Two newly launched products – Water Level Information (S-104) and Surface Currents (S-111) – mark a significant step forward in Norway's digital maritime navigation offering. For the first time, mariners and developers can access standardized, real-time forecasts of water levels and currents as data products ready to integrate directly with electronic charts.
Built for next-generation Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), both products give software developers immediate access to standardized, up-to-date data. The ultimate beneficiaries are mariners, who gain more accurate and reliable information for safer, more efficient voyages.
"By providing forecasts of water levels and currents as products that can be combined with charts, the maritime sector gains a stronger basis for decision-making. Mariners can better understand the conditions they will encounter when planning a voyage – for example when passing through a strait or entering a port," says Gudmund Jønsson, director of the Norwegian Mapping Authority (Kartverket), Hydrographic Service.
Built on a global standard
Both products are part of the S-100 framework – a suite of international standards developed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to enable seamless data sharing across systems and drive the digitalization of maritime information.
"The Norwegian Mapping Authority has contributed to the development of the S-100 framework for many years. We have already published bathymetric surface data (S-102) in several Norwegian coastal areas. We are now expanding with water level information (S-104) and surface current data (S-111). While several hydrographic offices have test data, few are operational the way we are today," says Jønsson.
S-104: knowing the water beneath you
S-104 delivers a dynamic digital model of predicted tides and water level forecasts along the Norwegian coast, drawing on the authority's existing water level data and tailoring it specifically for navigation. As a gridded dataset, it works in combination with detailed bathymetric data (S-102) to give mariners a precise picture of expected depths along a planned route at any given time. While a safety margin remains necessary, it can be narrower than what traditional charts alone would require.
S-111: reading the currents
S-111 models surface currents using operational hydrodynamic data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, providing multi-day current forecasts adapted for navigational use at a depth of five metres. Like S-104, it is delivered as a gridded dataset in the S-111 standard and can be displayed alongside charts and other navigation product, giving mariners a fuller, more dynamic picture of the conditions ahead.