NAVTOR has announced that it has signed up the Hurtigruten fleet for its ENC Service.

The company’s ENC service, launched in 2011 and said to be compatible with all makes of ECDIS, is distributed on a pre-loaded USB-based NavStick, allowing navigators to download global charts and licenses. An online synchronization feature ensures that the latest updates are available on demand.

According to Business and Communications Manager Willy Zeiler, Hurtigruten is combining two subscription options – Pay As You Sail (PAYS) and the standard subscription. He said: “As the ships largely sail set routes the standard model is most efficient, but with PAYS any chart is instantly available for planning and only charged when actually used. This means the vessels have the ability to go anywhere, anytime, should they need to.”

Prior to confirming the agreement, the NAVTOR system was run through a three-month trial aboard one of the ships.

The ENC Service is now in operation on the Nordkapp, Finnmarken and Fram, the latter is Hurtigruten’s cruise ‘expedition’ vessel, travelling to locations such as Greenland, Spitsbergen and Antarctica. The system will roll out across the rest of the fleet as their existing ENC provider subscriptions run out.