IHO File N° S3/8151/HSSC
CIRCULAR LETTER 08/2017
25 January 2017
OUTCOME OF THE EIGHTH MEETING OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES
AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE (HSSC)
References:
A. IHO CL 25/2016 dated 25 May - Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee (HSSC) -
8th Meeting, 14-18 November 2016, IHB, Monaco
B. IHO CL 67/2016 dated 20 December - Consideration of port State control issues related to
ECDIS carriage and operation
C. IHO CL 68/2016 dated 20 December - Establishment of the IHO project team on standards for
hydrographic surveys (HS PT)
D. IHO CL 61/2015 dated 24 August - ECDIS - Guidance on good practice
Dear Hydrographer,
1. As announced in Reference A, the eighth meeting of the Hydrographic Services and Standards
Committee (HSSC) took place from 14 to 18 November 2016 at the IHO Secretariat in Monaco. The
meeting was chaired by Dr Mathias Jonas (Germany) and attended by 74 representatives from 22
Member States, nine international organizations accredited as observers and the IHO Secretariat.
2. The minutes of HSSC-8, together with the list of decisions and actions arising from the meeting
and their current status, are now available from the HSSC page of the IHO website (www.iho.int >
Committees & WG > HSSC), at section HSSC 8. The consolidated HSSC Work Plan 2017-2018 is
also available from that page, in the section ‘Miscellaneous’.
3. In accordance with the list of decisions and actions, the IHO Secretariat has already issued two
Circular Letters requiring specific input from IHO Member States (see References B and C). Further
Circular Letters will be issued in the near future inviting Member States to consider approving revised
publications that were endorsed by the HSSC. In addition, as requested by the HSSC, Member States
are invited to implement the outcomes which are considered in the following paragraphs.
Provision of Hydrographic Services to Mariners
4. As an outcome of the consideration by the Committee of the report of the Nautical Cartography
Working Group (NCWG) noting that some countries publish Notices to Mariners in their national
language only (action HSSC8/37), Member States are reminded that Notices to Mariners should be
promulgated in English, in addition to the national language, in accordance with specification B-
631.4 of IHO Publication S-4 - Regulations of the IHO for International (INT) Charts and Chart
Specifications of the IHO.
5. The Circular Letter at Reference D reiterated a former request that Member States ensure that the
information on any requirements for ECDIS back-up arrangements using paper charts which has been
posted on the IHO website since 2008 at:
Home > ENCs & ECDIS > ENC Availability > Backup Paper Charts, and
Home > ENCs & ECDIS > ENC Availability > Online Chart Catalogues
Mapping our Seas, Oceans and Waterways - more important than ever
is kept current and to provide the Secretariat with updates as appropriate.
6. The HSSC noted that a majority of the Member States providing such information have not
provided update nor confirmed the validity of the initial information provided about ten years ago. In
accordance with action HSSC8/57, Member States are reminded of the request at Reference D that
updates or confirmation of no change be provided at least once a year, as long as the IMO guidance
on ECDIS refers to such information being provided by the IHO.
Liaison with External Stakeholders
7. HSSC reviewed the list of events that could offer opportunities to interact with stakeholders in
2017 and considered which events would justify the involvement of representatives from IHO Member
States and/or from the Secretariat, taking into account the available resources. The list of potential
stakeholders’ events is available on the HSSC page of the IHO web site (Home > Committees & WG
> HSSC > HSSC8 > HSSC8-09A). Member States are invited to liaise with the Secretariat
(
[email protected]) if they are in a position to represent the IHO at those events where no participation is
currently planned.
8. In particular, Member States are invited to consider representing IHO interests in the
stakeholders’ meetings organized by Digital Ship (see http://www.thedigitalship.com/) and inform
the Secretariat (
[email protected]) of their intentions (action HSSC8/74 refers).
Maintenance of IHO Publications
9. In accordance with action HSSC8/75, Member States are invited to consider the status report on
IHO Publications available on the HSSC page of the IHO web site (Home > Committees & WG >
HSSC > HSSC8 > HSSC8-10A) and to provide their comments to the Secretariat (
[email protected])
regarding dates for next edition and possible requirements and contributions for translation into
French and/or Spanish.
Participation in HSSC Activities
10. The Committee decided to disband the Data Protection Scheme Working Group (DPSWG) and:
- to transfer to the S-100WG the development of the protection scheme (component equivalent
to S-63 - IHO Data Protection Scheme) of S-100 based-products;
- to task the ENC Standards Maintenance WG for the maintenance and monitoring of the
existing S-63 standard.
11. The Committee endorsed the continuation of its other working groups and approved their work
plans. Member States are invited to consider participating in the working groups in which they are
not yet involved.
12. In accordance with action HSSC8/40, Reference C invited Member States to participate in the
new project team on standards for hydrographic surveys.
13. The list of HSSC Contacts used for inter-sessional correspondence is maintained by the
Secretariat and posted on the HSSC page of the IHO web site (Home > Committees & WG > HSSC >
Members). Member States are requested to ensure that the relevant contact information is current
and to inform the Secretariat (
[email protected]) of any changes.
Next HSSC Meetings
14. Member States are invited to note, for planning purposes, that the next HSSC meeting (HSSC-
9) will be held from 6 to 10 November 2017 in Ottawa, Canada. The timing of HSSC-10 will be
adjusted in order to provide timely input to the IHO Council which is expected to meet annually in
October. Accordingly, HSSC-10 is expected to take place in Rostock, Germany in May 2018.
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15. Noting the provisional offer of the United Kingdom to host HSSC-12 in May 2020, Member
States are invited to consider the possibility to host HSSC-11, in May 2019 (action HSSC8/77 refers)
when reviewing the proposed IHO Work Programme for the next triennial period 2018-2020 that will
be considered by the first Session of the IHO Assembly.
On behalf of the Secretary-General
Yours sincerely,
Gilles BESSERO
Director
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Dear Hydrographer,
Please find attached herewith :
CL 8/2017 : OUTCOME OF THE EIGHTH MEETING OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC
SERVICES AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE (HSSC)
Yours sincerely,
IHO
M.MOLLET