Nautical Products
Nautical Publications
The National Hydrographic Agency, while giving priority to a safe maritime space provides for seafarers publications that aid the safe conduct of their crafts within Nigeria waters. Below is a list of NHA’s publications:
Nautical Charts
The National Hydrographic Agency (NHA) has produced electronic versions of the paper charts produced so far. This is also part of the reviewed National Charting Scheme developed in 2024 by NHA; indicating the survey and charting plans for the entire navigable waters in Nigeria. The NHA has therefore produced series of cells which can be procured from ICENC’s value added resellers.
Paper Navigational Charts are physical products printed on specialized, durable paper designed to withstand sustained handling by mariners. These charts remain indispensable tools for plotting passage plans, taking navigational fixes, and ensuring safe voyages.
Produced from a variety of high-quality source datasets—including satellite imagery, bathymetric and topographic surveys, and GNSS observations—Paper Charts provide vital information for safe navigation. They depict critical features such as water depths, hazards to navigation like wrecks and shoals, and aids to navigation such as buoys and lighthouses.
To date, the National Hydrographic Agency has produced over 40 Paper Charts covering harbors, coastal areas, approaches, and inland waterways, ensuring that mariners navigating Nigeria’s waters have reliable and accurate tools at their disposal
Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are digital vector data sets designed to support marine navigation across various types of vessels. Initially developed for large commercial ships equipped with advanced Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), ENCs are now widely compatible with simpler electronic systems, thereby increasing their usage across various mariners including small fishing vessels, ferries and recreational crafts.
Each ENC, also referred to as a "cell," stores the geographic positions and shapes of charted features using precise latitude and longitude coordinates. ENCs enable real-time vessel positioning, while enhancing navigational safety by assisting mariners in avoiding collisions and groundings
The National Hydrographic Agency produced and validated its first ENC in 2020. Since then, we have successfully produced 26 ENC cells, ensuring safer and more efficient navigation within Nigeria's waters
