NAVTOR simplifies ENC distribution with NavSync
31st May 2012, Egersund, Norway, E-navigation company NAVTOR has announced the introduction of NavSync, marking an important step change in the way that navigators can gain access to the very latest Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs).
NavSync allows the most up to date versions of the charts to be uploaded directly to the ECDIS from a USB device. Simple.
Without the NavSync, navigators face the time consuming task of working out exactly which ENCs they require for journeys, ordering them in advance and then uploading them from CDs that are posted out to them. Not so simple.
The system has been developed to work in tandem with NAVTOR’s recently launched “Pay As You Sail” DNV-approved ENC Service, which allows access to charts through a subscription-based model.
NAVTOR sales manager Børge Hetland explains exactly how the system works: “When a new subscriber signs up to our service, we distribute the ENCs on the NAVTOR NavSync USB compatible device, the NavStick.
“By using the USB port on the ECDIS, the ENCs are installed from the NavStick in one simple operation, as opposed to loading multiple CDs into the ECDIS. Updates can then easily be downloaded to the NavStick via an internet enabled on-board computer and transferred to the ECDIS on a rolling basis.”
Hetland surmises that: “It really is a time and cost-saving way to get the latest ENCs at the touch of a few buttons.”
As an added feature, the NavSync program also offers a print function for producing relevant port authority reports to verify that vessels are equipped with the most up to date versions of ENCs.
NAVTOR marketing manager Willy Zeiler sees the latest development as another step forward towards his firm’s goal of offering “a completely seamless ENC service.”
He adds that the USB nature of NavSync is a way to bypass one of the key failings of most current ECDIS systems – the fact they do not offer internet access – and that NAVTOR has now pledged to work with manufacturers to help them tailor models to take advantage of the latest technology on the marketplace.
Zeiler comments: “We have commenced a development program in connection with the major ECDIS manufacturers to jointly implement technology developed by NAVTOR for the future of ENC handling.
“It is a comprehensive program managed by some of the best skilled and most experienced people in the industry. Together we’ll be looking to rollout technology that will further enhance the use of ENC and ECDIS in preparation for the introduction of the IMO mandate.”
Editor’s notes
- 1. The IMO’s ECDIS mandate requires registered vessels to use ENC as their prime navigation charts. This mandate kicks in in July 2012, with a need to comply with regulations by 2018.
- 2. NAVTOR’s ‘Pay As You Sail’ (PAYS) DNV-approved NAVTOR ENC Service launched in February 2012. It is the first DNV type-approved PAYS service on the market.
Media Contact:
Willy Zeiler, Marketing Manager
Mobile +47 906 67 036
Email: willy.zeiler@navtor.no
Navtor AS, Torget 1, P.O.Box 337, N-4379 Egersund, Norway
Phone: +47 51 49 22 00
www.navtor.no
About NAVTOR
With its head office in Egersund, NAVTOR has a team of personnel with extensive experience in the development, marketing, sales and support of official electronic charts and navigational information services for the professional maritime market. NAVTOR has a subsidiary in St. Petersburg manned by technical experts specializing in the field of ECDIS kernels and maritime software development.
About Smedvig
The Norwegian naval captain Peder Smedvig founded a shipping company in Stavanger in 1915, which over the first half of last century became one of the key ship owners in Norway. When oil was discovered in the North Sea in the 1960s, the company moved into the offshore oil industry with investments in supply ships, oil tankers and, in 1973, built the first Norwegian owned drilling rig “West Venture”. The company acquired multiple rigs throughout the 1970s and 1980s and took the drilling company public in 1990. Today Smedvig Family Office is an international investment company with interests in multiple asset classes. The head office is still located in Stavanger and with the establishment of NAVTOR the company has reentered the shipping industry.
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