STATEMENT AT ISO TC8/SC6, TOKYO, OCTOBER 18, 1999
CONCERNING THE PROPOSED ISO STANDARD FOR THE ECS DATABASE
By Mortimer Rogoff President, NECSA
1. Introduction
This paper covers the NWIP for the ECS database. ECS stands for Electronic Chart Systems, and they are to be differentiated from ECDIS, which are those systems covered by standards created by IMO, IHO and IEC. In general, ships that are covered by the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention are those that may use ECDIS as a substitute for paper nautical charts. ECS, on the other hand is not the legal equivalent of a paper chart, and official up-to-date paper charts must accompany its use.
The database of an ECS is the computer file of navigation data used to create displays on the on-board computer. For example, the location of buoys, lights, channel boundaries, shoreline, depth curves, or spot soundings are the type of information carried in the database. All of these items must be accurate in order to make a safe display. In addition, an important quality of a nautical chart is the need to keep it updated because the items in the file frequently change. Not knowing the change to the data can be the cause of an accident.
The database standard differs from a performance standard in a number of ways. The database refers to "software", as opposed to the equipment. The performance standard sets the acceptable limits of performance of the equipment associated with the system. The standard for the database covers the content, accuracy and updating of the data as those qualities affect the chart displays. At this time, there is no international standard for the ECS database.
The database standard is at least the equal of the performance standard in establishing safe navigation. The tactical situation display observed by the mariner is generated from the nautical data carried by the database. Any inaccuracy of that data results in an inaccurate display - and that can result in an accident.
This paper will describe the purpose of the ECS database standard, its place in establishing the safety of chart navigation, and the status of its acceptance within ISO.
2. Reasons for Proposing the Database Standard
The primary reason for proposing the creation of an ECS database standard is safety of navigation. There is near-unanimous acceptance of the electronic chart as an important aid to ship navigation.
