Onshore ENCs

NAVTOR is calling on hydrographic offices and other industry stakeholders to help "bridge the divide" between vessels and management teams with the widescale roll-out of onshore electronic navigation charts. Without a joined-up global approach the Norwegian maritime technology company says important development areas such as autonomous shipping, route planning, optimisation and effective emergency response measures could be held back. NAVTOR's Paul Elgar described the current state of play as "simply not good enough". He said: "At present, traditional pricing structures and usage restrictions mean that hydrographic offices don't differentiate between vessels and offices. So if you want to enhance operations by allowing onshore staff to access the same charts as your vessel teams, you're looking at an additional bill of hundreds of thousands of dollars."