Chart folio management is one of the most time-consuming parts of passage planning. During the appraisal stage alone, a navigation officer may need to cross-reference three or four separate hydrographic office catalogs to confirm full coverage between departure and arrival. Miss a single chart at a required scale for a port approach or narrow channel, and you risk a deficiency at the next port state control inspection.

The ANS Chart Selector consolidates that process into one interactive tool. Plot your route, draw a coverage area, or upload an RTZ file from your ECDIS, and the tool returns every applicable nautical chart from seven major hydrographic offices, filterable by paper or digital format.

Why Chart Selection Matters More Than Most Mariners Think

SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 19 requires vessels to carry adequate and up-to-date nautical charts for the intended voyage at appropriate scales. Port state control officers regularly check whether the folio matches the vessel's trading pattern and whether charts are corrected to the latest Notice to Mariners.

Where operators run into trouble is at the boundaries between hydrographic offices. A vessel departing Houston for Halifax may start on NOAA coverage, transition to CHS charts in Canadian waters, and need NGA planning charts for the open-ocean legs. Each office has its own numbering system, scale conventions, and update schedules. The chart selector eliminates that patchwork by cross-referencing all seven catalogs automatically.

Seven Hydrographic Offices in One Tool

UKHO (United Kingdom Hydrographic Office)

The ADMIRALTY chart series remains the standard folio for most internationally trading vessels, with over 3,500 charts covering global waters accepted by port state control authorities in nearly every jurisdiction. Most commercial operators build their primary paper folio around ADMIRALTY charts and supplement with national HO charts for local detail.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

NOAA charts are essential for any vessel operating in U.S. waters, covering all coastal approaches, harbors, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Great Lakes. NOAA charts are the preferred option for vessels operating solely in U.S. waters, offering the largest-scale coverage available for American harbors, port approaches, and coastal channels.

CHS (Canadian Hydrographic Service)

CHS charts cover the St. Lawrence Seaway, Great Lakes (complementing NOAA on the Canadian side), Atlantic provinces, British Columbia, and Arctic passages. Vessels working the Great Lakes trade or transiting the St. Lawrence need CHS charts for Canadian territorial waters.

NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

NGA charts fill critical gaps for ocean passages and foreign port approaches not covered by other offices in this tool. NGA's catalog includes small-scale planning charts for transoceanic routing and approach charts for ports outside the other six HO coverage areas.

NHS (Norwegian Hydrographic Service)

NHS charts provide definitive coverage for Norwegian fjords, offshore platforms, and Arctic waters up to Svalbard. Norwegian authorities require vessels operating in their waters to carry official NHS charts, and the NHS catalog provides the most current survey data for fjord approaches, offshore platforms, and Arctic passages up to Svalbard.

SHOM (Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine)

SHOM charts cover metropolitan France and French overseas territories in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean. SHOM charts are the official charting authority for French territorial waters, and vessels calling at ports in the French Antilles, French Polynesia, or New Caledonia are expected to carry the latest SHOM editions for those regions.

SEMAR (Secretaría de Marina)

SEMAR charts cover both Mexican coastlines, essential for Gulf of America trade and vessels cruising the Mexican Riviera.

Chart Selector Features That Fit the Planning Workflow

Route-Based Chart Detection

The "Create Route" function mirrors the appraisal stage of passage planning. Click waypoints along your intended track, and the tool returns every chart whose coverage boundary intersects that route. Results include chart scale, so you can verify appropriate progression from planning scale (1:3,500,000+) down to harbor scale (1:25,000 or larger) at each port.

Area Selection for Folio Building

Rectangle and polygon drawing modes allow broader searches for building or auditing a folio across an entire operating region rather than a single passage. A fleet manager overseeing Caribbean trading vessels could draw a polygon around the basin and generate a complete chart-by-region inventory across all seven HOs.

RTZ Route File Upload

For vessels already operating with ECDIS, the RTZ upload is the most practical entry point. Export the route file from the vessel's planning software, upload it to the chart selector, and get an instant chart inventory matched to the planned track. Fleet offices managing chart procurement across multiple vessels can batch-check routes without re-plotting anything manually.

Paper and Digital Format Filtering

A single toggle switches between paper charts and digital charts, though the digital option currently applies to We do plan to update the Chart Selector to include Garmin, Navionics, and other digital chart providers, like UKHO ADMIRALTY charts. All other hydrographic offices display paper chart coverage only. For vessels running ECDIS as primary navigation with an ADMIRALTY paper backup folio, this filter is useful for verifying that both formats provide equivalent coverage along the same passage, a common audit point during ISM and PSC inspections.

How to Use the Chart Selector

Step 1: Open the Chart Selector.

Step 2: Select hydrographic offices from the filter panel. Enable all relevant offices for international voyages, or NOAA alone for domestic U.S. passages.

Step 3: Choose paper charts, digital charts, or both.

Step 4: Define coverage: plot waypoints with "Create Route," draw a rectangle or polygon with "Draw Area," or upload a passage plan via "Upload RTZ Route."

Step 5: Review detected charts, each showing chart ID, name, issuing office, scale, and price.

Step 6: Add charts to cart or click "Request a Quote" for fleet orders and digital chart licensing.

Who Benefits Most

• Navigation officers during passage appraisal can build a complete chart requirement list in minutes rather than cross-referencing printed or PDF catalogs from multiple hydrographic offices.

• Fleet managers and marine superintendents gain a centralized procurement tool for verifying chart coverage across an entire fleet's trading pattern, reducing compliance gaps before port state control inspections.

• Yacht captains on international passages can plan multi-ocean crossings through a single interface. A Fort Lauderdale-to-Mediterranean voyage might pull NOAA, NGA, SHOM, and ADMIRALTY charts across different legs, all identified in one search.

FAQs

Q. What is a nautical chart selector?

An interactive map tool that matches official nautical charts to a specific route or coverage area using hydrographic office catalog data.

Q. Which hydrographic offices does the tool include?

UKHO, NOAA, CHS, NGA, NHS, SHOM, and SEMAR, covering the majority of commercially navigated waters worldwide.

Q. Can I upload a route file from my ECDIS?

Yes. The tool accepts RTZ format files, the standard route exchange format supported by most modern ECDIS systems.

Q. Does the tool differentiate between paper and digital charts?

Yes. A format filter lets you toggle between paper and digital charts, though the digital chart option currently applies only to UKHO ADMIRALTY charts. All other hydrographic offices in the tool display paper chart coverage.

Q. How accurate is the chart detection?

Results reference official catalog boundaries from each hydrographic office and include chart scale for confirming appropriate coverage at every passage stage.

Q. Is there a cost to use the chart selector?

No. The chart selector is free. Costs apply only when purchasing charts through the integrated cart.