FreeNauticalChart: Who owns public data? - Interview with Adam Lucke

YACHT: What is FreeNauticalChart.net?

Adam Lucke: FreeNauticalChart was started as a hobby project because I was looking for freely available nautical charts. It started with a cruise in the Dutch Wadden Sea, where I was looking for current depth data and buoy positions. The Dutch put this data online in the form of electronic charts, which are freely available. They are updated weekly or fortnightly and are sometimes more up-to-date than what you can buy.

I then started to prepare it so that I could use it directly on the tablet. And at some point I thought: isn't there something similar for Germany? The BSH does indeed provide this nautical chart data in the GeoSeaPortal, including as vector data.

Then some other stuff has grown up around it - tidal information, the tidal stream atlas, which you can buy in paper form from the BSH. The underlying data set can be downloaded as open data. So I have also included it.

FreeNauticalChart gained popularity - then suddenly parts of the BSH data disappeared. What happened?

The BSH itself never spoke to me. I can only see that certain data was suddenly no longer available on the server or that access was no longer possible as before. I suspect that they misconfigured themselves at some point, meaning that the depth soundings, the individual soundings, were suddenly no longer available. Maybe they didn't want to publish it at all and it got in there by mistake. And then they realised and deactivated it again. However, other people I've been in contact with have said that this data was freely available years ago and was then removed again. I don't know exactly what happens internally.

What is suspected in the community: Card publishers exerting pressure on the BSH?

Yes, that is suspected. Publishers have to buy the data and now it is suddenly freely available. But you also have to differentiate: When someone officially buys data from the BSH, they are told that we guarantee that the data is up to date. What is on the open data server does not formally have this guarantee.

However, it is probably effectively the same data. If you make a random comparison - what is freely available on the BSH server and what is contained in official nautical charts or the corrections, the notices to mariners - then you realise that it appears to be the same. But there is no formal guarantee for this.

It is actually correct that you can then say: Okay, this is suitable for planning and so on, but not officially suitable for navigation.

However, the BSH then not only issued a warning, but even prohibited its use. 'Not suitable' became 'not permitted'. What does that mean?"

If you look at the passage, it doesn't mean that use is completely prohibited. Of course, I can still have a look, take the map and compare it with the paper map. And if I realise that everything matches in the area where I'm driving, then I can still use it.

And if this applies to the commercial products that I can buy - that it is not suitable for navigation at all, but merely an aid, and the open data map is also not suitable for navigation, but merely an aid: what's the difference?

And that's exactly what most sailors do with commercial apps, isn't it?

The crazy thing is that effectively everyone does it this way. They buy a map plotter or the app on the tablet that comes with the paper map and use it to navigate. That's how everyone navigates because it's simply convenient. You have the position, you can see where you are, you can set your waypoints and maybe get your data from the boat - depth sensor, wind data and so on. But the small print says: You're not allowed to. It's just an aid. The paper chart is decisive.

And then I ask myself: Why is all this fuss being made about the data having to be super correct and licensed by the BSH if it is all excluded anyway?

I think that's a huge discrepancy. The publishers aren't doing anything wrong on purpose, but they just want to earn money and want to be free of liability. And against this background, I think this whole argument that the data may not be secure or may contain errors is completely undermined.

The BSH's argument that the data as open data does not meet the quality criteria can be formally accepted. But effectively, what you ultimately buy is at the same level.

There are also positive examples of open data in Germany.

Yes, for example basemap.de. This shows how open data can be properly implemented. These are topographical maps of the whole of Germany. I remember 10 or 20 years ago, these maps were expensive to buy on CD-ROM. This has now changed to such an extent that they are completely openly accessible - not only the data as vector data, but even the map as a finished product.

You can include this map on your website, integrate it into print projects, use it commercially - everything is permitted under licence law. A village can put up an information board with a map of the surrounding area, a company can print a flyer with directions. Current map data, released under licence. Why is this possible there and not with nautical charts?

What role does commercial shipping play?

There is a distribution system via the International Hydrographic Organisation. They collect the charts and distribute them via a special distribution channel for commercial shipping. The data is digitally signed and encrypted, and each shipping company pays its own fees. This is to help finance the maintenance of the data and remeasurement of the seabed, so to speak. You could say: That's okay, because commercial shipping uses it.

But we finance the majority of it with our tax money. That's what the authority gets to do its job. Then they will probably say that part of the budget comes from the sale of this data. If that falls away, they'll be missing something in the budget. That may also be a means of exerting pressure on the publishers.

But that is exactly what EU legislation wants to prevent with open data. It's paid for with taxpayers' money, so you can't cash in on it again.

How does the Dutch data compare?

The data from the Dutch is a real advantage. If I now take an official nautical chart of the Wadden Sea, it is much coarser - there are far fewer depth contours and points marked, and the buoys are certainly no longer where they really are, in many places.

The updated map, which I can download digitally, has a higher level of detail. I've already seen this from my own experience: There are places where you say, do I fit through there or not? I couldn't see that on the official paper map, but with the digital map I can see that it was plotted a fortnight ago and it fits.

Of course, good seamanship always applies as a safety standard, so to speak. That means you have to use all the means at your disposal. Several charts, if you have them, experience, common sense, the depth gauge. This shifts the entire responsibility onto the skipper, so to speak - in terms of liability and timeliness.

Who else uses FreeNauticalChart?

The response from the community has been positive. They think it's great that you can use it. It's not just the maps - there's also some other information included, especially this tidal current atlas. That has also been well received.

There are also other projects that use the maps. For example, the Wattpadler app for sea kayakers - it integrates my maps. They can print out the map for the area they need, laminate it or print it on waterproof paper and stick it on the front of their kayak. If it gets wet or breaks, they simply print a new one next time. This is not possible with a purchased paper map.

This is also interesting for training. You can print out realistic practice maps for the exact area, scribble and draw on them and throw them away afterwards. I've also included map tools - you can draw bearings and power triangles directly on the map. You can use this in practice or on the screen for training purposes.

What are your next steps?

I'll just keep doing it. As long as nobody gets in touch with me - we'll see. The question is, of course, how the entire community or the sailors' representatives, for example the DSV, will react. They could get in touch with the BSH.

You could also submit an IFG request to the BSH - under the Freedom of Information Act - where they would then have to disclose: How did these decisions come about? How much money flows in, how much would be lost if licence holders no longer buy the data?

A federal authority is accountable to the general public. It is not a private company. Just as the federal budget is disclosed, it should be disclosed: What happens to the money? Where does how much go and who has an interest in what?

To the podcast:

• New podcast episode: FreeNauticalChart - How free is open data really?