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 impact on hydrography since 2014, when he first attended the Meso-American and Caribbean Sea Hydrographic Commission’s (MACHC) Regional Hydrographic Council meetings (RHC).

Since then, Capt Marc – who as well as chairing the IC-ENC from 2016 was also National Hydrographer for the Netherlands Hydrographic Office – has helped improve data sharing between members of the MACHC, which he chaired for two years.

In 2016, 2018 and 2021, Capt Marc represented the Netherlands Navy at the North Sea Hydrographic Commission. He has attended Inter-Regional Coordination Committee meetings on behalf of the RHC, helping shape policy decisions for one of the International Hydrographic Organization’s key vehicles for progress, and contributed to strategic developments at the North Sea Hydrographic Commission.

Elsewhere, Capt Marc has led the Worldwide ENC Database Working Group through its transition from S57 Electronic Navigational Charts to WEND100 – the framework for globally consistent and high-quality nautical and hydrographic S-100 products. He has also contributed to Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee, Assembly and Council meetings.