Going Public

In line with an agreement sponsored by the IMO, manufacturers of ECDIS equipment are preparing to render public information on the latest versions of the software used to operate their equipment.

ECDIS software information to be published

Following an agreement at a meeting hosted by the IMO Secretariat, the manufacturers of ECDIS equipment are set to publicly publish information on the latest versions of the software used to operate their equipment with the aim of ensuring the systems are kept up to date.

The move has been motivated by a desire to help clarify certain anomalies that had been identified with some older systems, which came to light following a survey conducted by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in October 2011.

The information from the manufacturers is to be posted on the IHO website, and will include links to enable ships to download the latest versions of the operating software, if necessary.

The ECDIS manufacturers have also agreed to work with national Maritime Administrations to make sure that this issue is satisfactorily addressed in the long term.

This is the latest in a number of steps taken by IMO, IHO, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and others to address the concerns raised by the IHO survey, and IMO notes that the participation of the eighteen OEMs attending this meeting highlighted “the willingness of the manufacturers to address proactively the issues involved.”
Source: Digital Ship