IHO Publications

The IHO has developed the international standards, specifications, guidelines and informative publications that support global hydrography and nautical charting. Today, there are nearly 60 IHO publications – almost all of them available free of charge from the IHO website 1. Many of the documents are in English and French – and some are also in Spanish.

IHO standards and guidelines are developed and maintained by various IHO working groups. Each group works to Terms of Reference set by its governing committee. Working groups are made up of representatives from IHO Member States with the relevant skills and experience. In an increasing number of cases, especially those dealing with technical standards, the working groups also contain representatives from the IHO's accredited Non-Governmental International Organisations (NGIOs), and invited 'expert contributors'. The NGIOs and the expert contributors who mostly come from related industries and user groups provide the working groups with particular expertise and quite often a much-needed 'reality check' - ensuring that the IHO's standards reflect current practices and best meet the needs of the stakeholders - the ultimate recipients of the services that are underpinned by the IHO standards. Every new standard and each significant revision requires consultation with the stakeholders before seeking a majority approval of IHO Member States so that it can enter into force.

As well as updating and revising existing standards, the IHO has a number of new standards and guidelines under development. At the beginning of 2010 the IHO adopted a new hydrographic geospatial data framework standard, the S-100, known as the Universal Hydrographic Data Model. This was the result of over ten years work by a working group. Many of the members of that working group have now moved on to the development of S-101 - a new-generation ENC Product Specification based on S-100. At the same time, another working group is working on digital nautical publications, also based on S-100. A copy of S-100 can be downloaded from the IHO website. Progress reports, working drafts of standards under development and other information about all the IHO's working groups can be found at website 2.

The IHO publishes a number of guidelines that provide information and useful advice both to hydrographic offices and to users of hydrographic and nautical charting products. IHO publication C-17 - Spatial Data Infrastructures: "The Marine Dimension" - Guidance for Hydrographic Offices is a new guidance document explaining the potential role of hydrographic offices in building national or regional Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). It explains how hydrographic offices should best prepare themselves to take an active part in supporting the maritime domain in any SDI. Another guidance document that has just been released is S-66 - Facts about Electronic Charts and Carriage Requirements. S-66 is intended primarily for mariners and others in the maritime domain that need to know about the official electronic charts required when using ECDIS.

The IHO maintains and publishes a range of reference documents. These include S-32 - The Hydrographic Dictionary, C-13 - The Manual on Hydrography, and C-55 - Status of Hydrographic Surveying and Nautical Charting Worldwide.

There are also a number of miscellaneous and administrative documents in the IHO portfolio. These include the regulations of the IHO, the yearbook, and the repertory of resolutions of the IHO. Most of the significant technical and administrative decisions of the IHO are taken through the adoption of resolutions. IHO publication M-3 - Resolutions of the IHO contains all the active resolutions of the IHO, dating back to the origin of the organisation in 1921. It is a key reference both for the working of the IHO and also for hydrographic offices in carrying out their national and international functions.

An increasing number of IHO publications are now web-based, rather than being in a strictly manuscript form. For example, C-32 - Hydrographic Dictionary is available as a wiki; C-55 - Status of Hydrographic Surveying and Nautical Charting Worldwide is actually a report created directly from a continuously updated database; and the information registry and registers described in S-100 are only available online by accessing the host database at website 3.

To obtain a full list of IHO publications and to download most of the IHO publications free of charge, go to website 4. For other information about the IHO, go to website 5.