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IC-ENC recently returned from the second meeting of the S63 eXtended working group, hosted by the International Hydrographic Bureau.
S63 eXtended is an industry led initiative looking at ways to improve the delivery of ENCs to customers. Its goal is to introduce greater flexibility in the handling and packaging of ENCs to make the services containing S-57 data, protected using S-63, more customer friendly. S63 eXtended is therefore an auxiliary standard to the existing S-57 and S-63 standards, adding additional layers to these standards without changing or interfering with them in any way.
An excellent example of the kinds of solutions which are included in version 1.0 of this new industry standard is the “ECDIS Passport” – a file which can be generated automatically by an ECDIS system and which contains a variety of information about the ECDIS system and its owner which the company providing the ENC service requires in order to deliver the correct service level and support for his customer.
IC-ENC is pleased to see the companies who offer ENC services, and who develop ECDIS equipment, working together in this way. IC-ENC supports the development of a variety of high quality, customer friendly, ENC services – which is why IC-ENC has adopted the “Value Added Reseller” approach to distribution. Industry led initiatives like S63 eXtended are therefore a good way to derive the benefits from this approach.
IC-ENC therefore fully supports this initiative, and hopes that all VARs and ECDIS manufacturers will participate to ensure that S63 eXtended offers the maximum benefit to the mariner. Further information on how to get involved in this work can be found on the website www.s63x.org.
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