S-63 is an International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) standard for encrypting, securing and compressing electronic navigational chart (ENC) data.
The Data Protection Scheme was prepared by the IHO Data Protection Scheme Advisory Group, and was based on the protection scheme developed and operated by Primar as part of providing their protected ENC service. ECC (Electronic Chart Centre) and United Kingdom Hydrographic Office were the original contributing organizations. [1] The UKHO has since left this arrangement and Primar is now operated exclusively by ECC.
The standard was adopted as the official IHO standard by the IHO member states in December 2002. [2]
The S-63 standard secures data by encrypting the basic transfer database using the Blowfish algorithm, SHA-1-hashing the data based on a random key and adding a CRC32 check. The standard also defines the systems to develop permit files that are delivered to end-users of ENC data enabling them to decrypt the data and use it for navigation. [1] It also defines the use of DSA format signatures to authenticate the data originator, however because of poor implementation of the standard by ECDIS hardware manufacturers, virtually all signing is performed centrally by the IHO which acts as the scheme administrator. Exceptions to this are a few smaller resellers such as AUSRenc operated by AHS.
Compression is achieved by applying the standard ZIP (file format) algorithm to the base and update ENC files, before encryption. The other files are not compressed.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. As of May 2022, the IHO comprised 98 Member States.
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Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may also be conducted to determine the route of subsea cables such as telecommunications cables, cables associated with wind farms, and HVDC power cables. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, seabed and submerged obstructions that relate to the previously mentioned activities. The term hydrography is used synonymously to describe maritime cartography, which in the final stages of the hydrographic process uses the raw data collected through hydrographic survey into information usable by the end user.
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The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is located in Taunton, Somerset, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff.
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Electronic Chart Centre AS is Norwegian government enterprise created in 1999 to create and publish nautical charts for use by ships and boats. The company was originally part of Statens Kartverk The Electronic Chart Centre is based in Stavanger and has 15 employees. ECC AS is responsible for the technical operation PRIMAR ENC service in cooperation with Statens Kartverk - sjø.
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Data Interchange Standards
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The Hydrographic Institute of the Republic of Croatia is a government agency responsible for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data for the Republic of Croatia. The institute is located in Split, and covers scientific research and development, services related to the safety of navigation, the hydrographic-geodetic survey of the Adriatic sea, marine geodesy, design and publication of nautical charts and books, oceanographic research, and submarine geology research. The Croatian Hydrographic Institute is responsible for the development of navigational safety service in the Adriatic, within the worldwide navigational safety system, and in cooperation with the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, port authorities, the Croatian Navy, lighthouse authorities, and hydrographic offices of all maritime countries, following internationally agreed standards.