UKHO Launches ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD): What Mariners Need to Know

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has launched ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD), converting its Sailing Directions publications into an interactive digital format designed to streamline passage planning and improve situational awareness on the bridge. The product is available through the global ADMIRALTY distributor network, including ANS.

What the UKHO Has Launched

ADSD transforms the trusted ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions, used by commercial mariners worldwide for port approach, coastal navigation, and routeing guidance, from static publications into a dynamic, searchable digital tool. The content remains the same authoritative ADMIRALTY data that navigating officers rely on during the appraisal and planning stages of passage planning. What changes is how that content is accessed: geo-referenced display, keyword search, filtering by topic, bookmarking, and integrated navigational imagery replace the manual process of paging through printed volumes or scrolling through PDF equivalents.

The launch represents a significant step in the UKHO's wider program to deliver digital navigation solutions aligned with the evolving requirements of the commercial shipping industry. ADSD was developed in consultation with navigating officers and tested across a range of vessel types and operational scenarios before release.

Coverage at Launch

The initial release makes 38 of the most widely used ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions volumes available in the ADSD format. The UKHO selected these 38 volumes to cover the primary trade corridors that carry the majority of international shipping traffic. Coverage at launch includes 27 of the world's top 30 ports and provides continuous routing coverage from the UK and North Sea, through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal (or via the Cape of Good Hope), across the Indian Ocean, and onward through Southeast Asia to China and Japan.

The remaining 38 volumes are scheduled for release by the end of 2026, at which point ADSD will offer the same full global coverage as the existing 76-volume paper and e-Nautical Publications (AENP) library.

Key Features for Bridge Teams

ADSD introduces several capabilities that address common pain points in the passage planning workflow.

Geo-referenced guidance links Sailing Directions content to geographic coordinates, so a navigating officer can view port approach information, hazard descriptions, and routeing guidance in a spatial context rather than searching by volume and section number. Powerful search and filtering allow the officer to locate relevant guidance by keyword, topic, or geographic area, reducing the time spent manually scanning static text. Built-in bookmarking lets the officer save, organize, and revisit key sections during voyage preparation and review. Integrated imagery, including coastal views and navigational aid photographs, supports situational awareness during the planning stage.

For vessels that already use ADMIRALTY products in their passage planning workflow, including the ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service (AVCS) and ADMIRALTY Digital Publications (ADP), ADSD adds another layer of digital reference that reduces the manual effort involved in the appraisal stage.

What ADSD Means for Fleet Operators

For fleet managers and vessel superintendents, ADSD offers operational advantages beyond the bridge. Digital delivery simplifies provisioning: volumes are delivered electronically through the ADMIRALTY distributor network rather than shipped as physical books or CDs. Updates are applied digitally, eliminating the manual correction process that paper Sailing Directions require through weekly Notices to Mariners. Compliance verification becomes more transparent, since the digital format provides a clear record of which volumes are aboard and when each was last updated, a point that port state control inspectors and ISM auditors can verify quickly.

Vessels currently carrying paper ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions or their AENP equivalents should consult their flag state's carriage requirements before transitioning, since flag state approval for digital publications varies. ANS can advise on flag state acceptance and supply both the traditional and digital formats.

How to Get ADSD

ADSD is available through authorized ADMIRALTY distributors worldwide. As an authorized ADMIRALTY distributor, ANS supplies the full range of ADMIRALTY charts, publications, and digital products, including ADSD, the ADMIRALTY e-Nautical Publications library, and the AVCS digital chart service. For pricing, availability, and flag state guidance on ADSD, contact American Nautical Services at +1 (954) 522-3321 or sales@amnautical.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD)?

ADSD is a digital product from the UK Hydrographic Office that delivers ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions content in a geo-referenced, searchable, and interactive format designed to support passage planning and situational awareness on the bridge.

Q. How many volumes are available at launch?

The initial release includes 38 volumes covering the world's primary trade corridors and 27 of the top 30 ports. The remaining 38 volumes are scheduled for release by the end of 2026, completing full global coverage across all 76 volumes.

Q. Does ADSD replace paper Sailing Directions?

ADSD delivers the same authoritative content as the paper and AENP versions of ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions. Whether a vessel can transition fully to the digital format depends on its flag state's carriage requirements for nautical publications.

Q. How is ADSD different from ADMIRALTY e-Nautical Publications?

AENPs are encrypted PDF versions of the paper publications with search functionality and electronic NM updates. ADSD goes further by adding geo-referenced display, topic-based filtering, bookmarking, and integrated navigational imagery in a purpose-built interface.

Q. Where can vessels purchase ADSD?

ADSD is available through the global ADMIRALTY distributor network. ANS, as an authorized ADMIRALTY distributor, supplies ADSD alongside the full range of ADMIRALTY charts and publications.

Q. Does ADSD support SOLAS carriage requirements?

ADSD builds on the same trusted ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions content used to meet SOLAS Chapter V carriage requirements. Vessel operators should verify flag state acceptance of the digital format before relying on ADSD as the sole onboard reference.