The 10th meeting of the IMO Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR 10) has been taking place over the course of the last week and closes this Friday 19 May. The key item of note is a joint submission made by numerous European countries and co-sponsored by IAPH, IHMA and IPCSA proposing amendments to the Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) performance standards to facilitate a standardised digital exchange of ship’s route plans. The proposal suggests a standardised and cyber-secure method for route exchange from ship-to-shore and from shore-to-ship to be added as an additional functionality in ECDIS to increase safety, reduce administrative burden and improve efficiency of operations, as well as reduce the environmental impact. The paper proposes that the Sub-Committee consider and finalise the draft amendments to the resolution and submit draft amendments to MSC 108 for adoption. Thus far, discussions have been held as part of a parallel working group that will report back to plenary this Friday, however, it can be expected that such proposed amendments will be agreed and finalised by the Sub-Committee at this session.
