ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO)
August 2020
V1.7
ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
Contents
Contents ........................................................... 1
Overview .......................................................... 2
Content ......................................................... 2
Compatibility ................................................. 2
Managing temporary information with AIO ........ 3
T&P NMs....................................................... 3
EP NMs ......................................................... 4
‘No Overlay’ feature ...................................... 4
Passage Planning ............................................. 5
Policy of ENC producers ............................... 5
ECDIS symbology ......................................... 5
Using AIO...................................................... 5
Compliance ................................................... 5
Further guidance ........................................... 6
Frequently asked questions .............................. 6
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ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
Overview Considered if it affects an ADMIRALTY paper
chart and has been issued as a T&P NM but:
The AIO is a worldwide digital dataset that is - excluded if the information only relates to
designed to be displayed over ENCs in ECDIS and paper charts and is therefore not relevant
to the ECDIS user or,
other chart display systems to provide additional
- excluded if the producer nation confirms
information during passage planning.
that they include temporary information in
The AIO is refreshed every week, as part of the their ENCs.
AVCS Weekly Update and is issued on disc and Included as EPNM if the information is about
by download. a navigationally significant difference
The weekly disc contains the base edition and all between the ENC and the equivalent paper
the updates to date, so you only need to load the chart.
most recent disc on board. A New Edition is
issued approximately every two years, after 90 Compatibility
weekly updates. The Overlay can be displayed on AIO-compatible
Some back of bridge software applications allow ECDIS equipment as well as some software
the vessel to download the updates each week. applications. Please see the Support tab at
The AIO is a single large dataset, so you should admiralty.co.uk/AVCS for a list of AIO-compatible
work with your ADMIRALTY Chart Agent if you ECDIS, or consult your supplier.
wish to avoid large download sizes by using a The Overlay data is held on a single CD which is
disc when you load your ECDIS for the first time installed and updated in the same way as ENCs.
or when a New Edition is released. In common The AIO permit GB800001 is free of charge for
with all ENCs, downloaded weekly updates can AVCS users and can be added to your licence.
only be applied to the most recent base edition Please contact your ADMIRALTY Chart Agent if you
issued, and must be applied in sequence. wish to use the Overlay or cannot view it on your
Where the ENCs do not include temporary ECDIS.
information, the Overlay contains ADMIRALTY
Temporary & Preliminary Notices to Mariners (T&P
NMs) that are issued for paper charts. Each polygon
carries the same number as the original NM in the
ADMIRALTY Weekly Bulletin.
The AIO also draws attention to areas where
differences between ENCs and paper charts may
affect the passage plan (ENC Preliminary Notices to
Mariners – EPNMs). No other electronic chart
service offers this level of reassurance.
Content
Except for areas where there is no ADMIRALTY
chart at equivalent scale to the ENC (indicated
by ‘No Overlay’ polygons), AIO covers the whole
world. Temporary information is assessed for
inclusion as follows:
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ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
Managing temporary AIO does not contain paper T&P NMs issued
by the ENC producer, unless it has been re-
information with AIO issued as an ADMIRALTY T&P NM.
There may be a time delay between the
T&P NMs publication or cancellation of national T&P
The UKHO issues a weekly bulletin of Temporary NMs and the publication or removal of the
and Preliminary Notices to Mariners (T&P NMs) equivalent ADMIRALTY T&P NMs that are
which contains temporary information of included in AIO.
navigational interest to mariners using Although UKHO tries to avoid duplication, it is
ADMIRALTY paper charts. Mariners are only possible that the AIO will occasionally contain T&P
required to hold Notices to Mariners for paper
information similar to that displayed in the ENC.
charts that are on board.
AIO does not include T&P NMs that only relate to
Like UKHO, Hydrographic Offices around the
paper charts. For instance, a non-temporary update
world issue Notices to Mariners to update their
to a local ENC may result in a T&P NM for the
paper charts. Some countries do not issue T&P
ADMIRALTY paper chart. Because the information
NMs and some do not update their ENCs with
is contained in the ENC, the ADMIRALTY T&P NM
temporary information.
would be excluded from AIO.
If the producer nation does not include temporary
Some ADMIRALTY T&P NMs solely refer to non-
information in their ENCs but the UKHO has
navigational charts e.g. Port Approach Guides and
issued it as a T&P NM for an equivalent scale
Maritime Security Charts. As the T&P NM often
paper chart, it is added to the ADMIRALTY
relates to text boxes and cannot be geo-displayed,
Information Overlay (AIO). This allows you to
they are not included in AIO.
receive extra temporary information which has
not been included in your subscribed ENCs. A list of ENC producers whose policy is to include
T&P NM information in their ENCs can be found at
The T&P NMs are displayed as polygons over
the ENCs on the ECDIS. admiralty.co.uk/AVCS and in the INFO folder on all
AVCS and AIO discs.
Official ENCs remain the primary source of
information for navigation at all times.
The full text of the NM is included as an associated
text file which can be displayed by selecting the
'Temporary Notice to Mariners' or 'Preliminary
Notice to Mariners' feature in the ECDIS Pick
Report. Any associated diagrams can also be
viewed through the Pick Report.
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ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
EP NMs
ENC Preliminary (EP) NMs highlight navigationally
significant differences between ENCs and
ADMIRALTY paper charts.
These NMs are displayed in the same way as T&P
NMs, as a polygon with a hatched fill which indicates
the area affected by the NM. Each NM is allocated a
unique EP NM number and is exclusive to AIO.
ADMIRALTY paper T&P NMs may occasionally
display within a ‘No Overlay’ polygon if the
information has been published for smaller scale
paper charts and is also relevant at a larger
scale.
The full text of the NM can be viewed in the Additional information, such as local T&P NMs,
ECDIS Pick Report. Where additional information may be available in these areas from other
is needed to explain the NM an associated sources. When navigating in these areas,
picture file displays the ENC superimposed over seafarers should ensure that other sources of
the current paper chart information. information such as local web sites, Navtex, port
notices etc. have been consulted.
‘No Overlay’ feature
Where there is no ADMIRALTY paper chart at
equivalent scale to the ENC, UKHO is not able to
compare coverage and add additional
information. In these areas, the AIO shows a
grey hatched polygon labelled ‘No Overlay’.
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ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
Passage Planning advisable to plan your route with the ECDIS set
to the dates of the intended passage.
SOLAS Chapter V states that all information
relevant to the passage should be considered Using AIO
during planning. Appropriate scale, accurate and You should have AIO active on your ECDIS
up-to-date charts are to be used for the intended screen during passage planning.
passage, as well as any relevant temporary Use the ENCs and route checking in the normal
Notices to Mariners. way, noting any features that are described in the
pick report as being temporary.
Policy of ENC producers
Check your route with the ECDIS date set to the
Most producers now include temporary
planned passage time.
information in their ENCs and it is received on
your vessel as a normal ENC update or new You may see coloured polygons that are
edition. This means that you can see the change associated with ADMIRALTY paper T&P NMs
on the ECDIS and use the pick report to obtain issued by the UKHO. The T&P NMs will be giving
more information in the normal way. The ECDIS you additional information that is not already
Route Assessment tools will automatically included in your ENCs. You should then open the
assess the temporary information because it text of the notice using the ECDIS Pick report to
appears as standard ENC objects. Your passage assess and include the information in your
plan should be compiled as normal using what passage plan as necessary. You may wish to
you see displayed on your ECDIS along with the annotate your ECDIS display with key
pick reports. information from the T&P NM, so it is available
as a prompt for watchkeepers if you prefer to
Some producers do not describe the information
hide the AIO during passage monitoring.
as ‘temporary’ or ‘preliminary’ in their ENCs; they
simply issue updates as required. If you use the mariner’s notes function on your
ECDIS to mark the temporary items of interest,
ECDIS symbology your notes should be checked against each
In 2017, version 4.0 of the S-52 Presentation week’s AIO update.
Library introduced a ‘d’ symbol for temporary
information. Compliance
ADMIRALTY paper T&P NMs are not issued as
corrections to electronic charts. Audit and
compliance inspections require you to
demonstrate that you are working with the latest
ENC updates for your passage plan.
You are also required to demonstrate that you
have a system in place to reasonably obtain and
The symbol is displayed when the ENC producer assess temporary information. Temporary
codes a feature with time-based attributes such information for digital navigation can be obtained
as start or end date. It can be used for seasonal from:
buoys, traffic separation schemes etc.
1. The information encoded in the ENC.
Date dependent features display according to the
date set on your ECDIS. Therefore, it is
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ADMIRALTY Information Overlay (AIO) - User Guide
Will I get a deficiency when the inspector checks
2. Extra information in AIO that may not be included my T&Ps?
in ENCs, where there is equivalent coverage by
You will need to show that you have the latest
ADMIRALTY paper charts.
ENC updates, and that your procedures extract
3. Other sources on board such as Navtex.
all relevant information from them, including any
4. Local authorities, such as agents or port
temporary information. AIO will continue to
authorities.
provide T&P information where it has not been
Where the information is included in the ENC, included in the ENC.
you do not need to assess paper chart notices as Should I mark up the ECDIS with T&Ps?
part of their passage plan, unless you are
If you wish, you can use Mariner’s Notes to
navigating with paper charts.
highlight temporary information in ENC or AIO on
your ECDIS. Temporary information only has a
Further guidance
T&P Notice number when it applies to an
The ADMIRALTY Guide to the Practical Use of
ADMIRALTY paper chart and is in AIO.
ENCs (NP231) gives guidelines for using AIO
and ENCs during passage planning and Why is the list of ADMIRALTY T&Ps in the
monitoring, including the use of T&P NMs. bulletin different to AIO?
ADMIRALTY T&P NMs are issued for paper
Frequently asked charts, and therefore may not be added to AIO.
questions How do I know which ENCs contain temporary
information?
Why does AIO not have all T&Ps? A list of countries that publish temporary
To avoid duplication. Many countries now issue information in their ENCs is available at
temporary information as an update to their admiralty.co.uk/avcs and in the INFO folder of
ENCs. If you are navigating digitally you don’t AVCS and AIO discs.
need to receive and manage the information Which countries are not covered by AIO?
more than once.
AIO serves the whole world, but temporary
How do I get T&Ps? information is included in the overlay according
Digital vessels without paper charts receive to the rules given in the first section above.
temporary information as updates and new
editions of ENCs. AIO also provides additional
information. If you need all the ADMIRALTY
T&Ps, they can be obtained from the Weekly
Notices to Mariners Bulletin or from digital
services available from your Chart Agent.
Can I use AIO to receive T&Ps for my paper
charts?
AIO is for digital chart users. Paper chart users
must use the T&P NMs published in the weekly
bulletin, as paper or download versions.
