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Paper charts have been scanned as high resolution tiffs and low resolution jpegs and may be downloaded here free of charge. The chart images provided do not replace the New Zealand official nautical charts corrected for ... [full article]

LINZ publishes Annual New Zealand Notices to Mariners and fortnightly New Zealand Notices to Mariners (NTMs). Annual New Zealand Notices to Mariners are standing notices published in the New Zealand Nautical Almanac. ... [full article]

Colour ARPA RadarECDISConning Display Today sea Captains can guide their ships safely through a crowded harbor in dense fog, and pilots can land their planes through a thick overcast. An electronic system called radar makes this possible. A radar ... [full article]

Disturbances on the sun may cause disturbances of the magnetic compass needle and interference with radio communications. At the time of an intense solar flare or eruption, a flash of ultra-violet light and a stream of charged particles are emitted ... [full article]

In various parts of the world, magnetic ores on or just below the seabed may give rise to local magnetic anomalies resulting in the temporary deflection of the magnetic compass needle when a ship passes over them. The areas of ... [full article]

Top view of Gimbaled Magnetic CompassBefore the development of sophisticated electronic and sound detection systems, navigators calculated directions from objects in the sky the sun, the North Star, and the moon. A much more reliable guide for finding direction is ... [full article]

LIGHTS ARE THE NAVIGATOR'S SIGNPOSTS. Without them, the job of keeping track of the ship's progress along the course line would be much more difficult. By day the lighthouse buildings offer readily identifiable objects from seaward and for this reason ... [full article]

The Liferaft Liferaft Stowage ContainerLiferafts vary in size from a 4-man up to a 42-man. The maximum weight limit laid down by the Department of Transport is 400 lbs. The liferaft will either be in a Canvas or Neoprene Valise ... [full article]