Introduction
There are many types of nautical charts, including:
- Navigation charts (NCs), which show the general features of the sea and coastline. They are produced by hydrographic offices around the world, especially those with adjacent waters such as Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. These offices provide data used by commercial shipping routes and international air routes; they also produce charts for recreational use and other maritime users. In some countries, such as Canada and South Africa, these charts may be sold at retail on a non-exclusive basis; elsewhere (such as in the United States) only authorized chart agents can sell them at retail or wholesale prices (i.e., there is no “retail” price).
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A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and human-made aids to navigation, information on tides and currents, local details of the Earth’s magnetic field, and human-made structures such as harbours, buildings and bridges. Nautical charts are essential tools for marine navigation; many countries require vessels, especially commercial ships, to carry them. Nautical charting may take the form of charts printed on paper or computerized electronic navigational charts.
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With each daily download, ChartCo supplies all new editions to ensure that customers receive the most up-to-date marine charts available. Charts are available through Navigator’s proprietary chart management software or via ChartCo’s on-line digital charts service. All UKHO charts supplied by Navigator are accompanied by a disclaimer issued by the UK Hydrographic Office stating that they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information displayed in or on their products including any navigation aids or position information which may be shown. The user is responsible for making all enquiries and assessment necessary prior to relying upon said information.
The UKHO disclaimer states that they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information displayed in or on their products including any navigation aids or position information which may be shown. The user is responsible for making all enquiries and assessment necessary prior to relying upon said information.
The data used to produce Navigator’s digital chart portfolio is supplied by a number of different sources including Navionics (now owned by Garmin), Jeppesen, AIS, BSB, IALA and others. Each update includes all new editions plus selected corrections from the date last updated; these corrections are produced by professional hydrographers at sea who have been trained specifically for this task.
For example you can generate all chart data for a selected region directly from our free web application ‘AVCS Online’.
To generate charts, use our free web application ‘AVCS Online’. You can use this application for all types of marine charts and for any region in the world. It also supports any scale of chart that you might need!
Conclusion
We hope that this blog post has helped you understand the basics of nautical charts and how they’re used by mariners. If you want to learn more about the subject, we recommend checking out our other posts on ChartCo and the UK Hydrographic Office.
Anns is a contributor at SailMentor. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.
