NAVTOR participates in the SINCERE Project for S-129 Ship Under Keel Clearance (UKC)

Bjørn Kristian Sæstad, OEM Business Director, sees clear value of NAVTORs role in the development projects that will shape the way forward for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs)

The uptake of the new IHO S-100 Framework for all types of maritime data is gaining pace and NAVTOR is committed to participating in projects and working groups to bring many different types of data and functionality to the maritime market as soon as possible.

The latest initiative we are involved in is the European Union SINCERE Project where, together with the other members of the consortium including Primar and Kongsberg, we will develop and demonstrate dynamic under keel clearance on our NavStation software, used by thousands of vessels worldwide.

Using the European Union Galileo positioning system, and Copernicus meteorological forecasts, S-104 data (water level information) and S-111 data (surface currents) will be combined with S-101 data (ENC) and S-102 data (Bathymetric surface) and fed into an S-129 Dynamic Under Keel Clearance engine. The resulting UKC calculations will then be used on the NAVTOR NavStation to plan routes and monitor voyages, with the UKC calculations being updated in near real-time.

NavStation's Passage Plan Module will be even more accurate with the new S-129 Dynamic Under Keel Clearance (UKC) engine.

The project aims to get EU approval in August 2023 and will hold trials and demonstrations in 2024 at the ports of Gothenburg in Sweden and Le Havre in France.