UK Hydrographic Office Warns About Counterfeit Documents
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office has issued a warning regarding the circulation of counterfeit documents and how to spot them.
The advisory states:
Because counterfeit versions have not been through the same rigorous checking procedures as official Admiralty charts and publications, they cannot be trusted for voyage planning or navigational purposes. Counterfeit documents do not satisfy the carriage requirements of the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), as they have not been issued officially by or on the authority of a Government, authorized hydrographic office or other relevant government institution. Their carriage may also fail to satisfy (and may be contrary to) the laws of Flag State Authorities and Port State Control, as well as increasing the safety risk for vessels, crews and cargoes. Furthermore, carriage of counterfeit documents is against the law in all countries that have signed the Berne Convention on copyright, which includes the vast majority of nations.
Official Admiralty charts bear the Admiralty ‘Flying A’ watermark within the paper and will carry a ‘thumb label’ strip on the reverse with the Admiralty logo, chart number, geographical area, barcode and date. Suspect charts and publications can also be identified by comparing them against official Admiralty versions, where variations may be spotted in the look, feel and weight of the product, the color tone and strength of the ink, the folds on charts and the height and binding quality of publications. Anyone with suspicions over the authenticity of their Admiralty charts and publications is asked to contact the UKHO by emailing customerservices@ukho.gov.uk. Copies of the UKHO’s guide to identifying genuine Admiralty products can also be downloaded from http://bit.ly/admiralty-genuine.
We thank our friends at the Marshall Islands Registry and Burke and Parsons for bringing this notice to our attention.
