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The Australian Hydrographic Service (AHS) is
part of the Royal Australian Navy. It is responsible for the
conduct of hydrographic surveys, as well as providing Australia's
national charting service under the terms of the
UN Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention and the Navigation
Act. This role requires the coordination and determination
of policy and standards which covers both hydrographic surveying
and charting, as well contributing to the coordination, exchange
and standards related to geospatial data in general.
The AHS is also responsible for providing direct
support to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for the provision
of hydrographic, charting, oceanographic and meteorology services.
National responsibilities and commitments
include:
- publishing and maintaining the national
chart series (over 450 navigational charts)
- publishing the Australian National Tide
Tables
- developing an Australian series of Sailing
Directions and other nautical publications
- compilation and maintenance of the Australian
hydrographic data collection
- providing a fortnightly Notices to Mariners
service to promulgate changes and additions to charts and
publications
- determining the priority for national
hydrographic survey requirements through liaison with:
- The Department of Defence
- AMSA
- Key scientific organisations
- State maritime agencies
- representing national hydrographic interests
on the following bodies and committees:
- Inter-governmental Advisory Committee
on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM)
- Maritime Services Advisory Committee
- Navigation Safety
- Permanent Committee on Tides and Mean
Sea Level (PCTMSL)
- Steering Committee for the National
Tidal Facility
- Coordinating Committee of Commonwealth
Marine Science Agencies
- Commonwealth Spatial Data Committee
(CSDC)
- Standards Australia User Panel on
ECDIS
- Association of Australian Ports and
Marine authorities (AAPMA)
- Heads of Commonwealth Marine Agencies
(HOMA)
- providing the secretariat for the ISA
Hydrographic Commission
International responsibilities and commitments
include:
- Active participation in International
Hydrographic Organization (IHO) activities, including:
- SW Pacific Hydrographic Commission
(SWPHC)
- Committee on Hydrographic Requirements
for Information Systems (CHRIS)
- Worldwide Electronic Navigational
Chart Database (WEND) Committee
- Transfer Standard Maintenance and
Applications Development WG (TSMAD)
- Colours and Symbols Maintenance Working
Group
- Standardisation of Nautical Publications
Working Group (SNPWG)
- Harmonisation Group on ECDIS (HGE)
- Legal Advisory Committee
- Strategic Planning Working Group (SPWG)
- Permanent Working Group on Cooperation
in Antarctica (PWGCA)
- Coordination of regional charting through
involvement in:
- Area L Int charts
- SWPHC
- PWGCA
Defence responsibilities and commitments
include:
- Hydrographic data collection
- Hydrographic and oceanographic military geospatial
information (MGI) services
- Military meteorology services
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