TheUnited Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providinghydrographic and marinegeospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of theMinistry of Defence (MoD) and is located inTaunton,Somerset, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff.
The UKHO is responsible for operational support to the Royal Navy and other defence customers. Supplying defence and the commercial shipping industry, they help ensureSafety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), protect the marine environment and support the efficiency of global trade.[2]
The UKHO also producesAdmiralty charts, providing SOLAS-compliant charts, publications and digital services for ships trading internationally.
Dalrymple was succeeded on his death in 1808 by CaptainThomas Hurd, under whose stewardship the department was given permission to sell charts to the public in 1821.[5]
In 1819, Captain Hurd entered into a bilateral agreement withDenmark to exchange charts and publications covering areas of mutual interest. This is thought to be the earliest formal arrangement for the mutual supply of information between the British and any foreign Hydrographic Office.[6] Hurd developed the specialism of Royal Navy hydrographic surveyors. Rear-AdmiralSir W. Edward Parry was appointed Hydrographer in 1823 after his second expedition to discover aNorthwest Passage.[7][8] In 1825 some 736 charts and coastal views were being offered for sale by the Hydrographic Office.
In 1828 Captain Parry and the Royal Society organised a scientific voyage to theSouth Atlantic, in collaboration with the Hydrographers of France and Spain, usingHMS Chanticleer.[9]
In 1829, at the age of 55, Rear-AdmiralSir Francis Beaufort became Hydrographer. During his time as Hydrographer, he developed the eponymousScale, saw the introduction of officialtide tables in 1833 and instigated various surveys and expeditions. Several of these were byHMS Beagle, including one toTierra del Fuego andPatagonia in 1826. In 1831 Captain Beaufort informedCaptain FitzRoy that he had found asavant for the latter's surveying voyage to South America,Charles Darwin. After completing extensive surveys inSouth America he returned toFalmouth, Cornwall viaNew Zealand andAustralia in 1836.[10] By the time of Beaufort's retirement in 1855, the Chart Catalogue listed 1,981 charts and 64,000 copies of them had been issued to theRoyal Navy.[11]
In the 1870s, the Royal Naval Surveying Service supported theChallenger expedition, a scientific exercise that made many discoveries, laying the foundation ofoceanography. The cruise was named after the mother vessel,HMS Challenger. On her 68,890-nautical-mile (127,580 km) circumnavigation of the globe,[12] 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken.[13] The Challenger crew used a method of observation developed in earlier small-scale expeditions. To measure depth, the crew would lower a line with a weight attached to it until it reached the sea floor. The line was marked in 25-fathom intervals, with flags denoting depth. Because of this, the depth measurements from the Challenger were at best accurate to 25 fathoms (150 feet), or about 46 metres.[14] As the first true oceanographic cruise, the Challenger expedition established an entire academic and research discipline.[15]
The expedition's shipNimrod departing for the South Pole
During Rear-AdmiralA. Mostyn Field's term as Hydrographer to the Admiralty Board, the Hydrographic Office lent instruments to theNimrod Expedition of the British Antarctic Expedition led byErnest Shackleton in 1907. Following the sinking of theRMS Titanic in 1912, theSafety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention was established, and ice reporting and forecasting were introduced. DuringWorld War I, while Rear-Admiral Sir John F. Parry was Hydrographer of the Navy, the Hydrographic Office produced numerous new charts and products to support the Royal Navy.
Following the war, the First International Hydrographic Conference was held in London. It led to the establishment in 1921 of theInternational Hydrographic Organization. In the 1930s, the systematic and regular collection of oceanographic and naval meteorological data started. In theSecond World War, while led by Vice-Admiral Sir John A. Edgell, chart printing moved to Creechbarrow House inTaunton in June 1941. This was the first purpose-built chart making factory, and was designed by the Chief Draughtsman, Mr Jowsey. In 1968, compilation staff were transferred fromCricklewood, London to Taunton, thus bringing together the main elements of the Hydrographic Office. A purpose-built office, named after Alexander Dalrymple, was opened. Charts were metricated and computerised in the later 1960s and early 1970s under the leadership of Rear-AdmiralSir Edmund G. Irving (1960–1966), Rear-AdmiralGeorge Stephen Ritchie (1966–1971), Rear-Admiral Geoffrey P. D. Hall (1971–1975) and Rear-AdmiralSir David W. Haslam (1975–1985).
For centuries, data had mainly been collected using ordinary Royal Navy ships. In 1953, the first purpose-builtsurvey vessel was launched:HMS Vidal.[16] With the use of theecho sounder and other electronic equipment in the 20th century, there was a big increase in the quantity and quality of the data collected. The technology used to collect data also improved with the first commercial use ofmultibeam survey technology in 1977;HMS Bulldog undertook the firstside-scan sonar ofMount's Bay, Cornwall, in 1987. The work has since been continued by theBulldog-class survey vessels which form the "Hydrographic Squadron".
In 1994, the Hydrographer of the Navy also became the Chief Executive of UKHO. The post was held by Rear-AdmiralNigel R. Essenhigh (1994–1996) and Rear-Admiral John P. Clarke (1996–2001).
An example of an Electronic Navigational Chart (NOAA)
The UKHO continues to serve theRoyal Navy as its prime customer by supplying hydrographic and geospatial data. The UKHO's products and services are sold to merchant mariners and leisure users through its commercial branch.[17]
In addition to traditional paper nautical charts and publications, the range has expanded to include a number of digital products and services. In 1996, the UKHO developed ADMIRALTY Raster Chart Service, a raster navigational chart service forElectronic Chart Display and Information System. This was followed in 2008 by ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service, offering 15,750 fully vectorisedElectronic Navigational Charts (ENCs).
The UKHO produces over 200 nautical publications, which are available as e-Nautical Publications or in the Digital Publications suite. Notable publications includeSailing directions (Pilots),Tide tables,List of Radio Signals,List of Lights and Fog Signals and theMariner's Handbook.[18] The UKHO also offers astronomical publications fromHM Nautical Almanac Office, includingThe Nautical Almanac andThe Astronomical Almanac, among others.[19]
Today, the UKHO has expertise in areas such asbathymetry,oceanography,geodesy anddata science. It provides advice on technical aspects ofLaw of the Sea, specialising inmaritime limits and boundaries.[20] It also delivers a range of cartographic and ENC training programmes internationally to develop the core skills of marine cartography. Since 2015, the UKHO has supported the delivery of the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Programme in partnershipCefas andNOC, a programme enablingSmall Island Developing States (SIDS) to sustainably develop their marine economies.[21]
The UKHO publishes theAdmiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals covering the whole world in 12 volumes. The information is also available in digital form.[22]
The UKHO is the government department responsible for charting the seas. It is part of the Ministry of Defence, and operates as atrading fund, enabling it to be self-funding through sale of products and licensing of data. The UKHO sources much of its information from foreign governments to whom it pays royalty fees, funded by the profits it makes.[citation needed]
The UKHO grants six different licences, according to the use of the product. Whilst it generally allows use for non-navigational, non-commercial or low value purposes free of charge (over 80% of licences), where licensing is for use in a commercial product, a licence fee is charged. The UKHO is committed to the Information Fair Traders Scheme[23] and makes available for reuse those data that are collected as part of its Public Task,[24] which do not include third party Intellectual Property Rights.
The Information Fair Trader Scheme Report on the UKHO in April 2011[25] states that the UKHO data will not be included in thePublic Data Corporation to make government owned data more freely available, but it recommends that the "UKHO should consider the introduction of a Free Navigational Licence" for non-commercial or low value use, consistent with its treatment of non-navigational use.[citation needed]
^J.C. Sainty (1975)."Hydrographer 1795–1870".Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660–1870. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved12 January 2014.
