IMO Performance Standards for ECDIS IMO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC CHART DISPLAY ANDINFORMATION SYSTEMS

IMO Performance Standards for ECDIS

IMO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC CHART DISPLAY ANDINFORMATION SYSTEMS (ECDIS)INTRODUCTION• The primary function of the ECDIS is to contribute to safe navigation.• ECDIS, with adequate back-up arrangements, may be accepted as complying with the up-to-datecharts required by regulation V/20 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention.• In addition to the general requirements for ship borne radio equipment forming part of the globalmaritime distress and safety system (GMDSS) and the requirements for electronic navigational aids,ECDIS should meet the requirements of this performance standard.• ECDIS should be capable of displaying all chart information necessary for safe and efficientnavigation originated by, and distributed on the authority of, government-authorized hydrographicoffices.• ECDIS should facilitate simple and reliable updating of the electronic navigational chart.• Use of ECDIS should reduce the navigational workload as compared to use of a paper chart. It shouldenable the mariner to execute in a convenient and timely manner all route planning, route monitoringand positioning currently performed on paper charts. It should be capable of continuously plotting theship's position.• ECDIS should have at least the same reliability and availability of presentation as the paper chartpublished by government-authorized hydrographic offices.• ECDIS should provide appropriate alarms or indications with respect to the information displayed ormalfunction of the equipment.DEFINITIONSFor the purpose of these performance standards:Electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) means a navigation information systemwhich, with adequate back-up arrangements, can be accepted as complying with the up-to-date chartrequired by regulation V/20 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, by displaying selected information froma system electronic navigational chart (SENC) with positional information from navigation sensors toassist the mariner in route planning and route monitoring, and by displaying additional navigation-related information if required.Electronic navigational chart (ENC) means the database, standardized as to content, structure andformat, issued for use with ECDIS on the authority of government-authorized hydrographic offices.The ENC contains all the chart information necessary for safe navigation, and may containsupplementary information in addition to that contained in the paper chart (e.g. sailing directions)which may be considered necessary for safe navigation.System electronic navigational chart (SENC) means a database resulting from the transformation of theENC by ECDIS for appropriate use, updates to the ENC by appropriate means, and other data added bythe mariner. It is this database that is actually accessed by ECDIS for the display generation and othernavigational functions, and is the equivalent to an up-to-date paper chart. The SENC may also containinformation from other sources.Standard display means the SENC information that should be shown when a chart is first displayed onECDIS. The level of the information it provides for route planning or route monitoring may bemodified by the mariner according to the mariner's needs.Display base means the level of SENC information which cannot be removed from the display,consisting of information which is required at all times in all geographical areas and all circumstances.It is not intended to be sufficient for safe navigation.DISPLAY OF SENC INFORMATION• ECDIS should be capable of displaying all SENC information. SENC information available for

display during route planning and route monitoring should be subdivided into three categories, displaybase, standard display, and all other information. ECDIS should present the standard display at anytime by a single operator action. The ENC and all updates to it should be displayed without anydegradation of their information content.• When a chart is first displayed on ECDIS, it should provide the standard display at the largest scaleavailable in the SENC for the displayed area.• It should be easy to add or remove information from the ECDIS display. It should not be possible toremove information contained in the display base.• It should be possible for the mariner to select a safety contour from the depth contours provided bythe SENC. ECDIS should give the safety contour more emphasis than other contours on the display.• It should be possible for the mariner to select a safety depth. ECDIS should emphasize soundingsequal to or less than the safety depth whenever spot soundings are selected for display.• ECDIS should provide a means of ensuring that the ENC and all updates to it have been correctlyloaded into the SENC.• The ENC data and updates to it should be clearly distinguishable from other displayed information,such as, for example that listed in Appendix 3.PROVISION AND UPDATING* OF CHART INFORMATION• The chart information to be used in ECDIS should be the latest edition of information originated by agovernment-authorized hydrographic office, and conform to IHO standards.• The contents of the SENC should be adequate and up-to-date for the intended voyage, as required byregulation V/20 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention.• It should not be possible to alter the contents of the ENC.• Updates should be stored separately from the ENC.• ECDIS should be capable of accepting official updates to the ENC data provided in conformity withIHO standards. These updates should be automatically applied to the SENC. By whatever meansupdates are received, the implementation procedure should not interfere with the display in use.• ECDIS should also be capable of accepting updates to the ENC data entered manually with simplemeans for verification prior to the final acceptance of the data. They should be distinguishable on thedisplay from ENC information and its official updates, and not affect display legibility.• ECDIS should keep a record of updates, including time of application to the SENC.• ECDIS should allow the mariner to display updates so that the mariner may review their contents andascertain that they have been included in the SENC.SCALEECDIS should provide an indication of whether the information is displayed at a larger scale than thatcontained in the ENC; or own ship's position is covered by an ENC at a larger scale than that providedby the display.DISPLAY OF OTHER NAVIGATIONAL INFORMATION• Radar information or other navigational information may be added to the ECDIS display. However, itshould not degrade the SENC information, and should be clearly distinguishable from the SENCinformation. Transferred radar information may contain both the radar image and ARPA information.• ECDIS and added navigational information should use a common reference system. If this is not thecase, an indication should be provided.• If the radar image is added to the ECDIS display, the chart and the radar image should match in scaleand in orientation.• The radar image and the position from the position sensor should both be adjusted automatically forantenna offset from the conning position.• It should be possible to adjust the displayed position of the ship manually so that the radar imagematches the SENC display.• It should be possible to remove the radar information by single operator action.DISPLAY MODE AND GENERATION OF THE NEIGHBOURING AREA• It should always be possible to display the SENC in a "north-up" orientation. Other orientations arepermitted.• ECDIS should provide for true motion mode. Other modes are permitted.

• When true motion mode is in use, reset and generation of the neighboring area should take placeautomatically at a distance from the border of the display determined by the mariner.• It should be possible manually to change the chart area and the position of own ship relative to theedge of the display.DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS• The effective size of the chart presentation for route monitoring should be at least 270 mm by 270mm.• The display should be capable of complying with the color and resolution recommendations of IHO.• The method of presentation should ensure that the displayed information is clearly visible to morethan one observer in the conditions of light normally experienced on the bridge of the ship by day andby night.ROUTE PLANNING, MONITORING AND VOYAGE RECORDING• It should be possible to carry out route planning and route monitoring in a simple and reliablemanner.• ECDIS should be designed following ergonomic principles for user-friendly operation.• The largest scale data available in the SENC for the area given should always be used by the ECDISfor all alarms or indications of crossing the ship's safety contour and of entering a prohibited area, andfor alarms and indications.Route planning• It should be possible to carry out route planning including both straight and curved segments.• It should be possible to adjust a planned route by, for example: adding waypoints to a route; deletingwaypoints from a route; changing the position of a waypoint; changing the order of the waypoints inthe route.• It should be possible to plan an alternative route in addition to the selected route. The selected routeshould be clearly distinguishable from the other routes.• An indication is required if the mariner plans a route across an own ship's safety contour.• An indication is required if the mariner plans a route across the boundary of a prohibited area or of ageographical area for which special conditions exist.• It should be possible for the mariner to specify a limit of deviation from the planned route at whichactivation of an automatic off-track alarm should occur.Route monitoring• For route monitoring the selected route and own ship's position should appear whenever the displaycovers that area.• It should be possible to display a sea area that does not have the ship on the display (e.g., for look ahead, route planning), while route monitoring. If this is done on the display used for route monitoring,the automatic route monitoring functions (e.g., updating ship's position, and providing alarms andindications) should be continuous. It should be possible to return to the route monitoring displaycovering own ship's position immediately by single operator action.• ECDIS should give an alarm if the ship, within a specified time set by the mariner, is going to crossthe safety contour.• ECDIS should give an alarm or indication, as selected by the mariner, if the ship, within a specifiedtime set by the mariner, is going to cross the boundary of a prohibited area or of a geographical area forwhich special conditions exist.• An alarm should be given when the specified limit for deviation from the planned route is exceeded.• The ship's position should be derived from a continuous positioning system of accuracy consistentwith the requirements of safe navigation. Whenever possible, a second independent positioning methodof a different type should be provided; ECDIS should be capable of identifying discrepancies betweenthe two systems.• ECDIS should provide an indication when the input from the position-fixing system is lost. ECDISshould also repeat, but only as an indication, any alarm or indication passed to it from a position-fixingsystem.• An alarm should be given by ECDIS if the ship, within a specified time or distance set by the

mariner, is going to reach a critical point on the planned route.• The positioning system and the SENC should be on the same geodetic datum. ECDIS should give analarm if this is not the case.• It should be possible to display an alternative route in addition to the selected route. The selectedroute should be clearly distinguishable from the other routes. During the voyage, it should be possiblefor the mariner to modify the selected sailing route or change to an alternative route.• It should be possible to display time-labels along ship's track, manually on demand and automaticallyat intervals selected between 1 and 120 m; and an adequate number of points, free movable electronicbearing lines, variable and fixed-range markers and other symbols required for navigation purposes.• It should be possible to enter the geographical co-ordinates of any position and then display thatposition on demand. It should also be possible to select any point (features, symbol or position) on thedisplay and to read its geographical co-ordinates on demand.• It should be possible to adjust the ship's geographical position manually. This manual adjustmentshould be noted alpha-numerically on the screen, maintained until altered by the mariner, andautomatically recorded.Voyage recording• ECDIS should store and be able to reproduce certain minimum elements required to reconstruct thenavigation and verify the official database used during the previous 12 hours. The following datashould be recorded at one-minute intervals:



To ensure a record of own ship's past track: time, position, heading, and speed; and



To ensure a record of official data used: ENC source, edition, date, cell and update history.• In addition, ECDIS should record the complete track for the entire voyage, with time marks atintervals not exceeding 4 hours. It should not be possible to manipulate or change the recordedinformation. ECDIS should have the capability to preserve the record of the previous 12 hours and of the voyage track.CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER EQUIPMENT*ECDIS should not degrade the performance of any equipment providing sensor inputs. Nor should theconnection of optional equipment degrade the performance of ECDIS below this standard. ECDISshould be connected to systems providing continuous position-fixing, heading and speed information.PERFORMANCE TESTS, MALFUNCTION ALARMS AND INDICATIONSECDIS should be provided with means for carrying out on-board tests of major functions eitherautomatically or manually. In case of a failure, the test should display information to indicate whichmodule is at fault. ECDIS should provide a suitable alarm or indication of system malfunction.BACK-UP ARRANGEMENTS• Adequate back-up arrangements should be provided to ensure safe navigation in case of an ECDISfailure. Facilities enabling a safe take-over of the ECDIS functions should be provided in order toensure that an ECDIS failure does not result in a critical situation.• A back-up arrangement should be provided facilitating means for safe navigation of the remainingpart of the voyage in case of an ECDIS failure.POWER SUPPLY• It should be possible to operate ECDIS and all equipment necessary for its normal functioning whensupplied by an emergency source of electrical power in accordance with the appropriate requirementsof chapter II-1 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention.• Changing from one source of power supply to another or any interruption of the supply for a period of up to 45 s should not require the equipment to be re-initialized manually.AREAS FOR WHICH SPECIAL CONDITIONS EXIST

The following are the areas which ECDIS should detect and for which it should provide an alarm orindication: Traffic separation zone, Traffic routeing scheme crossing or roundabout, Traffic routeingscheme precautionary area, Two-way traffic route, Deepwater route, Recommended traffic lane,Inshore traffic zone, Fairway, Restricted area, Caution area, Offshore production area, Areas to beavoided, Military practice area, Seaplane landing area, Submarine transit lane, Ice area, Channel,Fishing ground, Fishing prohibited, Pipeline area, Cable area, Anchorage area, Anchorage prohibited,Dumping ground, Spoil ground, Dredged area, Cargo transshipment area.ALARMS AND INDICATORSAlarm or Indication Largest scale for alarm, Alarm for Exceeding off-track limits, Alarm for Crossingsafety contour, Alarm or Indication for Area with special conditions, Alarm for Deviation from route,Alarm for approach to critical point, Alarm for Different geodetic datum, Alarm or Indication forMalfunction of ECDIS, Indication for Information overscale, Indication for Larger scale ENCavailable, Indication for Different reference system, Indication for Route planning across safetycontour, Indication for Route planning across specified area, Indication for Positioning system failure,Indication for System test failureAlarm: An alarm or alarm system which announces by audible means, or audible and visual means,a condition requiring attention.Indicator: Visual indication giving information about the condition of a system or equipment.