Shaping the Future of Navigation with S-100
Testing how next-generation digital navigation data will be used in confined waters.
What is S-100?
As the maritime industry prepares for the next era of digital navigation, S-100 is redefining how mariners access and use safety-critical information on the bridge.
Developed by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), S-100 is a new global digital data framework. It’s unique in that it brings together multiple types of navigational data – from electronic charts to dynamically changing currents and water levels – into a single, integrated environment displayed on a ship’s Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).
The result is a richer, more dynamic view of a vessel’s surroundings, especially important in complex and confined port environments where data accuracy and resolution matters most.
Read more below and view the official Press Release.
Collaboration at the Core
To help shape how S-100 will be applied in real-world operations, Carnival Corporation & plc, through its Center for Simulation and Maritime Training (CSMART), partnered with global hydrographic offices, ports, pilots and maritime technology providers to conduct a series of bridge-simulator tests under the S-100 in Confined Waters initiative. The initiative was recognized by the IHO as an official S-100 Test Bed and Sea Trial.
Participants included national hydrographic offices from Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, alongside port authorities, marine pilots, shipboard officers, shore-based marine managers and system developers – all working together in a shared simulation environment.
Testing S-100 in the Bridge Simulators
The simulator tests recreated realistic navigation scenarios from four ports with different operational complexity: Melbourne (Australia), Napier (New Zealand), Rotterdam (Netherlands), and Southampton (United Kingdom).
Using CSMART’s full-mission bridge simulators, participants conducted repeated port approaches, transits and departures while actively switching between different S-100 data layers. CSMART hosted the sea trial week by leveraging on its advanced simulation capabilities and long-standing experience testing complex navigation scenarios. The S-100 layers included next generation of electronic navigational charts, bathymetric surfaces, water levels, currents’ strength and direction, navigational warnings and under keel clearance overlays – allowing mariners to use this information directly in planning and execution of their maneuvers in confined waters.
S-100 in Action: Inside the Simulator Test Bed
What the Tests Revealed
The simulator environment enabled direct, real-time feedback between end users, data producers and system developers – helping identify how S-100 products can be optimized for usability, accuracy and relevance without overwhelming the navigator.
By observing how mariners interacted with the data in realistic bridge scenarios, the tests captured practical insights to inform future S-100 standards development, ECDIS design and training considerations as the industry moves toward broader adoption.
Learn More
Read the full Press Release announcing the completion of the S-100 Test Bed and Sea Trial and the partners involved.
Read the Technical Report to gain an insight on the results of the S-100 Test Bed and Sea Trial in Confined Waters
