A NEWSLETTER FROM THE PROVIDER OF NAUTICAL INFORMATION FOR SAFE NAVIGATION - SUMMER 2005

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1 UPDATE A NEWSLETTER FROM THE PROVIDER OF NAUTICAL INFORMATION FOR SAFE NAVIGATION - SUMMER 2005 M/S Color Fantasy sails with official ENC from C-MAP Color Line s new flagship M/S Color Fantasy the worlds largest cruise ferry with a car deck, sailed on her maiden voyage from Oslo to Kiel in December The facilities on board Color Fantasy ensure that all the 2750 passengers are guaranteed luxurious facilities and the most sophisticated cruise ship experience available today. I N S I D E Navigation Chart for Malaysia and the Malacca Straits State of the art Nautical Information Service presented to the Hellenic Maritime Industry ENC distribution agreement with the Italian Hydrographic Office Hanseatic Marine Training School on Cyprus selected CM93/3 C-MAP Norway first company to distribute official ENCs of Indian waters Integrating nautical charts and weather information contributes to safer traffic Capt. Olav Berger (left) and chief officer Robert Bærulfsen on Color Fantasy. The bridge of Color Fantasy represents the latest in navigation and safety equipment with its Sperry Vision FT Integrated Bridge system. The centrepiece of the equipment is the Sperry Voyage Management System, which is designed to provide easy and precise route planning and give a real time overview of the ship s position and movements. Radar targets and data from the automatic identification system are also presented on the Electronic Chart Display and Information system. The system enhances safety of navigation by improving situation awareness for the bridge officers. C-MAP embarks on a comprehensive R&D project comprising a new Nautical Information Service for the world of shipping. C-MAP, the industry s leading provider of electronic charting, is proud to announce that the company was recently awarded a research and development grant from Innovation Norway, an institution responsible for the promotion of national industrial development. The R&D grant will cover a substantial part of C-MAP s development cost to provide ship owners and management Continued on page 2. companies with NIS (Nautical Information Services), comprising all necessary navigational information a vessel requires for any given voyage. This includes paper charts and publications, as well as the very latest in state of the art electronic navigation functionality, such as antigrounding, AIS based anti-collision, weather routing, and 3-dimmentional cartography to mention a few. The aim is Continued on page 8.

2 Captn s Corner Captn s Corner C-MAP has been a pioneer in the production of digital nautical charts and has supported the work of hydrographic organisations in the production of ENC data. C-MAP has in fact produced digital data as a sub-contractor to various hydrographic offices, data which they have quality controlled and then issued as ENC data which C-MAP now distributes to end users supported by a Real Time Updating service. The future for C-MAP is based on the experience gained through the distribution of electronic navigational charts, which formed the foundation for the development of a Nautical Information Service described in this issue of Update. End users require a cost effective, quality product from a service provider. The ability to rationalise, co-ordinate and maintain all the nautical information for a specific vessel to ensure safe navigation is important task. This is the concept behind our Nautical Manager. Continual advances are being made in the field of data collection, presentation and distribution. Global coverage of highresolution weather data is now a reality, presentation and distribution to shipping companies and bridge personnel is where the challenge lies. The ability to enhance a navigational chart with terrestrial data and display this data to a navigator in order to improve vessel safety and efficiency is a further challenge in which C-MAP is involved. Our vision is to be a single source supplier of a unique range of cost effective nautical information that will serve to enhance safety of navigation at sea. The fact that Innovation Norway understands and shares our vision means that new products and services will be available from C-MAP within a year. Tor A. Svanes. CEO and President From frontpage The Sperry ECDIS is a key element in the bridge system. Sailing in the waters between Oslo and Kiel where there is often heavy traffic in confined waters it is crucial that the charts displayed on the ECDIS system are the most accurate that are available. En-route Color Fantasy sails through Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and German waters, all of which are covered Chief officer Robert Bærulfsen on the bridge of Color Fantasy taking advantage of the Sperry IBS and ECDIS systsem. Sailing with official ENCs supplied by C-MAP Norway allowing him to navigate paperless which he consider a big advantage. C-MAP launches Electronic Navigation Chart for Malaysia and the Malacca Straits C-MAP is pleased to announce that the first Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) covering Malaysian waters have been released. Working in close cooperation with the Hydrographic Department of the Royal Malaysian Navy (HDRMN), C-MAP Malaysia has secured an agreement to provide official charts covering Malaysian waters, extending C-MAP s coverage of the major shipping routes of the world. C-MAP will make available Malaysian ENC data to end users in the encrypted system ENC format, which is supported by C-MAP s Real Time Updating Service. This service enables end users to log on the C-MAP server and download Notices to Mariners using Internet or . Vessels equipped with type-approved ECDIS by official Electronic Nautical Charts issued by the respective national Hydrographic Offices. Color Line has invested in the best equipment and services available and since the Sperry IBS and ECDIS systems are type approved the vessel can sail without having to carry paper charts. C-MAP has worked closely with Sperry in the implementation of electronic charts in their ECDIS system and has been selected by Color Line to supply the official Electronic Navigational Charts to Color Fantasy. The C-MAP ENC chart service is backed up by a Real Time Updating service. The C-MAP ENC database is updated weekly based on official Notices to Mariners from the Hydrographic Offices, the ships bridge watch officers than have the latest updated charts available. Experience from Color Fantasy demonstrates the advantages of using the best possible systems and navigation information. The workload related to updating paper charts is reduced considerably and the bridge officers are able to focus on the navigation of the vessel, an important factor in increasing vessel safety. systems operating in Malaysian waters can now utilise the full potential of their systems in this region. In addition, C-MAP will also distribute official ENC data produced in cooperation with authorities in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The project was funded by Japan in the interests of improving the safety of navigation of vessels in the Malacca Straits, a route which has some of the highest traffic density in the world. Notices to mariners will also be available on the C-MAP Real Time Updating Service. The distribution of the HDRMN ENC with Real-Time Updates Service confirms C-MAP s long-term commitment to providing customers with the most comprehensive portfolio of official ENC chart data available to the market today, and the company s efforts to improve safety of navigation at sea in these critical waters. 2

3 C-MAP presents the state of the art Nautical Information Service to the Hellenic Maritime Industry in Greece. and C-MAP is therefore a major contributor to the safety of navigation. Combining C-MAP CM93/3 Professional and official ENC gives the ultimate vector chart solution, the natural choice in an ECDIS C-MAP Hellas, a branch office of C-MAP Norway, which is the leading company in High Seas Electronic Nautical Charts business, organised a presentation in the Yacht Club of Greece. More than 150 distinguished members from the Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Office, Ministry of the Merchant Marine, Hellenic Coast Guard, Merchant Marine Academy, Athens University and Shipping Companies attended this presentation. C-MAP has the largest database of electronic vector charts, the CM93/3 Professional, and is the first company to have an electronic chart database tested and approved in accordance with the ISO standard. This is an important step towards offering cerified and high quality vector chart data for ECS and ECDIS use As ENC coverage of more and more waters becomes available from Hydrographic Offices for the maritime industry, C-MAP has become a major player in the distribution of official ENC. Due to the superior C-MAP SENC distribution system, the process of loading and updating the ENC data is easy and secure whether it will be for an ECDIS or an ECS. By offering the Real Time Updating service (RTU) free of charge to subscribers of the C-MAP navigation service, C-MAP ensures that its customers can always have the latest updated chart data and information that is available. What also caught interest was C-Map s unique Electronic Chart format that makes it possible to combine the Official ENCs issued by the National Hydrographic Offices and CM 93/3 Professional data where ENCs are not available. The result is a seamless, worldwide coverage of high quality vector charts. It was emphasized that by using the Official ENCs in a type approved ECDIS system, it is then possible to replace the paper charts is required to be carried by SOLAS class vessel. C-MAP SIGNS ENC DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH THE ITALIAN HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE C-MAP to announce earlier this year that an agreement with the Italian Hydrographic Office, (the Istituto Idrografico Della Marina) has been signed, appointing C-MAP as the first official distributor of Italian ENC. The efforts made in the context of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Virtual RENC (MBSV-RENC) are now giving the first results, and C-MAP is working hard to extend such contracts to many other countries participating in the MBSV-RENC. One of C-MAP Norway s prime goals is to offer our customers the most comprehensive ENC chart portfolio available. It is widely recognised that chart coverage is of critical importance to end users and the extensive Italian portfolio is a major enhancement to the ENC portfolio distributed by C-MAP. At present C-MAP has established contractual agreements that include distribution of ENCs from 21 National Hydrographic offices, which represents all the major waters currently covered by ENC. As more and more waters are covered with ENC and made available for the maritime industry, C-MAP has become a major player in the provision of official ENC navigational data. Continued on page 4 3

4 From page 3 By using the superior C-MAP SENC distribution system, the process of loading and updating the ENC data is easy and secure whether it will be for an ECDIS or an ECS. By offering the free of charge Real Time Updating service (RTU) for subscribers of the C-MAP navigation service, C-MAP ensures that it s customers always have the latest updated chart and information data available. Official ENCs fulfil the IHO S-57/3.1 product specification and have the most recent updated data from originating National Hydrographic Offices. When used in an ECDIS, ENC data facilitates unique functionality that improves the safety of navigation at sea. Where ENC coverage is not available C-MAP recommends using the CM-Professional vector chart database, which is certified to ISO by DNV and offers the navigator a Dual Fuel solution combining ENC and C-MAP. More and more navigators discover the benefit of C-MAP vector charts in combination with ENC to get the full benefit out of the ECDIS or ECS, an advantage impossible to achieve with raster charts. Hanseatic Marine Training School on Cyprus selected CM93/3 for their Sea Information Systems HMTS was established in 1983 to provide a pool of seafarers, trained to meet the industry s high quality standards. It has been so successful that it now has the approval of many flag states. Amongst its many successes, in 1998 the school was given the Lloyds Youth & Training Award for its outstanding and consistent contribution to training within the maritime industry. A Dream came true After 1,5 years of preparation for their return voyage Oslo/Svalbard Eva Spilleth, Barbara Winter, Elise Halvorsen and Ragne Elise Berre set sail in their recent acquired Comfortina 32. Even though the goal was to sail from Oslo to Svalbard and back, we all agreed that the nature and personal experiences were the most important issue. The whole trip is filled with impressions, and we are overwhelmed over the hospitality people gave us along the coast. On this trip we where lucky enough to get Comfortina equipped with some of today s most advanced light marine electronic equipment. Especially essential was the chart plotter with C-Map s chart around Svalbard. Overall the experiences we had as a group and personally is hard to rewrite, but our recommendation to all of you that have a dream, believe it dreams can come true. Limassol, Cyprus, based Hanseatic Marine Training School (HMTS) will be using CM93/3 vector chart data in their Sea InformationSystems (SIS) simulator, which comprises an instructor work station and 5 student work stations. HMTS provides a comprehensive training facility for a wide range of maritime disciplines and has among its clients an impressive list of major shipping organisations. The simulator has recently been upgraded to the latest specification which, together with the CM93/3 charts, provides a very realistic training environment. CM93/3 was chosen for its quality and ease of use with full vector capability. The CM93/3 charts initially cover the English channel / Dover straits area providing a very demanding training environment in some of the worlds most congested waters. The four young adventurers accompanied by C-MAP s Marketing Manager Willy Zeiler. 4

5 AMERICAN SHIP MANAGEMENT RELIES ON C-MAP S CM-93/3 AMS takes advantage of C-MAP s Professional Electronic Database for superior integrated electronic charting aboard C-11 class container ship APL China ships on behalf of APL, Ltd. ASM has managed these vessels since the fall of ASM provides all necessary technical management and crewing to operate these vessels in compliance with the high standards that APL, Ltd. demands. Given this tradition of leading the technology curve, it s understandable why ASM selected C-MAP s CM-93/3 global electronic chart database for the helm of the C-11 Class, 4,800 TEU container ship APL China. Built in 1995, APL China is one of the largest container ships in the ASM worldwide fleet. With world wide coverage of electronic charts on one CD and ondemand corrections via the Internet or , CM-93/3 provides the crew of the APL China the most up-to-date electronic charts for every port and every harbor in the world. C-MAP charts in use on one of the Reefership Marine Services vessels Guiding a giant container ship over an arduous, 35-day Trans- Pacific trade route is serious business. First, you have to consider the size and carrying capacity of the ship itself at more than three football fields in length, today s largest container ships can carry more than 2, foot containers laden with anything from electronics and clothing to automotive parts or food. For each vessel, that adds up to uncounted tons of ship and millions of dollars of cargo in almost constant motion around the globe, through everything from rough weather to hazardous sailing conditions to crowded waterways. You must also consider the financial importance of this activity. Shipping is a critical link in global supply chains the complex movement of and demand for raw materials, parts, sub-assemblies and finished products. If this link breaks down, important parts of the global economy can grind to a halt. Serious business, indeed. American Ship Management, LLC (ASM) operates 11 large high-speed container Captain Mark Remijan aboard the APL China APL China follows a 35-day voyage stopping in the major trade ports of San Pedro, CA; Oakland, CA; Dutch Harbor, AK; Yokohama, Japan; Pusan Harbor, South Korea; Xiamen, China; Hong Kong, China; Yantian, China and Kaoshiung, Taiwan. The captain and bridge crew of the APL China depend on C-MAP s CM-93/3 electronic chart database integrated with the ship s AIS, two ARPA radars and Sperry Voyage Management System (VMS) every step of the way. Our crew uses the C-MAP system all the time, because it interfaces smoothly with the VMS, commented APL China Captain Mark Remijan. The VMS is a highly advanced Professional Electronic Chart System (ECS) from Sperry Marine, a unit of Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. In addition to reading CM-93/3 electronic charts, it offers a variety of additional modules including; Conning Display, Planning Station, Automatic Navigation and Track Keeping System, Vessel Advance Prediction, Voyage Data Recorder and Vessel Optimization and Safety. 5

6 Back in March 2003, APL China completed her changeover to a U.S. flagged vessel and a few months later had her Sperry VMS upgraded from raster charts to C-MAP CM-93/3. Watch officers immediately noted an increase in available information, improvement in chart coverage on their trade route and better display quality. I have no doubt that with our new C-MAP charts, navigational safety has been improved, as well as the effectiveness of the bridge team in congested waters, said Captain Remijan. ASM has been a C-MAP customer since the start (circa 1998) and has been adding vessels ever since. Their continued expansion into the foreign Asian ports has been especially rewarding for us as our global coverage for this part of the world is as up-to-date as any other developed port area, states C-MAP US Commercial Operations Manager, Eric James. We count on C-MAP and our Sperry VMS as an important supplement to our paper charts, added Captain Remijan. C-MAP s electronic chart database also plays an important role in providing the conning officer a convenient method to double-check the vessel s navigational plot and access detailed chart information. All C-MAP CM-93/3 subscription customers are entitled to unlimited access to the C-MAP Real Time Updating (RTU) service to download important changes like Notice to Mariners updates from anywhere around the globe. The flexibility of this system allows the crew to utilize C-MAP s constantly updated worldwide chart database in the way that best fits the needs of their vessel. APL China receives updates quarterly on CD, and the crew loads them into the system while the ship is at berth. C-MAP, a company who prides itself on responsiveness and customer service, came through when the crew raised the need for specific important updates over their route. Examples of these include concerns about a new channel and coverage at the port of Xiamen, China and the updating of charts on the VTS approaching the port Kaoshiung, Taiwan. Both these concerns were addressed promptly and professionally, said Captain Remijan. We ve been very satisfied with C-MAP s CM-93/3 electronic chart database and the level of service we receive. The RTU service that C-MAP provides is the engine for keeping a vessel s electronic chart database up-to-date, states James. The ability for vessels on such long distant water voyages such as APL China to access our RTU service at any time, provides the ultimate in navigational safety, allowing the ship s crew to instantly get updates to their next scheduled port of call or one that was not planned as part of their voyage. The first Electronic Navigation Chart covering shipping routes in Indian waters C-MAP Norway is pleased to announce that it has been named the first commercial company to successfully conclude a distribution agreement with the Indian Hydrographic Office to make official Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC)s of Indian waters available to vessels operating in the area. Recently, the Indian National Hydrographic Office developed a complete portfolio of ENCs covering Indian national waters and reached an agreement with C-MAP Norway to provide an ENC updating service. According to the terms of the agreement, Indian ENC data will be made available to end users in the encrypted C-MAP ENC format, which is accompanied by a Real Time Updating Service. This service enables end users to log on the C-MAP server and download Notices to Mariners using Internet or . Vessels equipped with type-approved ECDIS systems operating in Indian waters are now able to realise the full potential of their systems. The distribution agreement with the Indian National Hydrographic Office is a significant step in C-MAP s efforts to provide customers with the most comprehensive portfolio of official ENC chart data available from a single supplier. Chart coverage is of critical importance to end users and making the Indian portfolio available to vessels is a further enhancement of the official ENC portfolio presently distributed by C-MAP. Admiral Rao, Indian Hydrographer hands over ENCs to Capt Raj Chakravorty of C-MAP India for Distribution 6

7 Integrating nautical charts and weather information contributes to safer and more effective vessel traffic in all types of waters C-MAP Marine Forecast AS was established as a step in C-MAP s strategy to become a global supplier of digital nautical information to the marine industry. The aim of the company is to combine C-MAP s technology in the field of digital cartography with metrological expertise and supply international shipping and offshore customers with innovative software tools for a geo-referenced presentation of metrological information. Using the best weather forecast information available, the aim is to find new methods to integrate and exploit all weather related information. An initial step is to integrate information which is presently available e.g., high resolution numerical weather data covering traffic areas in coastal waters, traditional observations, data from satellites etc., then extract such information and tailor it for individual ships based on where they are at a particular time and their intended voyage. Improved quality, availability and use of weather data will contribute to safer more effective vessel traffic in all types of waters. C-MAP Weather View is the first product that has been launched. This incorporates a weather module that presents high quality weather forecasts with innovative functionality and customised presentation of weather using nautical charts as a background. Parameters such as pressure, temperature, wind velocity and direction, precipitation, dew point, cloud cover, waves and swell waves can be presented along a planned route with the possibility of displaying areas of bad weather based on user defined limits. Figure shows two alternative routes. One route is crossing close to a tropical cyclone (white and yellow circle to the right), and later experience weather above warning level (indicated by red colour along route). The other will avoid the tropical cyclone and mainly have weather below defined warning level (green route). Figure shows the beginning of a route leaving Hawaii, first part is close to a tropical cyclone (purple color), later conditions are beyond warning level (green color). At 12 UTC the ship is again in an area with weather conditions above warning level (red area). Same coding is used in the right lower panel, showing wave height along the route. Notice the sheltering effects downwind from Hawaii. 7

8 From frontpage. to provide a complete range of nautical services to all SOLAS classed vessels. The funds provided by Innovation Norway will enable us to create a one-stop-shop concept for our products and services, says Tor Andreas Svanes, President & CEO of C-MAP Norway AS. The fact that our application was approved by Innovation Norway is a confirmation of C-Map s international standing in the marine industry. Important criteria for this R&D project were that C-MAP was capable of not only technological development but also able to launch and market the results internationally. C-Map s marketing and distribution network, our large customer base, proven distribution infrastructure and our tradition of developing innovative technologies for the shipping industry, were all key elements in the approval of our application, he continues. According to Mr. Svanes, the final stage of the Nautical Information Service project will include extensive sea trials. COSCO Group in China, Neptune Ship Management Services in Singapore, and Norwegian Østensjø Rederi AS will participate in the project and test the various elements of the Nautical Information Service on board their Edda Fram from Østensjø Rederi AS, Haugesund, Norway. vessels. C-MAP will draw on the expertise of a network of Norwegian-based navigation equipment manufacturers including CAE Navigation, Telko, and Virtek as well as the national research institute Marintek. Field tests will be carried out during the second half of 2006 and the new Nautical Information Service will be commercially available in Mr. Svanes is confident about C-MAP s future as a service provider. There are more than fifty thousand (SOLAS classed) vessels operating throughout the world, he says. Of these, we estimate that roughly 10% presently use electronic charts, representing significant growth potential for our products and services. In addition, we believe that by developing new services such as NIS, we will have even more to offer, whereby we can continue to grow our market share. About C-MAP C-MAP has a global electronic chart service specifically designed to meet the needs of merchant marine vessels operating worldwide. C-MAP distributes the most complete portfolio of official Electronic Nautical Chart ENC data and the world's largest commercially available database with chart files the equivalent coverage of approximately 8000 paper charts. Both databases are backed up by a Real Time Updating service. Over 90 manufacturers of navigation, vessel traffic control and fleet management systems read and display C-MAP digital chart data. C-MAP FACTS Worldwide electronic vector charts coverage Official distributor of ENC from 19 Hydrographic Offices C-MAP subsidiaries are located in all major maritime markets Navigation Systems compatible with C-MAP charts: - ECDIS 18 (type approved) - ECS/Others 72 C-MAP Norway AS P.b 212, N-4379 EGERSUND, Norway Tlf Fax market@c-map.no Mr. Sun Kenuo, President of COSCO Enterprises Co and Mr. Tor Svanes, President and CEO of C-MAP Norway. 8