Marine Department endangers marine safety in Hong Kong

My correspondence with the Marine Department, via the letters page of the South China Morning Post is copied below.
My response to MarDep is below, just sent to the South China Morning Post.  Will see if they run it.

I thank the Marine Department (MarDep) for responding to my concerns about safety in Hong Kong's waters. (Department worried about out-of-date navigational charts, 25 November).

Sadly, the response only increases those concerns.

The story so far: Thousands of boaters in Hong Kong have relied on navigational chart-plotting services such as Navionics.

Suddenly, and without explanation, MarDep refused these chart-plotting services the rights to use hydrographic data to which MarDep has intellectual rights. Navionics offered to pay MarDep license fees but was rebuffed. 

My claim: This makes boating in Hong Kong waters less safe. 

MarDep response: We own the intellectual rights and if you want to use them you should buy them as MarDep's Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC). 

I tried to follow MarDep’s advice. This involved the following: 1) go to MarDep website 2) learn that you can't buy ENCs online, but must go to their office in person. 3) go to their office and pay in cash ($902). 4) get a CD of the data. 5) take CD home and discover that the zip files won't open on the Apple desktop. 6) ask MarDep for help and get no response.

The irony is that as people have found out about MarDep's ban, they have decided not to update their chart-plotting Apps because to do so would remove the data they already have. Therefore their information is going to be more and more out of date.  As MarDep noted in their 25 November letter, this is unsafe.

MarDep are selling just one or two of their ENCs per month.  So they are making at most, about $1,800 per month.

If MarDep simply licensed the data to the chart-plotting companies they would make much more money than they do now, and mariners would access it much more quickly and easily.  

MarDep would increase the safety of boating in Hong Kong and make more money.  Win-win.

How about it MarDep?  Please let the chart plotting companies license and update your data.  You must do this if you really care about safety in Hong Kong waters. 

MarDep response to me, 25/11/15

My letter 14/11/15

"Lookin' good"...

Xena (right) with new A2, chasing the early-starters,
Hong Kong Island South. Breezes 15-25 knots, E.

Thanks to Gaz, I guess from the RHKYC Facebook page...
LATER: this is the main photo in December edition of RHKYC magazine, Ahoy! There's another pic in the mag, a couple of posts above.

Around the Island 2015: nice breezes, great company

Noel, Mark, T(ristan), Andrew, Sophie, Peer, Jonno, Forse, Rosie, Stefan,
Keno,Gaz, Hamish, John. Full crew list.

Queues for the sampans.  John's photo

Mark checks the mast

Lighthorse, First 50, beats up the harbour.  John's cool photo

Hamish. John's photo (as are most of rest)

Mark hikes

Sophie Smiles

Keno Trims (Main)

Peer Trims (Jib)

Rosie trims (Kite)

Stefan, Rosie, Hamish, hang.

The lovely classic ketch Rona, that I went on back in 2012

Forse steers.  And colours (and tummy..)

The beat to Cape D'Aguilar.  Forse, Andrew, Peer, T, Sophie

Running around SE of the Island, after Cape D'Aguilar

Passing some of the earlier starters, south of Hong Kong Island

Hamish, John

T on helm

Andrew, Forse, T, coming home

Pontoon Party

Breezes 15-20 knots and no holes.  Quick, pleasant race.
Most photos above from John Jensen and Mark, with thanks.  A couple mine.
Results.  No excuses, but (!).... we didn't have working backstay, which rather limited our trimming ability.... Oh well...

China Cup 2015

A few photos grabbed from the photo site of CCIR. (Racing in the one-class First 40.7 fleet of 25 boats):

Iris, Tony, Keno, Jing.  Arriving in Daya Bay, after passage race, Day One

We're the yellow spinnaker in this gaggle

Day Two: Monti and Keno on the rail.