Development and Impact of Inland ENCs/ECDIS on Hydrographic Offices

1. Development and Impact of Inland ENCs/ECDIS on Hydrographic Offices Denise LaDue, USACE

2. The Inland ENC Harmonization Group • Objective: to develop and to maintain a harmonized standard for Inland Electronic Navigational Charts (IENCs) suitable for inland navigation that is based on the standards of IHO for ‘maritime’ ENC • Goal: to agree upon specifications for Inland ENCs that are suitable for all known inland ENC data requirements for safe and efficient navigation in European, North American, Russian Federation and South American inland waterways. • It is further intended that IENC standards meet the basic needs for Inland ENC applications, worldwide (e.g., Asia)

3. IEHG - Recognition • As the competent international technical group on Inland ENC technical standards development, implementation and maintenance, IEHG is recognized by: • Europe - European Union and the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine • North America – US Army Corps of Engineers • Russian Federation - Russian Ministry of Transport • Brasil – Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation of the Brasilian Navy (DHN) • International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) • The IEHG supports, advises and provides input to IHO regarding Inland ENC matters.

4. IEHG - Organization • IEHG is organized in regions that are comprised of countries within a continent (e.g., North America, South America) or a recognized social-economic region (e.g., Europe, Russian Federation) • Chairpersons and technical coordinators are elected by simple majority vote: • Chair – Two co-chairs and one vice chair, each from a different region. Only representatives of waterway authorities can become chairpersons. • Vice Chairs – One from each region which is not already a chair. • Technical Coordinators - One technical coordinator for each region. • Core Group – The Chairs and Technical Coordinators

5. IEHG - Membership • IEHG is a combined government/non-government technical group. • Participants: anyone who is involved in the production of Inland ENCs or the production of Inland ENC applications and representatives of user groups. Participants can make proposals and take part in IEHG discussions. • Members: representatives of competent authorities involved in the provision of Inland ENCs are entitled to become members. • If proposed by a competent authority, membership can also include expert contributors.

6. IEHG – Procedures • IEHG normally meets once per year. • The 6th meeting of IEHG was held 8-10 October 2008 at the University of New Hampshire in the United States. • Most work of the IEHG is accomplished via email correspondence and the Open ECDIS Forum (OEF). • On the OEF, there is an established process for submitting proposals for amendments to Inland ENC standards. • Every participant of the IEHG is entitled to submit proposals. (Proposal submission and review is described in Annex A of the IEHG Terms of Reference.)

7. IEHG – Procedures IEHG submits Inland ENC standards for formalisation to: International organisations European Commission (EC) Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) Danube Commission (DC) Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UN/ECE) International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) National waterway authoritiesUnited States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Russian Ministry of Transport Brasilian Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation (DHN)

8. The Product Specification for Inland ENC The framework for Inland ENC standards includes: • use of IHO S-57 (Edition 3.1) • Inland ENC Product Specification • Inland ENC Encoding Guide • Inland ENC Feature Catalogue • Inland ENC Register for additional features, attributes, and enumerations that are not already contained in IHO S-57 Edition 3.1 Object Catalogue • Alignment with future IHO S-100 Standard for Geospatial Data

9. Representation of IEHG in TSMAD • IEHG has officially been invited to participate in the development of S-100 within TSMAD to ensure future compatibility • IEHG will be represented by a member of the Core Group or a designated member of the IEHG if a Core member is unable to attend • An Inland ENC register within the IHO registry exists and will be used as a testbed for S-100

10. The Inland ENC Product Specification • The Inland ENC Product Specification is based on the ‘maritime’ ENC Product Specification contained in IHO S-57 • It contains the necessary amendments to enable the encoding of additional features for inland waterways

11. The Inland ENC Encoding Guide • The Inland ENC Encoding Guide substitutes the section “Use of the Object Catalogue” of S-57. • For all object classes, attributes, and enumerations that are used in conjunction with an IENC, the Encoding Guide: • Provides a basis for its creation • Describes its relationship to the real-world entity • Provides criteria for its proper use • gives specific encoding examples

12. Current Inland ECDIS Standard Current Inland ECDIS Standard Edition 2.1 comprised of: • IENC Product Specification Edition 2.1 • IENC Encoding Guide 1.3.1 All Inland ENC Documents available for Download at: http://ienc.OpenECDIS.org

13. Status of Inland ENC Development Inland ENCs are being produced or considered for production in: • The European Union • The Russian Federation • The United States • Brasil

14. Formalisation of Standards in Europe Inland ECDIS Standard Edition 2.0 • Adopted as a mandatory regulation for the river Rhine by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) in 2006, all amendments of the EG thru version 1.2.2 have also been adopted • Adopted as a recommendation for all inland waterways by the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE) in 2007 • Adopted as a recommendation for the river Danube by the Danube Commission in 2008 • Adopted as mandatory Commission Regulation by the European Union, publication still pending; IENCs have to be produced within 30 months after the publication for all inland waterways of the European Union of class Va and above (suited for vessels/convoys with a length of more than 85 m)

15. Formalisation of Standards in Europe Inland ECDIS Standard Edition 2.1 (based on EG 1.3.1) • Adopted as mandatory regulation for the river Rhine by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR), entry into force on ? • Proposed as recommendation for all inland waterways by the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE) • Proposed as recommendation for the river Danube by the Danube Commission in 2008 • In preparation as mandatory Commission Regulation by the European Union

16. Formalisation of Standards in Russia • “Procedure of cartographic activity on inland waterways of Russian Federation” • defines the order of inland cartographic activity in Russia from the capturing of field data till the distribution • Status: final editing • “Provision on Inland Electronic Chart Centers of Russian Federation“ • Proposal to establish two IECCs in Russia (St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk) • Status: proposal to MoT before the end of the year

17. Formalisation of Standards in the U.S. US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Encoding Guide 4.0 • Existing Inland ENCs produced to US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Encoding Guide 4.0. Inland Product Specification Edition 2.1 • Adopted by USACE in 2008 as the mandatory specification for new U.S. Inland ENC production for the Western Rivers System. • Existing Inland ENCs will be updated from USACE Encoding Guide to Inland ENC Product Spec. 2.1 beginning in early 2009

18. Formalisation of Standards in Brasil Inland Product Specification Edition 2.1 • Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation (DHN) has analyzed the standard. • Current product specification does not meet the needs of DHN. • Proposals for change have been submitted to add new attribute values to the product specification. Inland Product Specification Edition 2.2 (next year) • DHN will adopt the standard when it is developed.

19. Questions?