The historical development of positioning in relation to the nautical chart is very briefly described. Present nautical charts are largely based on geodetic surveys which date from the 19th and early 20th century. This gave rise to the use of many local datums and there has been a need to provide the mariner with information to enable him to transfer his position from one chart to an adjacent one on a different datum. The sizes of discrepancies in position between various datums are given. The availability of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) datum enables positioning on a single worldwide datum to become a reality. The important factors affecting the adoption of WGS 84 as the datum for nautical charts, namely data availability and the practical and political considerations, are discussed. The importance of the proper consideration of datum in relation to new developments in the use of nautical charts is also mentioned.
