Module 7 - Charts & Publications
Chart Correction and Notices to Mariners
What you will learn
Audit a chart and publication set from its edition baseline through permanent, temporary, preliminary, warning and local information, leaving a status another navigator can verify.
A current-looking chart is not a current information set. Establish the edition, account for every applicable update since that baseline and keep temporary or urgent information visible until it is cancelled or superseded.
The weekly ADMIRALTY Notices to Mariners service publishes corrections, alterations and amendments for ADMIRALTY charts and publications. Search by chart or publication and establish what applies after the edition or last verified correction. A new edition supersedes the earlier edition and starts a new baseline; it does not justify copying every old mark onto the replacement.
Permanent notices amend lasting information. Temporary notices describe changes expected to last for a limited period, while Preliminary notices give advance information about changes or work not yet finalised. Their status must be reviewed until cancellation, replacement or incorporation. Use the applicable product and onboard procedure for annotation and records; a memorised instruction about one ink colour is not a universal correction method.
Notices to Mariners are only one part of currency. Radio navigational warnings, local Notices to Mariners, harbour directions and other time-critical messages may contain route-relevant information not yet compiled into a chart or book. Electronic data also needs installed-update evidence, valid coverage and licence status where applicable. Record what was checked, when and against which baseline so the next navigator can reproduce the decision.
Worked example
The Week 22 search finds no permanent correction, one Preliminary notice for dredging and a local notice closing the usual entrance for two hours around departure.
- 1Record that permanent NMs were checked through Week 22 rather than writing 'no changes' without a source or date.
- 2Keep the Preliminary dredging information visible in the chart or passage-plan system and confirm whether it changes depth margins or traffic arrangements.
- 3Move the departure or select the authorised alternative entrance because the local closure affects execution now.
- 4Brief both items and record the sources so the watch can recognise any cancellation or change.
Sense check: The chart can require no permanent ink change and still produce a different passage plan because temporary and local information remains operationally decisive.
| Information | Status question | Evidence to leave |
|---|---|---|
| Edition | Is this still the latest obtainable edition? | Product number, edition and check date |
| Permanent NM | Which applicable changes follow the baseline? | Applied or resolved notice numbers and week |
| Temporary / Preliminary | Which items remain in force for this route and date? | Visible annotation or route note plus review status |
| Navigational warning | What urgent message affects the intended passage? | Source, time received and action taken |
| Local or harbour notice | What local restriction or change is current? | Issuer, date and passage-plan consequence |
| Electronic data | Is coverage licensed and the update installed? | Update report, package date and backup status |
Close a four-week correction gap
A harbour chart is the latest edition and the correction record is complete through Week 18. Departure is in Week 22; the plotter subscription also expired in Week 20.
1. Confirm the baseline
Verify that no new edition has superseded the chart and that Week 18 is the last evidenced update, not merely the last handwritten entry.
2. Resolve Weeks 19–22
Search the official NM record and apply or otherwise resolve every applicable permanent correction and publication amendment.
3. Carry live information
Review Temporary and Preliminary notices still in force, current navigational warnings and relevant local or harbour notices.
4. Repair the electronic gap
Renew and verify the installed chart update or use another suitable current product; a working display is not evidence of current data.
5. Leave an audit trail
Record the edition, weeks or update package checked, unresolved items, warning sources, date and responsible person.
Sense check: Finding no permanent correction in Weeks 19–22 does not close the gap if one Preliminary notice, local closure or navigational warning still affects the route.
Common mistake or limitation
- Treating 'latest edition' as meaning corrected through the present week.
- Copying the old chart's full correction history onto a new edition without checking what is already incorporated, cancelled or superseded.
- Applying one memorised pen-and-pencil ritual to every chart series, product, vessel and organisational procedure.
- Checking permanent NMs but overlooking Temporary and Preliminary notices, radio warnings or local information.
- Assuming a plotter software update also updated every licensed chart data set.
Recap
- Edition establishes the baseline; subsequent applicable updates establish current status.
- Temporary and Preliminary information must remain under review until cancelled, superseded or incorporated.
- Warnings and local notices can be more urgent than the compiled chart.
- Use the procedure appropriate to the product and leave an auditable record.
Optional quick check
Section 7 of 10
A chart is corrected through Week 22, but a current local notice closes the planned entrance at the intended arrival time. Is the information check complete?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 20 August 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
Continue studying Charts & Publications
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 7. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.