Module 7 - Charts & Publications
Admiralty Publications (NP Series)
What you will learn
Select the current ADMIRALTY chart or publication that answers a specific passage-planning question, then verify its coverage, edition and amendment status.
An NP number identifies a publication family; it does not prove that the copy is current or that it answers the decision in front of you. Start with the question, choose the relevant product and verify its status.
ADMIRALTY publications divide navigation information into maintained products. NP5011 explains symbols and abbreviations used on ADMIRALTY paper charts, while NP5012 is the separate guide to ENC symbols used in ECDIS. NP100, The Mariner's Handbook, provides general navigational guidance; NP131 is the catalogue used to identify available charts and publications; NP133A supports an auditable paper-chart maintenance record.
Route and place information is split again. Sailing Directions provide written coastal and port-entry detail. Regional List of Lights and Fog Signals volumes provide structured information about listed fixed lights, fog signals and some lit floating marks. Tide Tables and Tidal Stream Atlases answer different tidal questions. NP136, Ocean Passages for the World, supports ocean-route planning and is not a substitute for the large-scale chart or current local information needed at either end.
Choose by function, geography and time. Confirm the relevant volume or chart covers the voyage, obtain the latest edition or current digital entitlement, apply or verify subsequent amendments and retain the urgent warnings and local information needed for the actual date. A familiar NP number on an old book is not evidence of current information.
| Decision | Useful ADMIRALTY product | Boundary to check |
|---|---|---|
| Interpret a paper-chart symbol | NP5011 | Paper-chart reference; electronic portrayal has a separate key |
| Identify an ENC symbol in ECDIS | NP5012 | Use with the system's current presentation and settings |
| Read a coastal or port approach | Sailing Directions | Current volume and amendments; use with chart and local information |
| Check a listed light or fog signal | Relevant List of Lights volume | Regional coverage, current amendment and actual conditions |
| Find HW/LW predictions | Relevant Tide Tables | Port, date, time basis, corrections and prediction limits |
| Find stream direction and rate | Relevant Tidal Stream Atlas | Reference port, hour, rate convention and springs/neaps basis |
| Identify current products | NP131 / ADMIRALTY catalogue | Catalogue and addendum status do not update the products themselves |
Build a night-arrival publication set
A coastal passage ends at an unfamiliar harbour after dark. The plan needs the approach hazards, a sector-light identity, tidal height, tidal stream, reporting information and any recent change.
1. Define each question
Separate charted route and depth, written approach, light identity, tide, stream, communications and recent-change needs.
2. Choose the product
Use the current chart, Sailing Directions, the relevant regional light volume, Tide Tables, stream publication and radio or harbour information as appropriate.
3. Verify status
Check edition, applicable amendments, digital update status and the exact geographic and temporal coverage of every source used.
4. Overlay urgent information
Resolve current Notices to Mariners, navigational warnings and local notices before the approach briefing.
Sense check: If one book appears to answer every part of the arrival, identify which specialist source, update or local message it summarises and what it omits.
Common mistake or limitation
- Treating NP5011 as the symbol key for every electronic display instead of using the maintained ENC or plotter reference supplied for that system.
- Describing the List of Lights as a catalogue of every light without checking the relevant regional volume, feature type, edition and amendments.
- Choosing a publication because its title is familiar rather than because it answers the operational question and covers the route.
- Checking the edition but not the amendments, update status or urgent information published afterward.
Recap
- Choose the publication that answers the decision; no one volume replaces the evidence set.
- NP5011 is for ADMIRALTY paper-chart symbols; NP5012 addresses ENC symbols used in ECDIS.
- Coverage, edition and subsequent amendments all matter.
- Urgent warnings and local information can change a plan before a compiled publication catches up.
Optional quick check
Section 6 of 8
Which source is the appropriate maintained reference for interpreting an unfamiliar ENC symbol on ECDIS?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 20 August 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
Continue studying Charts & Publications
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 7. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.