NAV 44/7/11
4 It is safe to assume that, by late 1999,
geographic coverage of the official vector charts will be
sufficient for making good use of ECDIS. Since it is expected
that in the coming 2-3 years some 95 per cent of the world
oceans will be covered with the official ENC developed to IHO
S-57 standards, it is felt that neither manufacturers nor
mariners have need for a RCDS standard.
5 It is well to bear in mind that certification
procedures for RCDS should be developed before RCDS can be
put Into service. IEC 61174 Standard for ECDIS which is
currently at the FDIS stage in IHO and is expected to be
adopted by IHO in early 1999 does not touch on the
RCDS-related matters. Preparation of a similar standard for
RCDS may be a time-consuming job. Until such a document
becomes available, Administrations will not be able to carry
out the type approval procedures as required by regulations
19 and 20 of draft revised SOLAS chapter V.
6 Two-year discussion of the draft performance
standards for RCDS and the results of voting at the
Sub-Committee's meetings have shown that the majority of
national delegations are not in favour of hasty adoption of
the RCDS standards, and, as of now, it is beyond reason to
hope for reaching consensus on this matter.
Action requested of the Sub-Committee
7 The reasons mentioned above prevent from
thinking of RCDS as a promising navigational tool capable of
complying with SOLAS requirements. In view of this, the
Russian delegation proposes that the Sub-Committee
discontinue discussion of any standard for RCDS should the
latter declare, in one form or another, equivalency between
RCDS and paper chart.
I:/NAV/44/7-11.WPD
