ECDIS Chart Update and Backup Checklist

This article applies to yachts using ECDIS, dual ECDIS, electronic navigational charts, route planning workstations, chart update services, or electronic chart backup arrangements.

Applicability depends on flag state, class, yacht size and GT, private or commercial use, whether ECDIS is used for SOLAS chart carriage, the approved backup arrangement, the ECDIS type approval, the chart supplier, the bridge procedure, and whether route data is shared with integrated bridge systems or monitoring displays.

From a bridge technician's point of view, ECDIS updates are not admin. They are part of the navigation system. If the chart database, permits, route files, display settings, or backup ECDIS are wrong, the bridge team may not find out until the yacht is already committed to a passage.

Most ECDIS update problems are not dramatic. They usually start as something small.

A permit expires. The secondary ECDIS is missed. A USB stick is used without a clear source. A route is updated on one workstation but not exported to the backup. A display library warning is ignored because the system still appears to show a chart.

The bridge team may still see a clean screen, but that does not prove the system is ready. For an ETO or bridge technician, the job is to prove four things:

• the right chart data is installed,
• the permits or licences are valid,
• the route and user data can be recovered,
• the backup arrangement is actually usable.

IHO states that where ECDIS is used to meet SOLAS chart carriage requirements, it must be type-approved, use up-to-date ENCs, be compatible with the latest applicable IHO standards, and have adequate independent backup arrangements. That is the technical and operational line YachtByte uses here.

When I check an ECDIS before departure, I do not only ask whether "charts are updated." That phrase hides too much.

Check the actual pieces:

• ENC coverage for the planned passage and alternates.
• Latest applied update status.
• Chart permits or licences.
• Base cells and update files.
• Presentation library or display-standard warnings.
• Route files and alternative routes.
• User chart objects, mariner notes, no-go areas, safety settings, and manual marks.
• Backup ECDIS or approved independent backup arrangement.
• Evidence stored in a place the captain or auditor can find.

If the yacht is in an S-100 transition discussion, separate that from the day-to-day update job. S-100 and S-101 matter, but the watchkeeper still needs the current approved chart carriage arrangement to work today.

The safest time to discover an update problem is before the bridge team needs the route.

Before loading anything, confirm:

1. Which ECDIS units are in service.
2. Which unit is primary and which is backup.
3. Which chart supplier and licence account are being used.
4. Which route is planned and whether alternates are required.
5. Whether the yacht is using removable media, online update, email download, or a service laptop.
6. Whether the update source is trusted.
7. Whether a backup of existing routes and user data has been taken.
8. Whether the update can be done without interrupting navigation.

Do not update the only available ECDIS in a way that leaves the bridge without a usable chart display. If the yacht is underway, coordinate with the officer of the watch and follow the bridge procedure.

Use a repeatable sequence. The exact menu names differ between Furuno, Sperry Marine, Anschutz, Kongsberg, NACOS, and other systems, but the control points are similar.

1. Record the starting condition.
2. Back up routes and user data where supported.
3. Confirm the update source and permit file.
4. Apply permits or licence updates first if needed.
5. Load chart updates to the primary ECDIS.
6. Confirm update status and coverage.
7. Repeat the process on the backup ECDIS or backup workstation.
8. Confirm both systems show the same intended route area.
9. Run a route check on the active route.
10. Record warnings, unresolved cells, missing permits, and limitations.
11. Store screenshots or export logs where supported.

The important point is that primary and backup systems must not drift apart. A yacht with two ECDIS units can still have poor redundancy if only one has the updated permits, route, and user data.

Routes often become the weak point because everyone assumes the chart update process covers them. It usually does not.

Keep separate control of:

• active route,
• alternate routes,
• route version or date,
• safety contour and depth settings,
• cross-track limits,
• user chart objects and mariner notes,
• no-go areas and manual marks,
• route-check warnings,
• export file location.

If a route is built on one workstation, prove it can be loaded on the backup. If a vendor or officer changes the route, record who changed it and when. If the yacht uses shared planning workstations, confirm which system is authoritative before the passage plan is approved.

For larger yachts, this is also a handover issue. Relief officers and temporary bridge teams should not have to guess which route file is current.

After the update, do not stop at "update complete."

Open the passage area and check:

• own-ship position appears correctly,
• the planned route displays as expected,
• route check has been run and reviewed,
• safety contour and depth settings are appropriate for the passage,
• isolated danger, prohibited area, and caution indications are visible,
• overscale or no-ENC indications are understood,
• chart date or update status is acceptable,
• day, dusk, and night palettes are usable,
• backup ECDIS shows equivalent coverage and route data.

IMO's revised ECDIS performance standard expects route planning and route monitoring to be simple and reliable, and includes route-check and safety-contour alert functions. Onboard, that means the update has to be followed by a practical display check, not just a database message.

The backup arrangement is not a decoration on the equipment list. It is what the bridge team uses when the primary ECDIS fails, loses chart data, or cannot be trusted.

Depending on the yacht and approval basis, the backup may be:

• a second independent ECDIS,
• another approved electronic backup arrangement,
• paper charts where accepted and maintained,
• a flag or class accepted arrangement documented in the bridge procedure.

An owner tablet, guest navigation app, AV display, or office computer is not a substitute for the approved backup arrangement. Those tools may help situational awareness, but they should not be treated as chart-carriage compliance or bridge fallback.

The practical test is simple: if the primary ECDIS fails today, can the officer safely continue the passage using the backup arrangement, and is the crew trained to do it?

These are the problems I would expect to find during a yacht refit, seasonal restart, or rushed departure:

• Expired permits for the cruising area.
• Primary ECDIS updated but backup ECDIS missed.
• Route file copied but user chart objects missing.
• Old route still selected after a new passage plan is approved.
• Update media saved in an undocumented folder.
• Chart update account owned by a former crew member or vendor.
• Backup arrangement listed in the SMS but not tested.
• Warning messages cleared without being recorded.
• ECDIS software or IHO compatibility warning left unresolved.
• No screenshot or log showing the update status.

Most of these are not expensive failures. They are discipline failures. The fix is a short record that proves what was updated, what was checked, what remains open, and who accepted it.

A 65m yacht is preparing for a guest passage after a yard period. The second officer says the ECDIS is updated. The captain asks the ETO to check the backup unit because the bridge electronics vendor was onboard the week before.

The primary ECDIS shows current coverage for the planned route. The backup ECDIS opens normally, but two cells near the alternate port show permit warnings. The active route exists on the primary unit, but the backup has last season's version. A few user chart notes were also created locally on the primary and never exported.

Nothing looks broken at first glance. That is the risk.

The team updates the permit file, imports the latest route onto the backup, exports the user data, reruns the route check, and stores screenshots of both ECDIS update pages. The captain now has evidence that the backup arrangement matches the intended passage.

That is the difference between "the charts are done" and "the bridge can prove the chart system is ready."

Use a short record for every pre-departure update, seasonal update, refit closeout, or chart-account change.

• Download resource: ECDIS Chart Update and Backup Record. URL: /resources/ecdis-chart-update-and-backup-record/. Description: Printable record for ECDIS ENC updates, permits, route backups, display checks, backup arrangements, warnings, and closeout evidence.