Traficom's nautical chart reform begins in late 2020 with the Bay of Bothnia
Set to begin with the Bay of Bothnia region in late 2020, the fairway and nautical chart reform will bring with it new, more accurate charts over the next few years. The new charts will adopt a new reference level for depth information, says Traficom, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
The N2000 fairway and nautical chart reform is based on the N2000 vertical coordinate reference system, from which it also gets its name. The reform, which will cover all fairway and depth information, is set to begin in late 2020 with the Bothnian Bay and gradually work its way southward over the coming years.
"The reform will bring with it up-to-date, harmonised data on depths and water levels, thus laying the foundation for the navigation methods of the future and ensuring safe maritime navigation and the effective utilisation of fairways. The reform is being undertaken in close collaboration with a number of partners, including the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the Finnish Meteorological Institute", explains Jarkko Saarimäki, Deputy Director-General at Traficom.
“It is important for boaters to understand that the reform does not affect the total amount of water, but simply modifies the values that appear on nautical charts as the reference level for depth information changes. When working with the new charts, boaters must use the N2000 water level data instead of the data based on the mean water level used with current charts”, says Jarmo Mäkinen.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute will start publishing N2000 water level data in autumn 2020. Those boating in maritime areas are advised to make sure that the water level data they rely on matches the nautical chart used. The depth information on inland waterway charts will remain unchanged, and the N2000 system will be adopted for lake-specific reference levels.
“The reform will be implemented simultaneously in the entire Baltic Sea area, with the first new charts already published in Sweden and Estonia. In the future, all Baltic Sea charts will be harmonised to adopt a single unified reference level”, Mäkinen explains. The new Baltic Sea area reference level is referred to internationally as BSCD2000 (Baltic Sea Chart Datum 2000).
The nautical charts for the Bay of Bothnia, scheduled for publication at the end of 2020, will be based on the new N2000 reference level.