SOLAS going electronic
Commencing this July, the International Maritime Organisation’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention regulations will require all member countries to move towards using electronic navigational charts in their regions for conduct of safe shipping. Around the world, especially in remote areas, the London-based UN organisation notes that work has already begun on a series of underwater surveys to produce updated charts.
As an example, it points to advances at the South Pacific island of Vanuatu which is surrounded by a vast maritime area. There, a team of hydrographers and technicians from the government and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC) will collect all necessary data over coming months. They are supported by the New Zealand government and the UK Hydrographic Office.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to develop national capacities for the conduct of geo-spatial and marine surveys together with the production of maps, marine navigational electronic and paper systems as well as geospatial data. Agreements have already been signed with several nations, most recently Saudi Arabia.
By David Goodfellow
