NOAA nautical chart Arctic ocean

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced the discontinuation of all its paper charts as of January 1, 2025. Many charts have already been removed from its catalog.

Nevertheless, NOAA has implemented a tool made available to maritime bookstores, allowing paper charts to be replaced by printed ENC charts, which are equivalent to the former paper charts.

The depths indicated on NOAA nautical charts are given in fathoms; the depths on paper charts produced from ENC printing are given in meters.

Link to the legend of NOAA chart symbols

Source: Voiles et Voiliers : “Since its creation in 1807, the Office of Coast Survey (OCS)—the hydrographic service of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—has published the official nautical charts of the world’s leading maritime domain, namely U.S. waters (just ahead of France). In the early 1990s, the OCS began scanning its paper charts (raster charts, RNC for Raster Navigational Chart, a faithful copy of the paper chart displayed on screen) and then very quickly started producing vector charts. Vector charts immediately became the standard for electronic nautical charts (ENC for Electronic Navigational Chart).

Between 2008 and 2019, the distribution of ENCs increased more than fivefold, while that of paper charts fell by half, to the point that the Office of Coast Survey’s publishing process was reversed.

This entire system now derives from hydrographic databases that primarily feed the ENCs, in near real time, before updates or new publications are later applied, with a time lag, to the various scanned formats, which are longer and more costly to produce. At the same time, the OCS is rationalizing the layout of its roughly 1,200 ENCs, which currently offer more than 130 scales. The objective of this ongoing program is to display a grid of 9,000 ENCs across 12 standardized scales, including a very large scale with a level of detail better than today (short of overzooming, of course).

A further immense step has thus been taken by the OCS, which is preparing to turn a page of more than two centuries…

Accordingly, since the beginning of 2019, NOAA has been preparing navigators to favor the use of ENCs, which can be downloaded free of charge (like all other formats) from the Office of Coast Survey’s interactive catalog. Meanwhile, U.S. paper charts are sold for a fee, as they involve not only production costs—covered by public service—but also dissemination and distribution costs through retailers.

A further immense step has been taken by the OCS, which is preparing to turn a page of more than two centuries… and even more so with regard to the cost structure of a charting system inherited from a long classical tradition. Indeed, while seeking public input and the opinions of companies that market products and applications based on its data, NOAA announced the complete cessation of paper chart production, according to a plan that began in mid-2020 (by the end of the year at the latest) and will be completed in January 2025.”

NOAA nautical charts are suitable for navigation by both recreational boaters and professional merchant mariners. With these documents, you can sail many miles with your pleasure craft, discover wonderful anchorages, and undertake coastal or offshore navigation. The depths indicated are given in fathoms.

Before choosing your nautical chart, it is useful to understand the specific features and differences between nautical charts.

All nautical charts, whether paper or digital, are produced on demand and benefit from the latest updates. In accordance with the provisions of Article L221-28 of the French Consumer Code, the right of withdrawal cannot be exercised for the supply of goods that are likely to become obsolete quickly. These charts are neither returnable nor exchangeable. Consequently, these orders are deemed final as soon as they are placed by the Customer, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in these General Terms and Conditions of Sale (GTC).