Navigation: Is the BSH pulling the emergency brake on Freenauticalchart? Point soundings have disappeared from the data

On 7 March 2026 - five days after the YACHT article via the free online nautical chart - Adam Lucke noted in the sailing forum that the point soundings had disappeared from the BSH data. At first glance, the temporal connection seemed conspicuous. But the background is more nuanced: the soundings were probably never officially released as open data.

Lucky coincidence or configuration error?

"These point soundings were available years ago, but then not for a long time," explains Lucke. "But I was able to find them in the data around the middle of 2025. They weren't directly recognisable as such, but they were there." Lucke interprets the situation soberly: "I assume that it was a configuration error on the server at the BSH, a lucky coincidence. The BSH has now become aware of this and has rectified it."

In other words, the point soundings - those small depth numbers that appear between the contour lines on classic nautical charts - had probably never been deliberately made available as open data. Lucke was nevertheless able to extract them and display them on his map. Now they have disappeared again, presumably because the BSH noticed the server error and corrected it.

No communication from BSH

The BSH never contacted Lucke, neither after the YACHT article nor regarding his enquiry from 2023, when Lucke asked the BSH whether he was allowed to use the data for OpenStreetMap. To date, there has been no definitive answer. "So I can only make assumptions about all of this," says Lucke. The lack of communication makes it difficult to clarify the legal situation and leaves open source projects in the dark.

The Open Boat Projects project, which is also in favour of free nautical charts, has now asked the BSH for an official statement. YACHT has also enquired with the BSH, but has yet to receive an answer.

Contour lines remain current - limited loss of quality

Important for the users of Freenauticalchart.netThe depth contour lines remain available and up-to-date. Only the point soundings are affected - those individual depth figures between the contour lines that provide additional orientation but are not essential for route planning. The loss of quality is therefore significantly less than initially feared. The free online nautical chart retains its weekly updated depth contour lines, buoys, lights and all other navigation-relevant information. Only the additional point information is missing. Lucke works with alternative bathymetry data, which is, however, coarser and less up-to-date.

Fundamental question: What is open data?

The situation raises fundamental questions about open data policy. If data was inadvertently available and successfully used for non-profit purposes, shouldn't it be officially released? Point soundings in particular, which are publicly visible on printed BSH nautical charts, could be made available as open data without security concerns.

Other European countries such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia make their nautical chart data largely freely available. Germany is lagging behind here. The reason for this is probably less to do with security concerns than with consideration for commercial nautical chart providers who earn money with the same data.

Community hopes for clarification

In the sailing forum, some users reacted to the news with irritation and others with understanding. Many had prepared themselves for the free alternative, but also realise that the most important navigation information will remain available. The community is hoping for an official statement from the BSH to clarify the data policy.

More on the topic:

• Freenauticalchart: The open source revolution for nautical charts
• Cruise planning: online portal Skippo with free nautical charts for Scandinavia
• Apps for sailing: The 20 best apps for sailors
• Navigation: The future of nautical charts - only plotters instead of paper?
• Classic navigation - this is how it works: