Interior Minister Hsu Kuo-yung said on Wednesday that over 12,000 ships have used the government’s new nautical charts. The charts have already reached 260,000 downloads.
Taiwan’s interior ministry officially released the new nautical charts in 2019. Before then, most vessels used British and Chinese digital maps to navigate Taiwan’s waters. These maps were often slow and inaccurate, threatening users’ safety.
The ministry took three years to develop 68 new nautical charts covering all of Taiwan’s ports and waters. It also integrated data from the AVCS, a leading digital maritime service.
Minister Hsu hailed the new maps at a maritime industry forum. He said that they would protect maritime workers both at sea and in Taiwan’s ports.