South China Sea (SCS) and East Asia (EA) ENCs 6th EAHC CHC Meeting

Temporary Suspension of SCS ENC Approved at 4th EAHC SC Meeting (Feb 2017) Announcement of temporary suspension: Comments and concurrence on notice of temporary suspension sought through CL4/2017 dated 3 Apr 2017 Suspension confirmed through CL6/2017 dated 28 May 2017 and put into force Suspended ENC cells: EA200001, EA200002, EA200003 & EA200004

Letter from IHO SG Ward Letter dated 23 June 2017, addressed to all EAHC MSs Adverse comments from seafarers and ship operators received by IHO Secretariat Reference to readme text file “…If withdrawn ENCs are installed in your ECDIS, you are advised to use them with caution and refer to the appropriate paper chart coverage as they may be out of date…” Statement may cause alarm and confusion to mariners SG Ward to report at 5th NCSR 19 to 23 February 2018

Letter from IHO SG Ward Details required from EAHC: Specific reasons why ENCs have been withdrawn Nature and origin of naming disputes; Strategy put in place to inform mariners and other interested parties of impact of the withdrawal of the ENCs; Recommended course of action that mariners should take in absence of ENCs; and When it can be expected that ENC coverage of the area will be reinstated. Deadline for response: 31 October 2017

Options for Consideration Pros Cons Options explored at CHC5 1 No changes in geographical naming (i.e. Existing names) No need to update the ENCs geographical naming Does not take into consideration international names 2 Having two or more names displayed in the ENCs Existingand international names which all mariners can relate to Requires a system that can accept multiple names Need to key in the names 3 Highlight names to show that there are more than one name Includes existing names Requires keying in notices to highlight that more than one name exists 4 Omit geographical names from the ENCs Mitigates the naming issue SCS ENC – usage Band 2 (planning), as names are not critical Little or no geographical naming reference New proposed option 5 Each concerned MS to produce their own SCS ENC and withdraw EAHC SCS ENCs Multiple ENCs may cause confusion to mariners ENCs not harmonized with other MSs’ Inconsistent updating