The 17th meeting of the Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee (HSSC) of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) was held in Stavanger, Norway, from May 5 to 9, 2025. Representatives from 30 member states, including Norway, Sweden, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland, as well as representatives from relevant international organizations such as IALA and IEC, and technical experts from the industry sector, totaling 87 participants, attended the meeting. The meeting was chaired by HSSC Chairman Mr. Magnus WALLHAGEN (Sweden). In accordance with the unified arrangements of the Maritime Safety Administration of China, the delegations from the Northern Navigation Service Center, Eastern Navigation Service Center, and Southern Navigation Service Center, the Marine Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), and China Navy Hydrographic Office participated in the meeting.

The Chinese Delegation Group Photo

Active Participation in Discussions

     The meeting reviewed reports from various working and project groups, examined developments in related international organizations, and focused on critical topics such as the IHO’s Strategic Plan 2027-2032, the development and implementation of S-100 series standards, the IHO Infrastructure Centre, the S-100 Security Scheme, and the IHO Maritime Connectivity Platform (MCP). The Chinese delegation actively engaged in discussions on key issues at both the HSSC Chair Group and Plenary Sessions, voicing China’s perspectives with prominence. Alongside the UK, the US, and Sweden, China emerged as one of the most active participants, further strengthening its influence in the international hydrographic field.

   Senior Engineer Wu Lingzhi Delivers a Report

Professorate Senior Engineer Lyu Yuxiao Delivers a Report

     During the meeting, Senior Engineer Wu Lingzhi from the the Northern Navigation Service Center, serving as Chair of the Data Quality Working Group, delivered a report on behalf of the group and assisted the Chairp of the Polygonal Demarcations of Global Sea Areas Product Specification and Dataset (S-130) Project Team in presenting their findings. Additionally, Professorate Senior Engineer Lyu Yuxiao from the Southern Navigation Service Center, as the Chair of the Hydrographic Dictionary Working Group, reported on the group’s progress. The HSSC Chairman and the IHO Secretariat highly commended China’s outstanding leadership role in the Data Quality Working Group, the Hydrographic Dictionary Working Group, and the S-130 Project Team.

     The meeting approved several updated versions of IHO international standards, including Guidelines and Recommendations for Hydrographic Offices for Allocation of CATZOC/QOBD Values from Survey Data (S-68) Ed. 1.1.0, among three other standards led by China. Furthermore, through concerted efforts, the meeting agreed to include some amendments of S-100 Part 4C and S-97 Part C—both led by China—in the next editions of these standards.

     Moving forward, the MSA will focus on enhancing China’s influence within the IHO and promoting the transformation of meeting outcomes into actionable measures. These efforts aim to elevate the nation’s hydrographic service capabilities, contributing to the development of a modernized maritime safety system with Chinese characteristics and advancing integrated maritime supervision and service provision to a higher level.