Electronic navigational chart
digital nautical map for navigation on water
An electronic navigational chart (ENC) is an official database created by a national hydrographic office for use with an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). ECDIS and ENCs are the primary means of electronic navigation on cargo ships. Charts can be used in navigation to provide an indication of location once a position is fixed and the charted depths can be used in under keel clearance (UKC) calculations to ensure the ship is navigating in safe water.
Inland Electronic Chart Display and Information System are similar systems used for navigation of inland water.
ENC
An Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) is a digital representation of a real-world geographical area for the purpose of Marine navigation.
Real-world objects and areas of navigational significance, or to a lesser degree - informational significance, are portrayed through Raster facsimiles of traditional paper charts; or more commonly through vector images, which are able to scale their relative position and size to meet a Mariner's Selected Viewing Scale (MSVS) displayed through an ECDIS.
The first ENC was patented in 1986 by Mortimer Rogoff, Peter Winkler, and John N. Ackley with Navigation Sciences, Inc in Bethesda, Maryland (Patent number: 4590569).
All Navigational charts must meet the requirements set out in the SOLAS (Safety of Lives at Sea) Convention. To meet these requirements, ENC's created and published by a Hydrographic Authority must conform to the internationally recognised standards stated in the publications set out by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Presently the S-57 Standard is the only ENC standard which meets SOLAS chart carriage requirements. The IHO and its parent body the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have begun a transition to a new suite of standards that is targeted to exist as a unified, interactive suite of products and standards within the S-100 Universal Hydrographic Data Model.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Electronic navigational chart” is digital nautical map for navigation on water. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Electronic, navigational and chart, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “digital nautical map for navigation on water” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2035351. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1986.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Electronic navigational chart”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Electronic navigational chart primary sources, Electronic navigational chart archive and Electronic research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Electronic navigational chart”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Electronic navigational chart” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.