UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Original: ENGLISH/
FRENCH
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA .
Third Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) 30 October - 10 November 1972 Provisional agenda item 7 (e)
THE INTERNATIONAL iffDROGRAPEIC ORGANIZATION
Submitted by the International Hydrographic Organization
HISTORY .
International co-operation in. the field of hydrography has a long history, beginning with a Conference held in Washington in 1899 and another in Saint Petersburg in 1912<, In 1919 twenty-four nations met in London for a Hydro- graphic Conference during which it was decided that a permanent body should be created - and thus the International Hydrbgraphic Bureau was born. It began its activity in 1921 with nineteen Member States and headquarters in the
Principality of Monaco-
The 9th International Hydrographic Conference held in Monaco from 18 April to 3 May 1967 drew up a formal intergovernmental Convention giving legal status to an International Hydrographic Organization with headquarters at the Bureau
in Monaco. ; ,
Simultaneously with its entry into force, on September 22, 1970, the Con vention on the International Hydrographic Organization was registered; by the Government of the Principality of Monaco with the Secretariat of the United Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the United Nations Charter.
The Bureau remains as the permanent headquarters of this Organisation which now has 44 Members. As a specialized agency for technical matters in hydro graphy and nautical cartography it provides advice and assistance to' the Members and maintains a close liaison with various international organizations including the United Nations,- The Bureau is also the world data centre for bathymetry*
Achievements
Over the past half century Members have co-operated in the progressive standardization of specifications, symbols, styles and formats used for nautical charts so that today the mariners of the world are able to use with confidence charts compiled by any Member*
M72-19O7
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The general acceptance of the metric system for showing depths and heights on charts has finally led to the publication of international charts on scales
of 1/1QM and 1/31P to an agreed scheme of world coverage. One Member publishes
the particular international charts which they have agreed to take over, using bathymetric material supplied by a number of Members for compilation. The reproduction material is then made available to any other Member who wishes to reprint this international chart with suitable acknowledgement. The reduction in total man-hours of compilation time that results when only one Member oom- piles a chart of a given oceanic area is of general benefit to Members of theOrganization.
Free exchange of unclassified charts, related publications, and hydrp- graphio data among Members, either directly or through the medium of the Bureau, is one of the tenets of the Organization. On joining, every Member State under takes to make one copy of every unclassified new chart or publication produced by its hydrographic office available on request to other Members on a mutual
exchange basis.
Hydrographers and oceanographers from Member States are able to obtain up-to-date bathymetric data relating to any part of the oceans or seas through the Bureau which acts as a co-ordinating agency.
Expertise
The expertise which resides in the persons of the experienced and well qualified three eleoted Directors of the Bureau as well as the permanent staff of specialists is available on request to any Member who may need technical advice or guidance, whether on a question of surveying, equipment, cartography, descriptive ooeanography, policy regarding geographic names, reproduction and printing processes, compilation of sailing directions, tide tables, and other hydrographic publications, etc.
Advice may be given, either t/y correspondence or by a personal visit by a member of the Bureau staff, on preparing a project report for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for establishing or strengthening national hydrographic capabilities. Similarly, advice may be given on the hydrographic aspects of the Law of the Sea Conferencee.
The Bureau encourages and fosters bilateral and multilateral assistance arrangements between Members and the establishment of regional hydrographic commissions such as the successful Northern Group and the North Sea Hydrographic Commission and the newly created East Asian Commission, by means of which co operation, in dealing with regional problems is assured. At the invitation of regional commissions a Bureau member will attend meetings so that any assistance required of the Bureau may be rapidly implemented.
The Bureau keeps under study world-wide advances in the training of per sonnel in hydrography with a view to formulating internationally accepted curricula and standards which Members may consult.
An appropriate member of the Directing Committee represents the Bureau at meetings of the International Maritime Consultative Organization, UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, the Federation Internationale des Geometres. the United Nations Cartographic Conferences, and other appropriate international congresses, making sure that the current hydrographic viewpoint is properly.represented, particularly when international regulations, programmes, or standards are being drawn up.
Publications
Each Member State's hydrographic office receives as many copies as may
be required of the monthly publication of the Organization, ^e "International Rydrographic Bulletin", bi-lingually published in English and French, giving news of international hydrography together with progress made at the Bureau including reports from Bureau staff who have attended international meetings, etc. Every new chart and new edition published by a Member during the past
month is listed, together with associated publications.
Twice each year Members receive, in English or in French, the journal
"International Efrdrographic Review" comprising approximately 150 pages of professional articles on hydrographic subjects.
Members may also request gratis as many additional copies of the Bulletin or Review as they wish, to be mailed direct, to other interested agencies within their country. Naval and marine personnel of a Member State may sub
scribe to these publications at a 30 per cent reduction.
The IHO Yearbook carrying detailed data on all the world's hydrographio
offices is also issued gratis to Members.
Member States are. entitled to a reasonable number of free copies of any or all of the many Special (Technical) Publications produced by the IHB includ ing such widely used items as the Hydrographic Dictionary (SP 32), the loose- leaf volume on Radio Aids,to Navigation, and Hydrographic Surveying (SP 39 h ™
illustrated manual of the'Buoyage Systems of the World (SP 38), the Recommended
Standards of Accuracy for Hydrographic Surveys (SP 44)* and so on.Participation
All IHO Members have an equal voice in arriving at.an agreed resolution on standardization, the future work of the Bureau, development of international charts, etc., and any Member may initiate a new proposal, which is then
circulated by the Bureau to all Members and a conclusion reached by postal
voting*
The International Hydrographic Conference which is held in Monaco every
five years is attended by delegations from Member States and a real fnenship
and understanding develops among the world's hydrographers as uhey discuss and vote upon the many resolutions which are put forwara to furcher theadvancement of international hydrography*
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Annual contributions to the Organization are based on Member States1 tonnages, including both merchant and naval vessels. These contributions currently vary between States having less than 100 000 tons of shipping who pay .4 000 gold francs (US $1 400, 5,545, or 7 250 French francs) and Japan and the United Kingdom .who are currently paying 52 000 gold francs annually (US $18 445, h 7 080, or 94 350 French francs).
Any maritime State interested in joining the International Hydrographic Organization should write in the first instance to :
The President of the Directing Committee International Ifydrographic Bureau
7j Avenue President Kennedy
■MC. - MONACO'
On receipt of the letter the Bureau will forward a copy of the Convention and Regulations in English or French as requested and other relevant papers.
The subsequent procedure for accession to the Convention on' the IH0*is set out hereunder.
Procedure fox^QJie^sip^jbg^jUie__Convention on the IHO
The Members of the International Hydrographic Organization are the Govern ments Parties to the Convention. The Government of any maritime State wishing to become a Member of the Organization must apply for membership in compliance ' with Article XX of the Convention, which states : , ' '
ARTICLE XX ,
After it has entered into force this Convention shall be open for accession by the Government of any maritime State which applies to the Government of the Principality of Monaco specifying the tonnage of its fleets, and whose admission is approved by two- thirds of the Member Governments. Such approval shall be notified ■ tjy the Government of the Principality of Monaco to the Government concerned. The Convention shall enter into force for that Govern ment on the date on which it has deposited its inetrument of acces sion with the Government of the Principality of Monaco which shall inform the Member Governments and the President of the Directing Committee.
Procedural formalities are conducted through diplomatic channels in three
stages :
- request for admission made by the Government of the acceding State to the Government of the Principality of Monaco;
- approval of admission by two thirds of the Member Governments;
- deposit -of an instrument of accession by the new Member with the Govern ment of the Principality of Monaco.
(1) Recruest for admission
The Government of the maritime State concerned applies, through diplomatic channels, to the Minister of State of the Government of Monaco, officially informing the latter of its wish to accede to the Convention on the Inter national Itydrographic Organization. Such a request shall include indication of the tonnage of the country1 s fleets on the basis of which its annual contri bution to the upkeep of the Organization will be calculated.
The tonnage figures for ships of war and merchant ships are calculated in aooordance with the piovisions of Article 5 of the Financial Regulations, which states :
ARTICLE 5
In application of the Convention and its Regulations, the tonnage
figures of the Member Governments shall be obtained by adding to 6/j of
the displacement tonnage of ships of war exceeding 100 tons the gross tonnage of all other vessels exceeding 100 tons.
An administrative Resolution (AR R9 of the Repertory of Administrative Resolutions) further specifies that naval tonnage shall be "computed as re presenting 6/7 of the displacement tonnage of the State's ships of war, plus the gross tonnage of other naval vessels not included in Lloyd's Register of Shipping taking into account only those of over 100 tons",
(2) Approval by Member Governments
Upon reoeipt of a request to accede, the Government of the Principality of Monaco immediately notifies all other Member Governments and requests them to indicate their approval of the new admission with minimum delay.
When 2/3 of the Member Governments have signified their approval the Government of the Principality of Monaco informs the Government concerned that its admission has been approved. Member Governments and the President of "the Direoting Committee are also kept informed by the Government of Monaco,
(3) Deposit of instrument of accession
When a State's accession to the Convention has been approved, the Govern ment of that State proceeds with the relevant formalities required by its national legislation.
The instrument of accession is subsequently deposited with the Government of the Principality of Monaco. When instructed by his Government to do so, the Ambassador of the country concerned normally hands the instrument of accession to the Legation of the Principality of Moanco in Paris to be deposited in the Archives of the Government of the Principality of Monaco, The Government of Monaco duly informs the Member Government and the Directing Committee of the fact.
The acceding Government becomes a Party to the Convention and a Member of the International Hydrographic Organization on the date on which it has depo sited its instrument of accession with the Government of the Principality of
Monaco.
