Poll of the Week: Electronic vs Paper Charts

On most vessels, there should always be a paper chart back up.

A few years ago, I was the commercial operator of a tanker that was struck by lightning about 600 nm off the coast of Spain. They lost all electronic navigation instrumentation and used celestial and terrestial navigation to get to Cadiz for repairs.

One type of vessel in particular that renders paper charts completelyobsolete are Fast Ferries. At high speeds (40 kts +) you are completely reliant on the ECDIS. Especially in high traffic areas, where fast ferries typically operate.
A casualty like a lighning strike could cause a similar loss on a fast ferry. However, the operational parameters that fast ferries operate under (High Speed Code) mitigate this risk very well.

There is something satisfying about a paper chart. The nice feel
disappears when the mariner or pilot needs to interface with modern
navigation (GPS) and position indicating (radar) and situational
awareness (AIS) hardware. The other problem is that it may be a full
time job for someone to annotate paper charts with the corrections
promulgated in Notice to Mariner publications. Nothing like a "failure
to update a chart" presented as evidence in an admiralty court. The
argument for paper may disappear as display devices get larger while
maintaining the same resolution. Design engineers are using high
resolution 30-inch displays (2560 x 1600) on the desk top these days.
Size has to be accompanied with resolution for these to be effective.

I think that your survey does not address the necessity for the
maintenance of the paper charts. An alternative is the possibility of
maintaining current versions of paper charts in electronic form with
the ability to print on demand, notwithstanding the fact that large
sheet printers are not cheap. The advantage of electronic charts are
lost if they are not updated regularly as well.

This reminds me of a discussion I had with a radiology professional
many years ago. He swore that film would never be replaced by
electronic displays (CRTs at that time) "They did not have dynamic
range required for proper interpretation". Of course, in modern
hospitals today you will see very little, if any, film.

The local radiologist may have been outsourced to India as well.