PRIMAR is a worldwide ENC service operated by the Norwegian Hydrographic Service (NHS) on a non-profit basis.
Its core aim is to provide the maritime community, through authorised distributors, with an ENC service recognised for its quality, user-friendliness and overall contribution to marine safety and efficiency at a global level.
The service incorporates the regional ENC coordinating centre (RENC), based on bilateral agreements with several nations as well as direct licence and distributor agreements with other hydrographic offices and distributors. The PRIMAR RENC is operated in accordance with the worldwide electronic navigational chart database (WEND) principles of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).
ENCs from PRIMAR meet IMO SOLAS charts and carriage requirements when kept up-to-date and used on type approved ECDIS with appropriate backup.
PRIMAR's ENC Service is delivered via an international network of authorized distributors
Tools are provided by the NHS to all member nations so that they can exchange data, in addition to online quality control mechanisms.
The PRIMAR RENC’s policy is determined by its member states.
The PRIMAR RENC also cooperates with other RENCs, such as IC-ENC in the UK. This collaboration covers standards and technical issues as well as on information distributed to the global shipping market.