For users of AVCS and the

ADMIRALTY ECDIS Service

Upgrading to S-63 1.1 & AVCS 1 DVD

Questions and Answers
On 31 December 2013 the IHO terminated S-63 Edition 1.0. AVCS is now available in S63 Edition 1.1 format on CD, DVD and vie the Internet.
If the ECDIS on your vessels are not compatible with S-63 Edition 1.1, they will no longer
meet the latest edition of IHO standards and may not be carriage compliant according to
IMO guidance1.
Although the change from S-63 Edition 1.0 to 1.1 is driven by the regulations, there are
significant advantages of reduced data handling, faster loading speeds and fewer warning
messages when you upgrade to AVCS on 1 DVD.

What is this This document contains answers to questions that you may have
document about? about the transition of AVCS and the ADMIRALTY ECDIS Service to
S-63 Edition 1.1.
Who is this Distributors, shipping companies and end users of AVCS.
document for?
What are the key AVCS ADMIRALTY Vector Chart Service
acronyms? ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System
IHO - International Hydrographic Organisation
IMO International Maritime Organisation
OEM ECDIS Manufacturer

IMO SN Circ 266 Rev. 1

January 2014

1.0 General Q&A

What is The IHO has announced that, as of 1 January 2014, all providers of data
happening? using the S-63 Data Protection Scheme should provide equipment and
data services to the S-63 Edition 1.1 standard.

Why must ECDIS

be approved to
work with IHO
standards?

The IMO ECDIS Performance Standard used as the basis for ECDIS type
approval requires that the chart information used in ECDIS should be the
latest edition and conform to IHO standards (IHO Special Publication S-52
and S-57).
ECDIS must be capable of accepting both non-encrypted ENCs and ENCs
encrypted in accordance with the IHO Data Protection Scheme (Special
Publication S-63).

What is S-63? S-63 is the IHO standard for the protection of ENC information.
S-63 provides Hydrographic Offices with a specification detailing how ENC
data can be protected from unauthorised use. Helping to reduce the risk
of data piracy and the distribution of unofficial dangerous ENCs to the
Mariner.
All type approved ECDIS are manufactured to accept official ENC data
services that conform to requirements in IHO S-63.
Note: The original edition, S-63 1.0, was introduced in December 2002 and
a revised edition, S-63 1.1, was published in March 2008. A minor update
to S-63 1.1.1 was made in 19 April 2012.

What advantage S-63 Edition 1.1 offers improvements over the older version including:
does S-63 Edition 1.
The ability to support large media formats allowing the entire ENC
1.1 offer?
dataset to be distributed on a single DVD every week, removing the
need for base disc re-issues.
2.

Improved data loading means newer ECDIS are designed to load

S-63 1.1 data more efficiently than was possible with S-63 1.0.

3.

There will be fewer warning messages.

4.

There will be no need to change the security scheme certificate

because newer ECDIS are supplied with the IHO certificate used
by S-63 1.1 (IHO.CRT) pre-installed.

All of this results in an improved customer/user-experience whilst

delivering the same safe and secure information.

January 2014

2.0 Technical Q&A

Will my ECDIS It depends on when your ECDIS was type-approved.
support S-63 1.1? If your ECDIS was approved on or after 2009 it will support the S-63
Edition 1.1.
If your ECDIS was approved before 2009 and it has not been upgraded
then it may not support S-63 edition 1.1 or the S-52 Presentation Library*
3.4.
Many ECDIS approved before 2009 can also use S-63 Edition 1.1 data
providing they have the functionality to change the certificate file (Public
Key) that is being used.
Checking the ECDIS wheel mark will inform the user of the year of
production and the Notified Body number.

1. The four digit number identifies the Notified Body who performed the
conformity evaluation procedure for the ECDIS (eg 0849 - ).
2. The two digit number identifies the production year (eg 2012).
*The Presentation Library defines a set of colours, line styles, fill styles, point symbols and a set of
symbology instructions and look-up tables for the translation of ENC objects into symbology
instructions. Edition 3.4 of the Presentation Library was set force in conjunction with S-57 Supplement
No. 1 on the 1st January 2008 to meet IMO requirements for depiction of archipelagic sea lanes and
particularly sensitive sea areas.

Why arent we S-63 Edition 1.1.1 was a minor amendment to S-63 Edition 1.1 introduced
talking about S-63 to remove a limitation on the way Manufacturer IDs are allocated. It had
Edition 1.1.1? no impact on end user data distribution so services like AVCS that conform
to S-63 Edition 1.1 are compatible with the latest edition of S-63.

Why will I receive

fewer ECDIS Error
messages when
using S-63 Edition
1.1?

Under S-63 Edition 1.1, ENCs are authenticated against the IHO's digital
certificate. On the older S-63 1.0 CDs, the ENCs are authenticated
against the PRIMAR digital certificate. All newer ECDIS are required to
produce a warning message when loading ENCs that are not
authenticated against the IHO certificate. Therefore warning messages
are currently generated whenever an AVCS S-63 1.0 ENC is loaded (in
common with those from the majority of other service providers).
These warning messages will not be generated when S-63 1.1 data is
loaded, significantly reducing the number of warnings received by the user.

I dont have a DVD S-63 Edition 1.1 data is available on CD as well as DVD for those unable
reader. Are CDs to take advantage of the DVD service.
still be available?

January 2014

Are SENC
services affected
by the transition
to S-63 Edition
1.1?
Will there still be a
week for main
release of new
base cells even
though theyre on
the DVD?

Yes they are. SENC service providers deliver ENCs in proprietary ECDIS
Manufacturer formats instead of S-63. However some ENC producer
nations do not allow their ENCs to be included in SENC services and
these ENCs have to be supplied using S-63. Therefore the format that the
S-63 ENCs are delivered in will need to be upgraded to S-63 Edition 1.1 by
the end of 2013.
New ENC base cells are released every week, as they become available.
These will be made available immediately on both the DVD and CD. The
current process of re-issuing the Base CDs every 8 weeks will not be
required for the DVD.

Why do some The IHO Public Key, which is used to authenticate the ENCs delivered in
ECDIS use S-63 1.1, is available in 2 equally valid forms:
IHO.PUB instead
> As an X509 digital certificate, called IHO.CRT
of IHO.CRT?
>

As an ASCII text file, called IHO.PUB

Most ECDIS use the certificate file, IHO.CRT. However some ECDIS use
the text file, IHO.PUB, instead. Both allow S-63 Edition 1.1 to be
authenticated by the ECDIS.
Both files are available in the root folder of all AVCS S-63 1.1 media (CD
and DVD). The user simply needs to load the type of file that is requested
by the ECDIS.

Do the CDs Yes, the IHO.CRT and IHO.PUB files will be included in the root folder of
included the the AVCS DVD and 1.1 CDs until the transition is complete.
IHO.CRT and
IHO.PUB?
Is there still a Yes, AIO will continue on a separate disc for technical reasons related to
need for the AIO exchange sets.
disc when using
the DVD?
Are there any
plans for a special
download tool, for
end users with
slower
broadband?

Disc images will continue to be on the FTP site which provides more
robust downloads. End users are expected to download smaller exchange
set related to their specific areas using e-Navigator Planning Station or the
AVCS Online Updating Service.

What size DVD is We are using the standard 4.7Gb DVD size.
used?

January 2014

Will any other

ADMIRALTY
Products /
Services be
affected by this
change?

The ADMIRALTY Products that use the IHO Data Protection Scheme (S63) are AVCS, AIO and the ADMIRALTY ECDIS Service (ENC content).
This change affects all of these products and the systems that support
them: e-Navigator Fleet Manager, e-Navigator Planning Station and the
ADMIRALTY Updating Service. Other ADMIRALTY products do not use
S-63 and are not affected.

Will the
ADMIRALTY
ECDIS service
include the AVCS
DVD?

The default media for the ADMIRALTY ECDIS Service will remain as CD
to ensure the widest possible compatibility with user equipment and to
simplify the transition to S-63 1.1. However the AVCS DVD will work for
ADMIRALTY ECDIS Service customers whose equipment is compatible
with the DVD format.

Is the installation
processes
different on ECDIS
machines using
the DVD?

The installation process for the DVD is simpler than for the CDs. With the
DVD, only one disc needs to be installed because it contains all the base
ENCs and updates up to the date of its issue. In addition, there is no need
for new users to change the certificate in their ECDIS because the DVD
uses the IHO certificate that is pre-installed on all new ECDIS.
The loading process within the ECDIS will be very similar to that required
for CDs and we have produced a number of system-specific guides and
videos that are available on the Support tab at www.ukho.gov.uk/AVCS.

Where can I get The certificate is available from the IHO website at
the new IHO.CRT http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standards/S-63/S-63_SA_Certificate.htm and
certificate to can be found in the root folder on the AVCS DVD and S-63 1.1 CDs.
replace the
PRIMAR.CRT on
my ECDIS?
Are the DVD Yes, the DVD will contain all the base ENCs and updates that are currently
contents the same on the 9 Base CDs plus the Update CD. It will also contain the catalogue
as the current and other files that are in the INFO folder on the CDs.
AVCS base and
update CDs e.g.
does it still
contain the ADC
catalogue update?
Can the new Yes, the ADMIRALTY Digital Catalogue can read both S-63 1.0 (version 1)
Permit files still be permits and S-63 1.1 (version 2) permits.
entered into the
ADMIRALTY
Digital Catalogue
(ADC)?

January 2014

Can I burn extra Yes. It will be the same as usual.

copies of the
AVCS DVD if I
require them, like
we do with the
AVCS CDs?
I use an online
update service
from another
supplier and I
want to migrate to
S63 1.1. What
should I do?

Contact your online update service provider to find out about their S63 1.1
upgrade process, which will inform you when you should change over to
the new service. You should not change over before they tell you as you
may not be able to receive updates once you upgrade. If you have
upgraded and can no longer receive updates, you need to reinstall your
PRIMAR certificate as shown in the user guide or contact your supplier for
further information.

Where can I find more information?

In the DVD Guide in the new DVD Media Pack
On the AVCS website at www.ukho.gov.uk/AVCS
From your ADMIRALTY Chart Agent

January 2014