Hydrographic Office

A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information.

The International Hydrographic Organization has 85 members, three of these are suspended. The IHO names its member organisations hydrographic offices although the member organisations of some countries are maritime administrations covering a larger range of tasks (e.g., also oceanography, meteorology etc.)

In some nations (e.g., the UK and France) the hydrographic offices are sub-organisations of the country's Ministry of Defence or the navy, in others they are civilian organisations.

Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical charts.

Besides nautical charts, many hydrographic offices publish a body of books and periodicals that are collectively known as nautical publications. The most important of these are:

Hydrographic organizations may also be involved in services such as:

In the development of hydrographic services, shipping organizations played a part, but the major players were the naval powers. Recognizing hydrographic information was a military advantage these naval organizations, usually under the direction of a "Hydrographer" utilized the expertise of naval officers in collecting hydrographic data that was incorporated into the navy's collection. In order to distribute the processed information (charts, directions, notices, and such) these organizations often developed specialized printing capabilities.

Membership suspended from 07/1983

Membership suspended from 07/1983

Membership suspended from 01/01/2013

The Argentine Naval Hydrographic Service was established in 1879.

Hydrographic tasks in Australian waters were performed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy since the 19th century. In 1920 the Australian Hydrographic Service was formed as a part of the Royal Australian Navy.

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