The International Hydrographic Bureau

Abstract

Established in the Principality of Monaco are two institutions of the highest stand? ing, oth intimately conne ted with the sea. They are the Oceanographical Museum and the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). The Oceanographical Museum was inaugurated by its founder, H.S.H. Prince Albert I of Monaco, on 29 March 1910 and an eloquent account of this most memorable occasion is given in the Geographical Journal oi May 1910 {Geogr. J. 35, 5 (1910) 558-62). The Opening Address delivered by the Prince is also given (pages 562-5) and, although written fifty-three years ago, its message is particularly important today. Prince Albert himself used these noble words to describe this monument to his life's work: 'Le Musee Oceanographique de Monaco semble t je l'ai donne comme une arche d'alliance aux savants de tous les pays'. This report, which complements the account given in the Geographical Journal referred to above, relates to the International Hydrographic Bureau established at Monaco in 1921 on the initiative of Prince Albert, who offered to provide accommoda? tion for this new agency. In tracing the origin of the International Hydrographic Bureau it is necessary however to go back much further than 1921. In was, in fact, in 1853 that, on the instigation of Lt.-Cdr. Maury, usn, an international conference was held at Brussels with sixteen maritime States participating, to establish a common plan for observation of winds and oceanic currents. In 1878, Mr. E. R. Knorr, chief draughtsman of Lt. John Rogers's Hydrographic Expedition to the North Pacific, proposed the creation of a permanent international board to serve as intermediary between the different hydrographic organizations. He detailed the areas requiring cooperation, including the introduction of the metric system. In 1889 an international maritime conference held in Washington rejected the plan for the formation of a permanent international maritime board. The XI International Congress on Naviga? tion at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1908, proposed an international conference consisting of seamen and engineers. This resulted in a conference at St. Petersburg in 1912 to which fifteen countries sent delegates. Monsieur J. Renaud, Ingenieur hydrographe en Chef, in his report on the 1912 Conference stressed how instructive it had been for delegates to examine in a group collections of charts from all countries and to criticize them in the presence of the hydrographic service which had prepared them. The delegates also received the impression that agreement could easily be reached on almost all points. After the First World War, during which the prevailing spirit of unity among the allied maritime services had vastly encouraged an increased consciousness of the need for greater understanding and cooperation, the hydrographic offices, especially those of Great Britain and France, decided that a close and permanent association between hydrographic offices was necessary. The hydrographic offices are governmental organizations set up by the majority of maritime nations, for the purpose of furnishing mariners with nautical charts and other documents necessary for the navigation of their territorial waters and the oceans of the world. The activities of these offices are thus essentially twofold: surveys at sea and along the coasts, and publication of nautical documents. Scientific studies in the fields of oceanography, photogrammetry, astronomy, geodesy, tides, magnetism, etc. are essential parts of these fundamental activities.