Blog

Don’t be caught high and dry with the Gateway closure

The UKHO will be retiring the ADMIRALTY e-Navigator Planning Station and ADMIRALTY gateway on 29 January 2021.

With only three months to go, users of this service will need to find an alternative provider to be able to keep products up-to-date and order future products. As ENCs run on a permit basis of 3-12 months, users who are not prepared, may face problems with ongoing safety and compliance.

Up-to-date charts are a requirement for the voyage and failure to keep them updated is in contravention of SOLAS which puts the ship, the owner, and seafarers in danger. Using out of date ENCs and Digital products also means there is no way to guarantee compliance and action may be taken from port state control officers.

What are the challenges to address before the Gateway closes?

Finding a new provider

It is important to ensure you have a service provider that is a good fit for your business. Some key areas to consider when evaluating a new provider are:

Product Offer – do they offer official ADMIRALTY ENCs and Digital Products?
Outfit Transition – will they transition your existing outfit across?
Ease of set-up and use – how smooth is the set-up process and is it easy for onboard and shoreside teams to use?
Ordering & Monitoring – is the process for ordering and monitoring outfits straight forward and easy to undertake?
Support – what support is available from the provider? Can you access it as and when you need to?
Future-proof – what else can a new supplier offer now or in the future – passage planning software, environmental regulations and guidance or fleet management tools? And is this built in or outsourced?

Getting set up

It can take a bit of time to set up a new provider – both from a company process / purchasing perspective and from the logistical point of view. As such, allow yourself a bit of time to ensure the set-up of a new provider is in place and that staff can become familiar with the new processes for managing and using outfits.

Ensuring a continuity of service

It is important to ensure that from the 29 January you can continue to run your operations and continue on your planned routes both safely and compliantly. Having a provider in place is critical to ensuring your charts are up-to-date and accessible.

How can OneOcean help?

OneOcean can make the change in provider set up run smoothly, helping to guide and manage the transition process and take the pain out of this big undertaking. We will work with you to ensure your existing outfits are transitioned and kept up-to-date.

The platform for managing and ordering outfits is intuitive, and we will make sure you have the support and training to be up and running quickly to ensure continuity in your operations.

OneOcean has built-in software to enable and support total voyage management for both onboard and shoreside teams – available fully integrated or as bolt-on services, providing additional capability as and when you need it.

In addition, you will have a dedicated customer service manager and access to our global support team 24/7.