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Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Navigation & the Bridge

Nautical chart

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

nounCore term

In maritime & shipping, nautical chart means: A map of a sea area made for navigation. It shows water depths, coastlines, dangers, buoys, lights and traffic routes.

In Turkish: deniz haritası, seyir haritası

How it is used

On board usually just 'chart'. Charts may be paper or electronic (ENC), must be kept up to date with Notices to Mariners, and are used to plot positions and passage plans. 'Chart datum' is the level from which charted depths are measured.

Example sentences

  1. The second officer corrected the nautical charts using the latest Notices to Mariners.

  2. The depth on the nautical chart is only nine metres near the wreck.

Common collocations

  • chart correction
  • paper chart
  • electronic navigational chart (ENC)
  • plot a position on the chart
  • chart datum
  • ECDISElectronic Chart Display and Information System: an approved computer system that shows official electronic charts together with the ship's position and can replace paper charts.
  • passage planA detailed berth-to-berth plan for a voyage, prepared before departure, showing the route, waypoints, hazards, safe speeds, reporting points and contingency actions.
  • nautical mileThe unit of distance used at sea and in the air, defined as exactly 1,852 metres. It is based on one minute of latitude, which makes distances easy to measure on charts.
  • courseThe direction in which a ship is intended to travel or is actually travelling, given as an angle from 000° to 359° measured clockwise from north.

More terms: Navigation & the Bridge

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