The Electronic Chart

Function, Potential and Limitations of a New Marine Navigation System

By Horst Hecht, Bernhard Berking, Gert Büttgenbach, Mathias Jonas, and Lee Alexander

Reviewed by Michael J. Casey, Canadian Hydrographic Service

It’s a brave author who takes on the task of writing a textbook on a new and evolving field of technology. If written too early, (like the dozens of books about the Internet published 10 years ago), they risk being dated beyond the point of being useful by the time the ink is dry on the page. If written too late, they miss the wave of public enthusiasm for a single book that tells the whole story. Without question, a well-timed textbook not only meets a growing need but in its own way helps promote the uptake of new technology. We can all breathe a sigh of relief that with the publication of this book, the world has been given one of the missing bricks in the foundation of the general acceptance of ECDIS. Certainly, we need it now as ECDIS hangs over the edge of a precipice, soon either to tip into the crevasse of good-ideas-that-never-were-accepted or cement its position as one of the great stepping stones in marine safety—the education of the broad marine community in electronic charting that will be key in the acceptance of the grand ECDIS vision.
The book has been written by a strong team of authors which only adds to its credibility. The team is made up of experts from diverse fields including a hydrographic office, type approval agency, system manufacturer, standards setting body, and academia. Furthermore, all the authors are pioneers in the ECDIS business—having devoted a significant portion of their careers to the pursuit of this grand dream—their qualifications are unquestionable.
The book is designed to appeal to a broad audience of the marine transportation community. Yet the authors have worked hard to ensure that the result is packaged in a way that allows quick reference to specific parts of the ECDIS story, whether it relates to technical issues such as data structure, operational issues such as navigation functions and system integration, or strategic issues like economic value and regulatory/legal issues. This causes a small amount of redundancy but makes for a more useful product for everyone. It is a useful addition to the reference shelf of ship’s officers, ship managers, regulators, hydrographers, and marine navigation trainers.
The book also nicely balances the formality of ECDIS and the more general case of electronic charting. Although purists may lament debasing the coinage by highlighting ECS, it only makes sense to do so since most systems in operation today are not type-approved. Furthermore, only time will tell if ECDIS achieves the breakthrough most of us have dreamed of. ECS, however, is here to stay.
The book opens with a simulated voyage with an Electronic Chart which and sets the scene for the following chapters which delve into specific topics in greater detail. These include chapters devoted to differentiating between ECDIS, ECS and RCDS, hydrographic matters, navigation functions, integration with other on board systems, data services, updating, safety issues, economic aspects, regulatory and legal issues, training, and the current status of standards.
The book is remarkably up-to-date referring to topics such as SENC distribution and the restructuring of PRIMAR. The data issues are nicely handled without excessive use of jargon or esoteric theoretical concepts. The section on the economics aspects of electronic charting will be of interest to the marine transportation community as a whole.
The publication of this book marks a great step forward in the broad acceptance of electronic charting technology.

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