Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Article Electronic Navigational Charts: International Standards and Map Projections Athanasios Palikaris 1,* and Athanasios K. Mavraeidopoulos 1,2 1 Hellenic Naval Academy, Navigation and Sea Sciences Laboratory, 18539 Pireas, Greece;
[email protected] 2 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Remote Sensing Laboratory, 157 84 Athens, Greece * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 4 March 2020; Accepted: 31 March 2020; Published: 3 April 2020 Abstract: Electronic navigational charts (ENCs) are geospatial databases, compiled for the operational use of Electronic Chart Display and Information systems (ECDIS) according to strict technical specifications of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). ECDIS is a GIS system designed for marine navigation according to the relevant standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The international standards for ENCs and ECDIS, issued by the IHO and IMO, cover many aspects of the portrayal of ENCs in ECDIS but do not specify or recommend map projections. Consequently, in some cases, the unjustified employment of map projections by the manufacturers has caused certain functional drawbacks and inadequacies. This article reviews, evaluates and supplements the results of earlier studies on the selection of map projections for the depiction of ENCs in ECDIS and proposes a reasonable set of suitable projections with pertinent selection/implementation rules. These proposals took into consideration that ECDIS users (navigators) are