This edition comprises two articles and several notes of information. The first article from Bangladesh describes the operations of the Bangladesh Hydrographic Office and its Navy hydrographic surveyors in a challenging ocean environment.
The second article from Australia provides an update to the improvement initiative impacting the Australian Hydrographic Service technology, organisation and operating environment. This initiative was first described in the May 2016 IHR edition.
The International Centre for Electronic Navigation Charts (IC-ENC) has contributed a Note describing its operations and growth of an additional two offices to support its quality assurance and distribution operations.
In the General Information section, Gilles Bessero, IHO Director has submitted a brief paper on the importance of recognising the copyright issues around a database that is used to generate mapping products. The paper summarises the outcome of case law and its implications for electronic charting.
It is with much sadness to report the passing of Mr. Adam Kerr, past IHB Director and IHR Editor. This edition includes an obituary as well as a review of his recently published book. I first met Adam in 1990 when he attended an IHO technical meeting in Sydney. With my involvement in the S-57 technical standards WG during the 1990s, I was fortunate to get to know Adam quite well. It was an honour to take over the IHR Editor role from him in 2011. His enthusiasm and drive through the IHB contributed to the evolving standards and adoption of CDIS technology.
On behalf of the Editorial Board, I hope that this edition is of interest to you and may inspire you to submit a future paper on the work that you have done or are currently engaged in.
Thank you to the authors for your contributions and to my colleagues who provided peer reviews for the Articles in this edition.
Ian W. Halls
Editor