Module 7 - Charts & Publications
Maintain Paper and Electronic Information
What you will learn
Establish the update status of paper charts, electronic chart data and supporting publications, then record or resolve every relevant gap before departure.
Latest edition is only the baseline. Apply or verify subsequent official updates, account for temporary and preliminary information and navigational warnings, and do not mistake a working display for current chart data.
ADMIRALTY Notices to Mariners are weekly updates containing corrections, alterations and amendments for ADMIRALTY charts and publications. The searchable service can be checked by chart number. A paper chart's edition date does not include changes published afterward, so its correction history and applicable temporary or preliminary information still matter.
A new edition cancels the edition it replaces. Obtain the new chart, verify its publication and update status, and begin the subsequent correction record from that baseline. Do not copy an old correction history blindly: changes already compiled into the new edition and corrections that have lapsed must not be duplicated.
Electronic navigation also needs an auditable update path. Official ENCs or RNCs require suitable coverage, valid licences where applicable, installed updates and appropriate backup. A chart image displayed by a leisure plotter is not automatically official, current or complete; inspect the provider, data date, update result, scale warning and system status. Current local notices and radio navigational warnings can contain urgent information not yet compiled into the chart.
| Source | Status evidence | Action when uncertain |
|---|---|---|
| Paper chart | Edition plus applicable NM correction record | Search by chart number; update or replace |
| Official ENC/RNC | Coverage, licence and installed update report | Renew or install; verify backup |
| Leisure plotter chart | Provider, data date, update result and limitations | Do not infer official/current status from display operation |
| Publication | Edition plus applicable amendments or digital update status | Update or replace before use |
| Warning/local notice | Current route- and time-relevant message | Amend the plan and brief the crew |
Run a pre-departure information-status check
The paper harbour chart is the latest edition but its correction record stops twelve weeks ago; the plotter opens normally but its chart subscription expired.
1. Paper
Search the official NM record by chart number and account for every applicable permanent, temporary and preliminary item since the last recorded update.
2. Electronic
Check data source, licence, installed update status, coverage and backup rather than trusting the moving vessel symbol.
3. Urgent information
Review relevant navigational warnings and local or harbour notices for the intended route and time.
4. Resolve
Update, replace or change the plan before relying on information whose status cannot be established.
Sense check: A chart can be the latest edition and still be out of date; a display can operate normally while its data licence or update stream has expired.
Common mistake or limitation
- Equating latest edition with fully corrected to the present week.
- Assuming a software or firmware update also updated every chart data set.
- Ignoring temporary, preliminary, local and radio-warning information because it is not drawn permanently on the chart.
- Failing to record what was checked, leaving the next navigator unable to establish status.
Recap
- Latest edition plus subsequent relevant updates establishes current status.
- New editions replace cancelled editions and start a new correction baseline.
- Electronic data needs coverage, licence, update and backup checks.
- Navigational warnings and local notices bridge urgent gaps in compiled products.
Optional quick check
Section 3 of 8
A chart is the latest edition but its correction record is three months old. What is the safe next step?
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.