To further enhance navigational safety in Singapore waters, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has produced the Singapore Electronic Navigational Chart (Singapore ENC) for commercial use. The Singapore ENC was officially launched at a ceremony today at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

The Singapore ENC is a digital database which contains hydrographic chart information necessary for safe navigation. Singapore is among the first in the world to release for commercial use ENC data that is compliant with the International Hydrographic Organisation S57 Edition 3 Standard.

The Singapore ENC also contains supplementary information not available in paper charts. It is used with the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). ECDIS is approved by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a paper chart equivalent. Therefore, vessels equipped with ECDIS need not carry paper charts for their voyage as required under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention.

The Singapore ENC is a powerful navigational tool. For the maritime community at large, the benefits of using this electronic tool are many. When interfaced with navigational sensors such as the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and the ECDIS software, it is able to provide: -

- Real-time information on the actual position of a vessel.

- 24-hour operations in all weather conditions, night and day. This would increase a mariner's confidence in navigation, especially in confined waterways such as the Singapore Strait.

- Anti-grounding warnings

- Anti-collision warnings when interfaced with Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) radar.

- Capability to carry out route planning, route monitoring and estimated time of arrival (ETA) computation.

All this greatly enhances safety to navigation and therefore helps to protect the marine environment.

The Singapore ENC, which covers our port waters and its approaches, has been tested on board ships plying between Singapore and Southampton and Singapore and Hong Kong under a programme called the Singapore-Hong Kong Admiralty Raster and ENC Demonstration (SHARED). The Programme was jointly undertaken by the MPA and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. The SHARED programme has been successfully demonstrated on board container ships and car carriers, and this has led to an extension of the programme to the region. The MPA is now working out the details of the SHARED Extension programme with the participating Hydrographic Offices in the region.

The Singapore ENC is available on CD-ROMs and may be obtained from authorised distributor(s). The ECDIS hardware and software are available commercially.

The MPA is convinced that the Singapore ENC, when used with the ECDIS, is the key to enhancing safe navigation at sea. MPA has already invested about half-a-million dollars in developing the Singapore ENC. It has also set up the supporting infrastructure such as the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) broadcast service for use with the ECDIS. DGPS positioning is widely used in navigation, marine surveys, offshore exploration, transportation and fleet management for obtaining positions of ships or other objects at sea. The DGPS signal can be received by ships as far as 200km from Singapore. The DGPS broadcast service is provided free-of-charge to port users on a round-the clock basis.

In a speech at the launch ceremony of the Singapore ENC, Mr Peter Ho, Chairman, MPA and PS (Defence Development) MINDEF, said, "The Singapore ENC is proof of MPA's commitment to harness the latest technology to promote navigational safety in Singapore's port waters. The MPA is committed to improving its service level by being a leading global player in the use of new technologies and maintaining its competitive edge so as to preserve Singapore's position as the natural port of choice in this part of the world."

End of Statement.