Another ECDIS supplier offers ‘PAYS’

The system works by the vessel being licensed to install, view and pre-plan using official (S)ENCs and pay only for those actually used, rather than the conventional approach whereby the navigator has to select and purchase charts prior to each voyage.

The Transas PAYS system is said to differ from other similar offerings in that recording and reporting of charts used comes from the data recorded in the Transas Navi-Sailor 4000 ECDIS logbook. Vessels only pay for charts actually displayed on the screen together with ships position or generated navigational alarms, i.e. ‘best scale charts only’, rather than all charts that may be applicable to the voyage.

Transas describes its PAYS as a service for online access to chart licenses and corrections for the company’s ECDIS systems. The system communicates via the Transas Gateway firewall for licensing, corrections and sending chart reports, via a secure online internet connection from the vessel’s Navi-Sailor 4000 ECDIS to the Transas Chart Server. It also allows remote support and maintenance on the Transas ECDIS.

Anders Rydlinger, Transas Marine navigation product development director comments: “With the official Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS) SENC-service developed in cooperation with the UKHO, Transas ‘Pay As You Sail’ gives the vessel access to the most cost and time efficient (S)ENC service on the market and the best (S)ENC coverage available for navigation and planning. Besides the vessel’s internet connection, no extra communication equipment or tracking service is needed”.