Thursday 26 November 2015

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 (Department worried about out-of-date navigational charts, 25 November).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 Therefore their information is going to be more and more out of date.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

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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 November 2015 at 14:41

    Hi Forse,

    Interesting stuff for sure.

    When I did my own research on the matter, I found the problem was a complex one arising out of the mess caused in 1997 when the 'Crown Copyright' was replaced by Hong Kong Government's Copyright Act, as well as an inability to think out of the box and foresee the future!

    Although less than 20 years old, the copyright law in Hong Kong is outdated in how it handles information in the post-2000 technological era. Meaning that it does not make allowances for advances in technology well. The opportunity to distribute data via mobile devices presents a new challenge.

    What is clear is that Navionics and all the others had been in breach of copyright law. Even if Navionics had $900 for the CD themselves, it is clearly a breach to then charge for that data thereafter. The small print on the CD says not for resale!
    The law is the same as it was in 1997. The only 'suddenly' about it is the actual enforcement of the law, which I guess has simply coincided with the development of the smartphone apps, and their making money on the data. A blind eye was probably turned until the breach of copyright was so prominent and obvious that the government could not allow it to continue.

    The problem is, that the copyright law is in place, whether we like it or not. Although MarDep are the point of contact, I'm sure MarDep are only acting on the advice of the Government Legal advisors (not seagoing mariners), who would predictably say that anything other than enforcement of the copyrights could be considered 'aiding and abetting'!

    So while I wholeheartedly agree that the situation is far from ideal and could be considered unsafe, I don't think MarDep is necessarily the enemy. At least I don’t think they have the powers and authority to do anything other than enforce the copyright. I am certain their motive is not money too.

    I think the approach needs to be more directed at trying to find a solution within the law. To me the way forward is threefold.

    1. Better cooperation - Encouraging MarDep and mobile charting app developers to cooperate in finding alternative charging schemes for the rights to the charts, and integrate that into their softwares. That could mean a way to register and pay HK government and enter the code into the app, to unlock the charts. Or some other method to allow payment of the copy rights owed by the individual.

    2. Product compatibility - Pressure the developers of apps and devices to integrate S-57 (IHO Standard) ENC compatibility. To me, this is an obvious 'advantage' for any developer who does so. Since the future of charting is digital, and since the IHO standards for ENCs is well developed, the days of greedy proprietary charting providers are soon going to be a thing of the past. There are many more options for Joe Average these days. Goodbye to the Garmin and C-Map monopoly!

    In fact, Expedition (which was always linked with C-Map) have finally seen the light, and integrated S-57 ENC compatibility. The MarDep charts work well with Expedition.

    Additionally, if one looks hard enough, there are one or two 'Smartphone' charting options which can also use S-57 ENCs. Navionics could do well to think about it too, or they will miss the boat.

    3. Encourage MarDep to see the light, and make their process for obtaining the ENCs much easier. Trudging down to the MarDep building in Sheung Wan, signing a piece of paper and picking up your compact disc, is clearly a archaic way of doing things!

    So I personally have solved the problem, both on my computer and on my phone. I have replaced Navionics with my other app on my phone. My laptop is also fully functional with Hong Kong charts. I accept that if I want the latest up-to-date charts, I'm going to have to pay the fee.

    In summary then, I think the Hong Kong mariners should be united in their pressure for changes, but that pressure should be directed with a real workable solution in mind.

    Food for thought!

    TC

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous30 November 2015 at 15:19

    Furthermore,

    What intrigues me most about this is how Navionics have seemingly managed to deflect their own liability.

    Selling a product which they have no right to is actually a criminal offence. I'm sure there is a 'breach of contract' there somewhere. I'm sure all the subscriptions and monies paid for the app by the 'thousands' of Hongkongers should actually be returned.

    Yet, somehow, they have managed to deflect the heat onto the government, avoiding the repayment of the hundreds of dollars revenue on a product they had no right to sell!

    Hmm...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peter9 December 2015 at 19:15

    Thanks for the comments. Others I've had by email (not in the comments here) are that I was "way too kind" to MarDep, who are a "bunch of turkeys".
    Anyway, I couldn't get the ENC data to download on my Apple, and this is the response I got from Mardep:
    Dear Peter,

    Thank for using the HK Electronic Navigational Chart (HKENC). In the CD-ROM you bought, there in should contain 15 files with .000 extension. These are the ENC cells in which charting data are stored. The HKENCs are produced according to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) S-57 standard, some people may say the HKENCs of S-57 format.

    Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) is a digital database containing official charting information for use in Electronic Chart Data Display and Information System (ECDIS), or Electronic Chart System (ECS). It needs a software for converting the database into graphic display format on ECDIS or ECS. On the website of the International Hydrographic Organization (http://www.iho.int) details about ECDIS/ECS could be found.

    You advised that you would open the HKENC in Apple desktop, may I suggest you purchase supporting software adoptable at Apple iOS and be able to read S-57 format file. For cost-free demo software or viewer, you may wish to search the Internet using "S-57 Viewer" as the key words.

    I hope the above information is of useful to you.

    Regards,


    Stephen WONG
    DH1
    Hydrographic Office
    Marine Department HKSAR

    I did what Mr Wong suggested, and guess what? All the S-57 sites only work for Windows..... There's none for Apple, let alone for iPads and iPhones....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2 January 2016 at 04:29

    Well Written Forse and TC .. Give 'em Turkeys a Stir Up .. "Splash"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous26 January 2016 at 22:20

    SEAiq Open displays S-57 HK ENC charts on iPad. App costs HK$318

    ReplyDelete

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