S-11 Guidance for the preparation and maintenance of international chart schemes and catalogue of international charts

Overview

Full name	S-11, Guidance for the preparation and maintenance of international chart schemes and catalogue of international charts (formerly M-11)
Version	Edition 2.0.5 of May 2012
Amendments	None
Corrigenda	None
Published by	IHO
Languages	English, French
Online overview	http://iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-11/S-11.htm
Type of standard	IHO Guide and Catalogue Application level
Related standard(s)	S-4, Regulations for International (INT) Charts and Chart Specifications of the IHO
Application	A guideline for preparing and maintaining international nautical charts for printing on paper.
Conformance classes	None

Implementation benefits

S-11 is currently only for paper nautical charts, and only for international charts, which have less detail than national charts, to limit updates to items essential for international shipping. It is relevant to those wanting to produce charts of coastal areas and possibly also charts of large inland water bodies, particularly where they include international boundaries, such as the Great Lakes in eastern Africa.

Implementation guidelines

This guideline should only be used by those who have been trained to produce nautical charts and who are familiar with all the relevant IHO standards, including S-4, Regulations for International (INT) Charts and Chart Specifications of the IHO, because of the dangers associated with incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate charts. Section 3 provides guidelines on what features and their attributes to include in the international chart, covering port selection, shipping routes, comparison of catalogues, scale (for berthing, harbours, approaches, coastal navigation, general charts and overviews), projections, dimensions of the chart, limits, overlaps, chart numbering, draft schemes and consultation on them, allocation of producers, and review of the charts.

Annex A lists the potential printer nations (which are available for printing one’s international chart), which in Africa are Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia. Note that most countries will only print maps covering certain areas. Annex B indicates whether or not the potential printer nations can print on A0 paper, and all four African countries can. Annex C provides the terms of reference for the International Charting Coordination Working Groups (ICCWG).

Part B of S-11 is a catalogue of available international charts by region, which gets updated frequently. Note that Africa’s coasts fall into the International Charting Regions F (Mediterranean), G (Eastern Atlantic), H (SE Atlantic and SW Indian Oceans) and J (North Indian Ocean).