Folio management and updating charts is an endless process, generally falling on the second officer. Everyone is busy during the brief periods modern ships spend in port, so when does this officer find time for this work? It is true that modern shipboard communications can speed up the delivery process for updates. Even so it can be an onerous business ensuring that paper charts are fully up to date.

To inform users about the status of production of T&P notices in ENC update files, Primar and IC-ENC collected information from the individual hydrographic offices distributing ENCs through the regional ENC co-ordination centres (RENCs), presenting the results in a table which can be accessed via the Primar website. Prudent shipowners and managers should discuss all such issues when selecting an ENC supplier. ECDIS

Important navigational information is also circulated by means of temporary and preliminary (T&P) notices to mariners. Primar, operated on a non-profit basis by the Norwegian Hydrographical Service, says the use of T&P information is considered an essential part of keeping navigational charts up to date, but not all ENC producers include T&P information in their ENCs, while those that do follow a number of different practices.

Updating electronic navigation charts (ENCs), on the other hand, should take less time and minimise the possibility of errors. Updates can be delivered in a variety of ways, including CDs and remote methods, making use of modern shipboard communication systems which, in some cases, involves direct connection to the ecdis unit.

The demands placed on the navigator by the onboard management of a paper chart outfit vary, depending on the nature of a vessel’s trading pattern. A ferry on a short route will need very few charts. But at the other end of the scale, the burden imposed by a vessel prepared to carry cargoes anywhere in the world is considerable.

In fact, The Electronic Chart (Geomares: Hecht, Berking, Jonas and Alexander) says one of the major benefits of using electronic charts is the ability to update the electronic chart database automatically. This is particularly true of ecdis, which has specific functions and requirements to facilitate the updating process.

However, updating ENCs requires care and a proper understanding of the process. In Ecdis Procedures Guide (Witherby), Malcolm Instone says that as the updating process can be lengthy, it is best done when the vessel is in port. A risk assessment should be carried out before updating ENCs when a vessel is under way, because some systems only allow updating to take place if safety monitoring is turned off. In addition, updating diverts computer capacity from its primary task. He notes that all extant routes will need to be re-checked following an update.

While ENC updates are normally performed automatically, the performance standards say ecdis should also be capable of accepting manually entered updates to ENCs. On ships with paper charts as ecdis back-up, the workload must actually be increased. Furthermore some flag states require the carriage of some paper charts, even when dual ecdis is fitted, to provide the required back-up.