The NOAA electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC®) files that may be downloaded from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are official products. Official ENCs are suitable for navigation under the following regulations and policies, and in the following circumstances:

1. On May 2, 2001, the United States Coast Guard amended the chart carriage regulations to permit government vessels to use electronic charting and navigation systems in lieu of paper charts.

2. On August 15, 2002, the United States Coast Guard issued a statement of policy to bring its regulations into agreement with SOLAS Chapter V (as amended by the changes taking effect July 1, 2002). The policy statement said that, if a ship has an approved ECDIS installed according to SOLAS, Chapter V, the ECDIS will be considered as meeting the ship's nautical chart carriage regulations. The ships that are affected are:

a. U.S.-flagged ships of 150 or more gross tons that engage on international voyages.

b. U.S.-flagged ships certificated solely for service on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

c. Foreign-flag ships to which SOLAS, Chapter V, applies that are operating on the navigable waters of the United States. 

This policy is not applicable to U.S.-flag ships engaged only on domestic voyages. These ships must continue to comply with existing navigation equipment requirements until the chart carriage regulations are formally amended.

The NOAA ENC® files available from this site are updated for Notices to Mariners on at least a monthly basis. Users are encouraged to check the site frequently and download the latest versions of the files. Updates are currently available as incremental updates (also called ENC Revision or "ER" files).

Copying, reproduction of the NOAA ENC®s to any other server or location for further reproduction or redistribution is discouraged unless the following guidelines are followed: 1) the NOAA ENC®s and supplementary files including the CATALOG.031 and README.TXT are included in their entirety, 2) this disclaimer is displayed to and accepted by anyone who accesses the NOAA ENC®s, and 3) a reference to this Web site is included so that anyone accessing the NOAA ENC®s is advised of where they originated. 

If these NOAA ENC®s are incorporated into any other product in a form other than as provided by NOAA, the producer of that product assumes full liability and must adhere to conditions 2 and 3 described in the paragraph above concerning copying or reproduction.

List of Datasets In This Exchange Set:

Title|Edition|Update Application Date|Update|Issue Date|Cell Name

Chesapeake Bay Smith Point to Cove Point|40|2024-11-25|7|2025-03-26|US4MD20M

Total Number = 1
