Technical and High-Level Visit Report to the Republic of Haiti

The delegation (James Rogers of the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Eric Langlois of the French SHOM and Paulo Pereira Oliveira Matos of the Brazilian Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation) met SEMANAH, the Ministère des Travaux Publics, Transports et Communications, the Autorité Portuaire Nationale, the Prime Minister, the Haitian Coast Guard and the Centre National de l'Information Géo-Spatiale. The report traces Haiti's relations with the IHO since its 2008 membership request, approved by two thirds of member states in 2012 but never completed because the letter of accession was not sent, and its hydrographic cooperation with Brazil, the United States and France. It lists the paper and electronic navigational charts, all produced by the United States as primary charting authority, and the training Haitian staff received from 2009 to 2016.

The team found that SEMANAH has trained hydrographers and a boat but no survey equipment, that no law designates an archive for hydrographic data, and that related work is split across ministries. It recommends that Haiti submit its letter of accession and fund the annual contribution of 8,000 euros, create a national hydrographic committee, pass a law naming a national archive for maritime geospatial data with central authorization of surveys, make SEMANAH the reference service for maritime geospatial information, build maritime safety information capacity, and plan joint survey operations with the Coast Guard.