The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office

Overview

Access to official charts online will be available soon with the Admiralty WebChart Service (AWCS). Developed by the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), AWCS will enable shore-based users to view charts instantly and effortlessly.

AWCS is being launched in response to demand from shipping companies whose shore-based teams use charts to support their ships at sea. AWCS will offer an alternative to the sharing of paper charts in the office environment. The charts can be accessed from any internet connected PC providing users with immediate access to worldwide charts.

Charts when and where you want them

Admiralty WebChart Service provides 24/7 access to the Admiralty worldwide chart holding. So, whether in the office, working away or using a different workstation, if you need to view charts you can. AWCS is a web-based service and once subscribed users can access charts without needing to install data or software.

Global Chart Coverage

AWCS provides a cost-effective solution for shore-based teams to work seamlessly with their colleagues at sea, whether they use paper or digital charts. AWCS includes complete coverage of the worlds’ oceans using the well known and established ARCS charts, used for navigation at sea by many leading international shipping companies.

New ENC coverage produced by the UKHO on behalf of Foreign Governments is available (as an additional option within the service). ENCs are ideal for those who require more detail or the ability to select and query content.

See below for current ENC availability within AWCS.

Anguilla	Iran	Somalia *
Antigua and Barbuda	Iraq	South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Bahamas	Ireland	St Helena and St Helena Dependencies
Bangladesh	Israel *	St Vincent and the Grenadines
Barbados	Jamaica	St. Christopher and Nevis
Belize	Jordan	Sudan
Bermuda	Kenya	Tanzania (United Republic of)
British Antarctic Territory	Kiribati and Christmas Is.	Trinidad and Tobago
Brunei	Liberia *	Turks and Caicos Islands
Burma	Libya	Tuvalu
Cayman Islands	Malta	Uganda *
Cyprus	Mauritius	United Arab Emirates
Dominica	Montserrat	United Kingdom
Egypt	Nauru	Vanuatu
Eritrea	Nigeria	Virgin Islands (British)
Falkland Islands	Oman *	Yemen
Fiji *	Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Gambia	Qatar
Ghana	Saint Lucia
Gibraltar	Saudi Arabia *
Grenada	Seychelles
Guyana	Sierra Leone
Indian Ocean Territory (British)	Solomon Islands *

*part or shared responsibility

Always up-to-date

The task of maintaining paper chart folios is no longer a problem with AWCS. Every week all the latest updates are uploaded by the UK Hydrographic Office. This means that AWCS is in-sync with other Admiralty charting systems used for navigation. With AWCS you can be confident that the charts you see are the latest versions including all safety critical changes.

Functionality

The user interface is straightforward, easy to use and developed with simplicity in mind. It is similar to existing web mapping services, featuring standard tools such as drag, pan and zoom to navigate the charts in a standard webbrowser. Whether you use the service daily or infrequently, the logical and intuitive nature of the service enables effortless usage.

Features of the service include:

• Port search function covering 7000 locations worldwide.
• Lat/Long search and zoom to a specified location.
• General chart search using chart number or keywords.
• Distance and bearing measurement tool.
• Cursor Geographical Position (GP) read out
• Efficient chart navigation using pan and zoom.
• Data query function ‘what’s this?’

Who will use it?

The service is designed for people who need access to charts as part of their job either in or out of the office. The service will be particularly useful for those involved in port safety, fleet management, port planning, incident management and ship brokerage.

Proven benefits

The UKHO worked closely with BP to develop WebChart. They expressed a requirement for charts online and were looking for a solution to help relieve the burden of sharing paper charts and associated maintenance. In conjunction with BP, the UKHO designed and built the service and they are now using WebChart on a routine basis. The service is proving beneficial in a number of shore-based applications including the Emergency Response and Port Safety departments. See case study.

Easy to buy

Admiralty WebChart Service is available on a license basis through your Admiralty Distributor. Licenses are flexible and can be purchased for durations of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Packs of licenses can be purchased for 1, 5, 20 or 100 users.

A one month free of charge trial license can be arranged through your Admiralty Distributor.

System Requirements

• Standard PC and operating system
• Broadband internet access
• Minimum of Internet Explorer 5.5 or equivalent