ENCs from the world’s leading hydrographic offices, it essentially comprises an integrated global set of charts designed as folios covering major international shipping routes. The UKHO says it presently covers 1,454 of the world’s top 2,000 ports, a figure which is likely to significantly increase by the end of this year following inclusion of data from authorities in Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Over 75 major shipping organisations are already using or trialing AVCS while more than 100 vessels have reportedly installed it to meet their primary navigational requirements. Kelvin Hughes says that pre-installation on its ECDIS units means that mariners will only need to update data prior to sailing. Moreover, the company adds, it will also enhance prospects for its own maritime data supply service hosted by ChartCo, which is already working closely with the UKHO to provide a full AVCS update facility at sea via broadcast, email or internet delivery.
Transas, which has sold more than 7,000 ECDIS units worldwide, likewise foresees considerable benefits for users and is to combine its own ECDIS information with AVCS data under a format known as Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS). This, it says, will ensure significant time savings in addition to simple error free installation and updating for its DNV type approved Navi-Sailor systems.
