Official electronic nautical charts (S-57 ENC) and approved electronic chart tools (ECDIS) are already widely used on ships. With digitalization of the maritime sector, a wider variety of digital products can be utilized on bridge systems than before.
Alongside the existing ECDIS chart equipment, IMO's decision allows the use of equipment utilizing S-100 products on ships from 2026 onwards. Starting from 2029, the installed ECDIS tools must also support S-100 products (IMO RESOLUTION MSC.530(106).
S-100 ECDIS can, alongside S-57 ENC charts, also utilize different S-100 products that have been developed especially for the use of ECDIS. The new S-100 ECDIS can also utilize the newer S-101 ENC material instead of the S-57 ENC chart. Additionally, S-100 ECDIS can utilize several different S-100-based products that bring more navigational information to bridge systems. The integrated information may include e.g. navigational warnings, more detailed depth information, condition information such as water level and weather information and forecasts connected to these. The information presented in maritime publications for route planning will also be made available as S-100 information products in the future.
The information presented in navigation systems will be standardized in terms of data content, shared use and format so that the analysing and combining of information is possible in the background.
The goal is that by filtering information and processing it in the background the end user can be offered, regardless of a large amount of data, a presentation of information that is easier to digest than before.