On behalf of the Republic of Croatia, its Hydrographic Institute (HHI) chaired the 24th MBSHC Conference (MBSHC24), held in Constanţa, Romania, from 2 to 4 July 2024. The Conference was hosted by Romania, which at the close took over the chairmanship from the Republic of Croatia. In April 2022, at the end of the 23rd MBSHC Conference, the Hydrographic Institute of the Republic of Croatia (HHI) took over the chairmanship from the Kingdom of Spain.
The Mediterranean and Black Seas Hydrographic Commission (MBSHC) is one of 15 hydrographic commissions established worldwide on a regional basis for the purposes of cooperation and coordinated action of member states on common issues of hydrographic and cartographic activities in their regions, with the main objective of improving maritime safety. https://iho.int/en/mediterranean-and-black-seas-hydrographic-commission
Regional commissions act in accordance with the rules of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) through their statutes, and their programmes are based on work programmes of the IHO. Realization of these programmes at regional level contributes towards realization of IHO objectives at global level. According to the Convention on the IHO, the MBSHC, as regional IHO commission, is a consultative and technical body that promotes the hydrographic activity, focussing on cooperation between member states, and provides authoritative guidance on all hydrographic issues.
During Croatia’s chairmanship, the HHI coordinated the implementation of decisions and actions adopted at the previous conference, as well as all other decisions and actions of the IHO Assembly, IHO Council, and other relevant committees and bodies concerning the MBSHC, in line with the rules of the IHO, the statutes of the MBSHC and other relevant regulations. The HHI also encouraged the member states to engage in a dialogue and find mutually agreed solutions.
The Conference was attended by 67 delegates from 18 full members of the Commission, representatives of several associate members, industry representatives, representatives of RENCs (PRIMAR and IC-ENC), and by the IHO Director and Assistant Director. The Republic of Croatia participated as full member, represented by delegates from the Hydrographic Institute.
According to a predetermined agenda, the three-day Conference covered currents issues identified in the three thematic work programmes of the IHO: corporate affairs, hydrographic services and standards, and inter-regional coordination and support, as well as issues of cooperation in different projects and building of member states’ hydrographic capacities in the MBSHC region. The most important strategic issue under discussion was the implementation of new generation of ENC according to S-101 standard, as well as ensuring maintenance and availability of paper and electronic charts in S-57 format (triple fuel). Discussions also addressed different approaches used by hydrographic offices concerning other products that result from the new hydrographic model S-100 (S-102, S-104, S-111, S- 124, S-128, etc.). National report of Croatia, submitted by the HHI, was presented at the Conference, providing an overview of activities in the previous two-year period: https://iho.int/uploads/user/Inter-Regional%20Coordination/RHC/MBSHC/MBSHC24/MBSHC24_2024_06.2.2d_EN_Presentation_Croatia.pdf
More information can be found at: https://iho.int/en/mbshc24-2024-0-0