UKHO to Host ‘S-100 in focus’ Panel at London International Shipping Week 2025
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) will host an in-person panel discussion during London International Shipping Week (LISW) 2025, bringing together expert voices from across the maritime industry to explore the next generation of navigation standards. Titled "S-100 in focus," the session will take place on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at Sea Containers, London, and is free to attend with advance registration. The event will examine the maritime sector’s transition to the S-100 framework, designed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Focusing on S-100&rsquo
Captain Ahmed Al Badi receives 2025 Alexander Dalrymple Award
On Wednesday, August 6, 2025 the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) presented Captain (Aqeed) Ahmed Al Badi, Head of the Oman National Hydrographic Office (ONHO), with the Alexander Dalrymple Award for 2025. The award recognizes his services to hydrography. Captain Ahmed Al Badi was invited to the UKHO where he was presented with this year’s award. Hosted by the UK’s National Hydrographer and Director of Data Acquisition and Defence, Rear Admiral Angus Essenhigh OBE, the presentation was attended by members of the wider UKHO team, as well as by Colonel Said Al Mamari, Assistant Military
S-100 has Value Beyond ECDIS
Environment Agency; you have got the land authorities. And we were using not only information on land but also drones as well. It’s all three components: land, sea and air that makes us more conscious of the marine environment.”Thomas Mellor, Head of Technical Partnerships at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), says the data can also be used to mitigate the risks of bunkering operations.“What we can see is that actually having access to all the S-100 data sets will support vessels when they're doing their safety cases. Because if they have access to the S-102, they have access
UK Hydrographic Office Appoints Chief Executive
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has appointed Vanessa Blake as its Chief Executive. Vanessa, who has been Interim Chief Executive since May 2024, to continue to lead the center for hydrography on a permanent basis, guiding its mission to provide quality, innovative navigation solutions to support safe, secure and thriving oceans.Over the last year, Vanessa has steered the organization through a pivotal period of transformation. Under Vanessa’s leadership, the UKHO has continued to play a leading role in guiding the wider maritime industry through evolving challenges and opportunities
Philantropist Trust Funds Cayman Islands EEZ Mapping
coast waters 25m to 12 nautical miles offshore; Fishing Banks, namely 12 Mile Bank, 60 Mile Bank, Pickle Bank and Lawfords Bank; and Cayman Trough and the remainder of the Cayman Islands EEZ outside of the Cayman Trough.Saildrone will collect the raw bathymetry data, which will be provided to the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to process and update the Cayman Islands’ nautical charts. The data will belong to the Cayman Islands government.The mission is philanthropically funded by the London & Amsterdam Trust Company Limited, a Cayman-based organization that wants to leave a legacy to the Cayman Islands
UKHO Appoints Blake Interim Chief Executive
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) appointed Vanessa Blake to the position of interim Chief Executive and Accounting Officer.Blake is the current Chief Customer Officer at the UKHO and will take up the role of Chief Executive on an interim basis, while a permanent replacement is sought. She will succeed Peter Sparkes, who leaves in May 2024, to become the Chief Executive of the RNLI, after nearly four years in the role.Blake joined the UKHO in July 2023 as Chief Customer Officer, during which time she developed and implemented the customer strategy that sits at the heart of the UKHO’s new corporate
Marc van der Donck Receives 2022 Alexander Dalrymple Award
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) presented Marc van der Donck, Retired Captain in the Netherlands Navy and Chairman of the International Center for Electronic Navigational Charts (IC-ENC), the 2022 Alexander Dalrymple Award for services to international hydrography.Captain Marc received the award on World Hydrography Day in a ceremony led by UK National Hydrographer Rear Admiral Rhett Hatcher at the UKHO’s office in Taunton, England. The 2022 presentation took place this year due to delays in awarding previous winners caused by Covid-19.The 2022 award recognizes Capt Marc’s positive
UKHO Provides Bathymetric Surveys for Seabed 2030
Marking the first time the UKHO supplies data directly to GEBCO, this initiative aims to advance the understanding of ocean bathymetry and support the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable DevelopmentThe UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has started supplying bathymetric survey data for non-UK waters to the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), after signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with The Nippon Founda-tion-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project (Seabed 2030) earlier this year.The MOU was signed with the goal of advancing the industry’s understanding of ocean bathymetry and supporting
UKHO supports Montserrat with Seabed Mapping Data Survey
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has conducted a seabed mapping data survey in Montserrat to improve the safety of navigation around the island and to help with understanding, managing, and protecting its marine life.For this project, funded by the UK’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), the UKHO worked alongside the Montserrat Hydrographic Survey Team to collect data from the waters around the island. The UKHO data survey team returned to the UK in early September after spending four weeks gathering information from Montserrat’s nearby waters. The team will now validate
August 2025
