List of Member States of the International Hydrographic Organization: Difference between revisions

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{{broader|Hydrography}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
A '''hydrographic office''' is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing [[hydrography|hydrographic]] information.
 
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] comprises (as of June 2018) 89 Member States, three of these are suspended because of their lapsed annual financial contributions The IHO identifies its representative member organisations as the respective national hydrographic offices, although the member organisations of some countries are part of wider maritime or other administrations covering a larger range of tasks (for example, oceanography, transport, maritime regulation).
In some nations (for example, 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 national hydrographic offices were the acquisition of hydrographic information, including through undertaking [[hydrographic survey]]s, and the subsequent publication of [[nautical chart]]s.
 
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:
*[[Sailing Directions]] (or ''pilots''): detailed descriptions of areas of the sea, shipping routes, [[harbour]]s, aids to navigation, regulations etc.
*[[List of Lights|lists of lights]]: descriptions of lighthouses and lightbouys
*[[tide]] tables and tidal stream atlases
*[[ephemeris|ephemerides]] and [[nautical almanac]]s for [[celestial navigation]]
*[[Notice to Mariners]]: periodical (often weekly) updates and corrections for nautical charts and publications
 
Hydrographic organizations may also be involved in services such as:
*[[pilotage]]
*[[search and rescue]]
*maintenance of [[lighthouse]]s and other aids to navigation
*[[ice breaking]]
*weather observation and information
*sea traffic information and surveillance
*maritime research
*regulatory affairs of ship safety
 
==History==
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.