Electronic Nautical Charts in QGIS

 Different organizations are responsible for the production of Electronic Navigational Charts a.k.a Electronic Nautical Charts in different countries. In Nigeria, the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (NNHO) commenced the production of Nautical Charts in 2018.

In the US, charts are produced by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the UK, it is UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), they called their charts 'Admiralty Charts'. Other countries have similar agencies and organizations that makes these charts.

Most of these organizations have provided access to the charts in WMS/WMTS layers in QGIS software. In this post, I will be using the service provided by ArgoGIS, a marine geographic information based on nautical charts as web map service.

The ArgoGIS WMS url is: https://enc.argogis.com/wms/wms_enc

To add it to QGIS, navigate to the Layer menu and add WMS/WMTS layer, then provide the url above. The result around 'Bonny Town' looks like the image below.

These charts are used by oceanographers, mariners, kayakers, navigators, boat captains, commercial fishermen, nautical tourists, coastal engineers, marine scientists, hydrographic surveyors (hydrographers) etc to plan voyages and navigate ships safely by providing detailed information about water depths, locations of navigational hazards like rocks and shoals, positions of aids to navigation, anchorages, coastlines, and other features essential for safe navigation on waterways (in streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, seas, and coastal areas), particularly in coastal areas and open seas.

Happy navigaton!