News 31 Jul, 2014 Australia - Vessels Detained for Using Unofficial Charts Port State Control inspectors in Australia have detained a number of vessels after finding unofficial paper charts on board. In the most recent case the vessel had been using a scanned and printed copy of an official paper chart. Scanned and printed copies of official charts, photocopied charts and printed screen shots of electronic charts cannot be used for navigation due to possible distortion, errors in scaling, blurring, lack of clarity of chart data and colour differences.  Members are reminded to ensure that only the latest editions of official paper charts published by recognised hydrographic organisations, sourced from reputable chart suppliers and corrected up to date, are used on their vessels regardless of where they may be trading. Members requiring further guidance should contact the Loss Prevention department.