I n t e r n a t i o n a l H y d r o g r a p h i c R e v i e w , Monaco, L V I (2), Ju ly 1979.
THE N A U TIC A L CH AR T : ITS PU R PO SE A N D C O N T E N T
A Report on a study by a German Hydrographic Institute
W ork in g Group
by Manfred SCHMIDT
F irst published in Der Seewart, 39 Jg. H. 2, A p ril 1978, and reproduced here by
kind perm ission o f the editors.
INTRODUCTION
A Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut (D H I) W o rk in g Group, the mem
bers of which were all either AG/A6 Certificated Foreign Trade Masters
or cartographic engineers, has studied the principal requirements that a
chart must meet from the nautical point o f view. The W orkin g Group
worked chiefly independently, and thus the results o f its investigation
do not necessarily reflect the official views of the DHI.
A chart is indispensable as a medium of inform ation and as a tool
for all maritime traffic. It must contain all data required for both position
fixing and route finding, as w ell as for the avoidance o f dangers and for
the safety and ease o f navigation. Information which cannot be shown
on charts must be given in other nautical publications.
Charts and other nautical publications must be so harmonised that
information is given once only and in the medium that is best suited for
the purpose. The chart is naturally the most suitable means o f repre
senting information in pictorial or symbolic form.
THE CHART AS A M EDIUM OF INFORM ATION
Shipping can be divided into four classes : merchant shipping, fisheries,
naval and yachting. For the purpose o f this study the following naviga
tional subdivisions were made :
(a) Overseas navigation, comprising ocean, marginal sea and inland
sea crossings, with landmarks for position fixing being used
either not at all, or only to a very limited extent.
(b) Coasting, being navigation ^n coastal areas and entailing navigat
ing from headland to headland in sight of land, or sufficiently
often in sight
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of land to fix the shin’s
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nosition bv land features,
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(c) Approach, which is steering for the coast.
(d) Entrance, which is steering into a channel or harbour.
(e) Channel navigation, which is the way through narrow channels
or canals.
(f) Port navigation, includes predominantly approaching berths and
the actual manœuvres of berthing and unberthing.
For the production of charts, however, there must be no strict sepa
ration between these subdivisions, for in many cases a chart must contain
information regarding several of the categories.
ESSENTIAL CARTOGRAPHIC INFORM ATION
Essential inform ation is that required by all types of vessels. The
importance o f this information depends only to a minor extent on the
class of shipping involved; rather it is determined by the vessel’s navi
gation equipment. For this reason the basis must not be a selection of
information for an individual class o f shipping. Hence, it follows that
all types of shipping need the follow ing information on their charts (fu r
ther tabulated in Tables I, II and III).
(a ) Data for position fixing
Graticule
Magnetic variation
Coastal configuration
Land topography
Land marks
Sounding and depth contours
Marks on land and at sea
Leading lines
Radar conspicuous objects
Maritim e radio, radio navigation and radio determination stations
Limits of radar stations
Hyperbolic navigation grids
(b ) Data for route finding
Graticule
Magnetic variation
Coastline
Sounding and depth contours
Dangers to navigation
Currents and tidal streams
Names of ocean bottom features
Names of ocean divisions, bays, and waterways
Names of land features
Harbours, roads and anchorages
Recommended tracks, traffic lanes and waterways
Restricted traffic areas
Leading marks
Bridge or other clearances (vertical and horizontal)
(c ) Data for safety and ease of navigation
Chart datum
Nature of bottom
Bridge or other clearances (vertical and horizontal)
Various limits (limits of fishing areas, customs boundaries, har
bour limits, etc.)
M ilitary artificial features
Maritime radio, radionavigation and radiodetermination stations,
and various other stations (signal stations, pilot stations, etc.)
Harbour facilities
Places for clearance by Customs Authorities
Notes, warnings, remarks
Hyperbolic navigation grids
Furthermore the fishing industry requires charts portraying the bottom
topography and the nature o f the bottom more fully, as well as giving
the names of fishing grounds. Special information on port facilities speci
fically for yachtsmen should also be taken into account. However, this
additional information is not so comprehensive as to justify the production
of special charts for these purposes. Nor is it considered necessary to
publish special charts for radio navigation.
Table I
Charts used for :
overseas coastal
navigation navigation
PO SITIO N FIX IN G
entrances,
approach
marginal
channels
offshore
inshore
inland
ocean
port
sea
sea
1
i
Graticule X X X X x Y Y
Magnetic variation X X X X X X X
Coastal configuration4 X X X X
Land topography 4 X
Detailed land topography X X
Landmarks visible from afar X X X
All landmarks X X X
Landmarks X
Soundings1 X X X X
All depth data X X X
Nature o f bottom and depth
data for echo soundings X X X
Nature o f bottom X X X
Selected marks on land or at sea X X
All marks on land or at sea X X X X X
Leading lines X X X X X
Radar conspicuous objects X X X X
Selected maritime radio, radio
navigation and radio determi
nation stations X X X X X X
Radiobeacons X X X
Limits o f radar stations X X X
Hyperbolic navigation grids X X X X X X X
Table II
Charts used for :
overseas coastal
navigation navigation
RO U TE F IN D IN G
entrances,
approach
channels
marginal
offshore
inshore
inland
ocean
t-f
sea
sea
o
CU
Graticule X X X X X X X X
Magnetic variation X X X X X X X X
Coastline X X X X X X X X
Names o f important coastal features X
Names o f all important coastal
features X X X
Names o f all coastal features X X X X
Important harbours X X X
All harbours X
All harbours, roads and anchorages X X X
Ports, berths and landing places X
Port facilities and anchorages X
Names to identify ocean bottom
features X X X X X X X
Soundings and depth contours X X X X X X X X
Names o f ocean parts X X
Names o f ocean parts and
important bays X X
Names o f all ocean parts and bays X
Names o f all ocean parts, bays
and waterways X
Names o f all bays and waterways X X
All dangers X X X X X X X X
Ocean currents2 X X X X X X X
Tidal streams3 X X X
Prescribed and international routes X X X X
Track recommendations X X X
All routes and fairways (channels) X X X
Channels X
Areas with restricted traffic X X X X X X X X
Leading marks X X X X
Bridge or other clearances, vertical
and horizontal X X
Table III
Charts used for :
overseas coastal
S A F E T Y A N D EASE navigation navigation
O F N A V IG A T IO N
entrances,
approach
channels
marginal
offshore
inshore
inland
ocean
sea
sea
o
Û-
Military training areas5 X X X X X X X
Limits X X X X X X X X
Submerged artificial features
(pipelines, submarine cables ctc.) x x X X X X X
Notes, warnings, remarks X X X X X X X X
Radio direction finding stations X X X X X
Coast radio stations for port
operations X X X X
Various stations (signal stations,
pilot stations etc.) X X X X
Chart datum X X X X X
Nature o f bottom X X X
Bridge or other clearances, vertical
and horizontal X X
Harbour facilities X
Places for clearance by the customs
authority X
Hyperbolic navigation grids6 X
N otes relating to the tables:
1. Soundings and depth contours m ust be selected so th at th eir depiction perm its
the m arin er to d ra w conclusions reg a rd in g the d ensity o f the surveys. Even v e ry deep
soundings m ust be shown on charts since areas w ith o u t depth data w ill suggest in
com p lete surveys. Th e depth data m ust be shown fo r the w h ole area, and not be
lim ite d to certain channels.
2. T h e ax is o f perm anen t ocean currents must be shown (e.g. the G u lf Stream ).
3. T a b u la r in fo rm a tio n on tid a l stream s at selected places must be shown, givin g
th e ir direction and strength (as fo r exam p le on the B ritish A d m ira lty charts).
4. C oastal con figu ratio n and land top o grap h y are essential elem ents fo r p osition
fixin g and cann ot be om itted, n otw ith sta n d in g m odern n a vigation al m ethods. T o p o
grap h ic features exten din g inland fro m th e coastal area m ay become necessary in the
case o f p a rtic u la rly conspicuous lan dm ark s v is ib le over a great distance, the depiction
o f spot heights alon e being insu fficien t.
5. M ilita r y tra in in g areas and other areas o f tr a ffic restriction must ind icate the
kind o f restriction .
6. In the case o f harbours, o v e rp rin tin g o f h yp erb olic navigation grids is desirable
to enab le c a lib ra tio n o f instrum ents b e fo re sailing.
Information to be shown on charts
The extent of information regarding position fixing, route finding and
safety and ease of navigation to be shown w ill be determined by the
chart’s purpose. The above Tables give in summary form the essential
inform ation required for the various classes of shipping. Since all the
inform ation shown on charts is subject to perpetual change, the W o rk in g
Group considered that too detailed a list would not serve a useful purpose.
A n y kind of information that can be depicted may be associated w ith
these Tables, and for this reason the lists should not be used as check
lists. They should only serve as a fram ework for selecting the required
information.
The chart as a tool
A chart is a basic requirement for all types of shipping; only their
requirements as to format differ. W h en establishing the format three
conditions were considered essential :
(a) For ships with small chart tables it is of advantage to keep the
format as small as possible;
(b) The format must, however, be large enough to permit an as large
as possible geographic area to be represented on a scale suitable
for navigational use;
(c) Standard formats should be aimed at, in order to facilitate the
use of charts and their storage.
These requirements are largely fulfilled if only two formats are used
in chart production. The neat line size o f the larger chart should corre
spond approximately to that o f the International Chart (630 mm X
980 mm). The second format should be half the size of the larger format.
By folding the larger size chart in two, a convenient size for ships with
smaller chart tables is obtained, and at the same time chart usage and
storage is facilitated on all vessels.
Geographical area
Charts for seagoing vessels must show the complete geographical
area and where necessary a complete ocean, marginal sea or inland sea.
On charts for coastal navigation the transition from one chart to
another must be positioned outside areas of great traffic density or w ith
course alteration points. For coastal approach charts the neat lines must
be so arranged as to allow ample coverage of the approaches and to
enable the use of all objects necessary for taking bearings.
Entrance charts, and charts for channels
If, as in the case o f long channels, several charts are necessary, the
roads, ports, locks and course alteration points should be shown together
on a separate chart. The geographical area must be so selected that these
details do not lie near the chart borders. I f possible, the whole o f a port
must be shown on the same chart. Adjoining charts must have enough
overlap so that they enable a tim ely transition from one chart to another,
and must also take into consideration any connection points of naviga
tional importance.
Chart projection and scale
A ll charts must be on the Mercator projection. The scale should be
selected so that detail depicted accords with the purpose of the chart.
Adjoining charts should where possible be on the same scale. To the
mariner, whether or not the chart is at a round scale is of no importance.
Cartographic presentation
The presentation of data must be unambiguous, and the facts must
be as clearly as possible recognisable from the symbols employed. For
example, the symbols for light vessels and for buoys are unambiguous as
they show the shapes of these navigational marks. However, the legend
“Lotsen ” (German for Pilot Station) is to be preferred to the sym bol( ^ )
In certain cases, a complete colour representation o f light sectors is
desirable to achieve clearer treatment o f this information.
The chart’s neatline graduations must be so arranged as to permit
accurate and easy reading o f geographical values. It should also be
possible to take the geographic latitude and longitude from selected grid
lines within the chart.
Harbour charts with geographical reference points must show a
“cable length” scale in addition to the metric scale.
A ll charts should show a logarithmic scale for the distance steamed
in a unit o f tim e (as for example on American plotting sheets).
Different types of lettering and different letter thicknesses should
only be used for the purpose o f achieving greater clarity and not to re
present specific facts.
Reverse side of a chart
A chart’s reverse side is not considered a suitable place for printing
information. W h en such a chart is placed on a light table, the detail
printed on the reverse side w ill show through. Furthermore, it is incon
venient to have to look up inform ation on the reverse side as the chart
must first be turned over.
Chart correction
The W ork in g Group rejects completely the idea o f issuing charts
for which no updating is envisaged. Charts should as far as possible be
updated by block corrections issued as attachments to Notices to Mariners.
*
**
Editor’s Note :
The W orkin g Group’s opinions, stemming as they do from the col
lective considered judgement of both mariners and cartographers, should
be o f interest to all hydrographers, despite the fact that they occasionally
conflict with both existing IHO Technical Resolutions and the developing
CSC-recommended chart specifications.
