ITALY’S NAVAL HYDROGRAPHIC INSTITUTE
IS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD
b y Captain F ran cesco R i b u f f o ,
D irector o f the H y d ro g ra p h ic Institu te
o f the Ita lia n N a vy
E x tr a cts f r o m an address given by the I t a li a n H y d ro g ra p h e r to the X X t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Congress on C om m u n ic a tio n s .
A t the tim e that the K in gd om o f Ita ly cam e into being the Ita lia n
G overnm ent w as led as a result o f the increasing volu m e o f its m erchant
shipping — and perhaps too by a legitim a te sense o f national p rid e — to
rem ed y the inadequacies o f its existin g chart p o rtfo lio both fo r its ow n
coasts and fo r the seas bordering the peninsula.
T h us it was that the Central S c ien tific O ffic e (U ffic io C entrale Scientific o ) was created in 1865 in L eg h o rn b y the N aval authorities w h o ch arged
it w ith the task o f p ro v id in g ships o f the N a v y w ith th eir nautical equ ipm ent,
o f g ivin g assistance in all possible w a y s to m arin ers in general, and o f
con trib u tin g to the progress o f in vestigation s in to n a viga tion al m atters.
It w as realised that direct in terven tion o f the State w as needed i f
the hu m an itarian aim o f ensuring sa fety fo r all seafarers and their cargoes
w as to be assured. T h e n ation ’s defence and the establishm ent o f closer
cooperation betw een all seamen, w h eth er naval or civilian , are also m atters
in w h ich the State has to be concerned.
O ne o f the first and m ost im p ortan t tasks dem anded o f the Central
S cientific O ffice w as the execution o f a h y d rog ra p h ic su rvey o f the n a tio n ’ s
coasts, w ith the requirem ent that “ it be o f a standard at least equal to
that o f the ve ry best surveys that other nations h ave carried out o f their
ow n coasts” . F o r this task, w ith in the Central O ffice itself, a H y d ro g ra p h ic
C om m ission sta ffe d by a sm all group o f N a v a l o ffic e rs and technicians w as
created. In order to conduct its h yd rogra p h ic cam paigns the C om m ission
could call upon a N aval unit equipped fo r inshore or deep sea sounding
w ork .
T h e S cien tific O ffice o f the F irst M a ritim e R eg ion served as the Chart
Depot. T h is o ffice , w hose seat w as in Genoa, w as responsible fo r both
the m eteorological and the m agnetic service as w ell as fo r the co m p ilin g
and dissem ination o f corrections to ch arts by m eans o f period ical issues
o f “ N otices to M a rin e rs ” .
by
kind
Headquarters
reproduced
Fici. 1.
(Photograph
of
the
Hydrographic
permission
of the
M a rit tim a ).
Institute.
Rinista
The
year
1872 saw
the d o s i n g
of
(lie
Central
S c ie n tific
O ffice
in
L e g h o r n . A t the end o f the sam e y e a r the S c ie n tific O f f i c e o f the First
M a r it im e R eg io n w as re n a m e d “ U f f i c i o Centrale I d r o g r a fic o della M a r i n a ”
(C e n tra l N a v a l H y d r o g r a p h ic O f f i c e ) , t a k in g o v e r the o ffic e s installed
in the old F o r t S. G io rgio , part o f the fo rtifie d ra m p a rts o f Genoa, and
d a tin g back to the 16th Centu ry.
A f t e r 1899 its n a m e w a s changed to
“ Istitu to Id r o g r a f i c o della M a r i n a ” , the title by w h ic h it is k n o w n today.
G. B. M A G N A G H I
T h e first to a ssu m e re s p o n s ib ility fo r the n ew office w as C o m m a n d e r
G io v a n n i Battista M a g n a g h i fr o m L o m e l l o ( P a v i a ) w h o w a s to be its
D ir e c t o r fo r 16 years.
H e soon m a d e his m a rk , b ein g co n s p icu ou s fo r his
e n e r g y and w i d e culture. T h e n am e o f M a g n a g h i is clo sely lin ked w ith
F i g . ‘2. — V ic e -A d m ira l M a g n a g h i, D irector o f the “ U fficio Id r o g r a fic o ” fro m
(O il pain tin g by A. P e llicc e tti in the possession o f the In stitu te).
1872-1888.
(P h otogra ph reproduced by kind perm ission o f the R iv is ta M a r it t im n ).
this n ew era o f Italian h y d ro g ra p h y w hose fath er he can be rig h tly said
to be. H e gathered around him both the finest engravers fo r the new
charts and the best constructors and repairers o f n avigation al and geodetic
instrum ents. Under M a g n a g h i the Institute was equipped w ith w orkshops,
and also w ith an astronom ic observatory. He was thus able to produce
charts o f the Ita lia n coasts w h ere su rveyin g had started in the U pper
A d ria tic as fa r back as 1865, w ell before the creation o f the H yd rograp h ic
Institute.
F ro m 1878 onw ards, M a g n a g h i personally directed at least 11 cam paigns
w ith the steam ship W a s h in g to n , executing surveys upon w h ich over 100
charts and 130 view s o f the coast w ere based, thus coverin g about threequ arters o f our seaboard. T h is cartographic achievem ent w as o f high
a rtistic and scientific qu ality, and could thus bear com parison w ith the
v e ry best contem porary charting.
T h e Institute w as at the sam e tim e ca rryin g out much w o rk in such
d ifferen t fields as astronom ic positioning, triangulation, topography, sound­
ings, tidal observations, m agn etic and m eteorological observations, etc.,
besides the drau gh tin g and p rin tin g o f charts, the repair o f instrum ents,
the pu blication o f N otices to M ariners — all tasks that the Institute is
called upon to undertake.
A lth o u gh the largest effo rt w as necessarily devoted to p rovid in g carto­
grap h ic coverage fo r all the n a tio n ’s coasts M a g n a g h i also determ in ed to
inaugu rate a regu lar p rog ra m m e o f oceanographic research. T h e first
problem he attacked w as the need to v e r ify the va lid ity o f an assertion
m ade by Dr. C a r p e n t i e r w ho, on the basis o f results o f research in the
M editerran ean w ith the P o rc u p in e in 1870, thought he could d ra w the
conclu sion that its pelagic depths — some hundreds o f fathom s or m ore —
w ere alm ost en tirely azoic in character and consequently anim al life could
not exist there.
It was in the yea r 1881 that M a g n a g h i undertook w hat was in fact
the fir s t tru ly Ita lia n ocean ograp h ic survey, fo r w h ich the W a sh in g to n
w as sp ecially fitte d out fo r oceanographic research and equ ipped w ith
instrum ents that he h im se lf had designed and arranged the construction.
F o r this survey he had as collab orator the scientist P ro fes so r Enrico
H i l l y e r G i g l i o l i . B y the end o f the cam paign its object had been d e fin itely
attained, since doubts about the existence o f anim al life at pelagic depths
in the seas around Ita ly w ere co m p letely dissipated.
T h e im portan ce o f his scientific results, together w ith the experience
gain ed both in in stru m en tation and in the conduct o f oceanographic ex­
peditions, led M a g n a g h i to pursue fu rth er research w o rk in the M ed iterra ­
nean, and he w as able to ob tain some outstanding results notably concerning
the study o f currents in the Straits o f G ibraltar, the D ardanelles and the
Bosphorus.
ACTIVITIES U P TO THE FIRST W ORLD W A R
M a g n a g h i ’ s rem arkable w o r k was continued by his successors w ith
the sam e determ in ation, and by 1895 — thus on ly 23 years a fter the Insti-
lute’ s fou ndation - - it could he said that Italian h y d r o g ra p h y had been
finally achieved fo r it had a set o f 229 charts, in clu ding those o f La k es
M a gg iore and Garda, to its credit.
F o r the period this w as an im p osin g achievem ent, hut m o re im p orta n t
lhan this, it enabled m ost o f the problem s o f navigational safety to be
resolved.
N o r was a c tiv ity confined m e re ly to the seas around Ita ly;
il extended also to the m a n y places in A fr ic a in w h ic h Ita ly had an
interest.
T h e first o f these surveys w as o f the B a y o f Assab w h ic h w as carried
out in the v e r y same y e a r that Ita ly established its first naval base there.
In 188(1 the S c illa su rveyed the re cen tly occupied district o f Massawa,
a su rvey that w as later extended to the su rrou n din g a rch ipela go and to the
coastal stl ip o f Eritrea.
I'm.
Topographic surveying in the Red Sea w ith the R oy a l Italian N a v y ’s Scilla
during the 1801-18!).') cam paign. Note that the Lieutenant is w earing a w h ite uniform
o f the model worn up to 11)()2.
(Photograph reproduced by kind perm ission o f the Hinistn M a rit tim a ).
T h e m ost im portan t ports o f Som aliland together w ith the principal
banks a lon g the Som ali coast w ere all surveyed between 1890 and 1903.
In the course o f the ensuing years and right up until 1914, the Red
Sea and the Indian Ocean w ere the scene o f intensive h yd rogra p h ic w ork,
leading to the production o f som e 30 or m ore charts.
F in a lly, some o f the m ost im portan t coastal regions o f L ib y a w ere
surveyed in the years that fo llo w e d 1911. H ith erto only very fe w charts
o f that region had existed, and these foreign and not very reliable.
A n oth er o f the H y d ro g ra p h ic Institu te’ s activities during the period
preceding the F irs t W o r ld W a r w as the d ra ftin g and publishing o f nautical
docum ents. T h e preparation o f Sailing D irections, those indispensable
com plem ents to nautical charts, advanced but slow ly at first, w ith the
result that even in 1900 the Ita lia n N avy w as using B ritish and French
publications. A ll that then existed in Italian was a pocket ed ition o f
“ Sailing D irection s fo r the M e d iterra n ea n ” com piled by Captain P r e s r i t e r o
w hich w as in fa ct m ain ly a precis o f fo reig n publications.
In 1904 publication w as started o f the first volum es o f w h at w ere to
becom e kn ow n as “ P o rtola n o delle coste d’ lt a lia ” (S ailin g D irection s for
Italian Coasts). B y the eve o f the F irst W o r ld W a r seven volu m es had
appeared, in w h ich all the coasts around Ita ly itself w ere described.
T h e L ist o f L ig h ts and the N au tical Ephem erides, those other pu bli­
cations o f w h ich the m arin er has need, w ere also published.
In addition to the strictly h yd rogra p h ic w ork referred to above it
should be stressed that m uch scien tific a ctivity was being pursued at the
same tim e. W e m ay m ention am ongst others the astro-geodetic determ i­
nations carried out in co llab oration w ith the Istitu to G eografico M ilitarc
(an Institute con tem p ora ry w ith our ow n ) fo r fix in g the fundam ental
points fo r the national geodetic n e t; gravim etric m easurem ents — am ong
them the celebrated G enoa-Potsdam connection achieved betw een 1904 and
1910; and fin ally the help given to the scien tific expeditions o f the period
w hich have rem ained m em orable in the annals o f our k n ow led ge o f the
Earth — such expeditions as the A laskan land and sea surveys under the
Duke o f A b ru zzi in 1897, the A rc tic Ocean E xpedition o f 1899, and those
to R u w en zori in 1906 and to K arakoru m in 1909.
ACTIVITIES BETW EEN THE TWO W ORLD W AR S
A fte r the fo rced in terru p tio n due to the first W o r ld W a r , activity
once again resum ed in fu ll force. A tten tion w as turned to com p letin g
the su rvey o f the coasts o f L ib y a as a result o f w h ich 23 origin a l charts o f
the area w ere published. T h e en tire coastlines o f E ritrea and Som aliland
w ere surveyed, and 41 charts o f the Red Sea w ere produced as w ell as 25
charts fo r Som aliland. E ven today, a fter so m an y years, these charts
F i»;. 4. — On tile bridge o f the Mag naghi during a hydrographic survey o f the G u lf o f Sirte.
(Photograph reproduced by kind perm ission o f the R iv ix ta M a rittim a ).
re m a in a m o st va lu a ble source o f in fo r m a t io n fo r these areas.
The Dode­
canese isla nds and seas w e re also su rv eyed and 23 charts com piled.
M e n t io n in g in passin g the su rveys to update the charts o f Italian
coasts, let m e end by r e fe r r i n g fo r a m o m e n t to the assistance giv en to the
a irsh ip Ita lia fo r its A r c t ic E x p e d it io n in 1928. N o t o n ly did this entail
aid in the w a y o f m en and m a terial but it also led to m uch scientific
a c t iv it y as evid enced by the su rv ey o f Spitzbergen anchorages, g r a v im e t r ic
m easurem ents, cu rren t m e as u rem e n ts at p o la r latitudes, and fin ally tidal
and m a g n etism studies — the f o r m e r c o n fir m in g N a n s e n ’ s theory on the
co n t in u ity and the depth o f the A rc t ic O cean and the latter p r o v id in g p r o o f
o f the v e r y close co rrela tio n betw een m a g n etic disturbances and the r a d io ­
t élég ra p h ie disturbances in the s h o r t w a v e band.
A m o n g s t oth er w o r k at this tim e w e should also m e n tio n the a stro ­
n om ic observation s fo r d e t e r m in in g d iffe re n c e s in lo n g itu de o f certain o f
the p r in cip a l tow n s in It a ly and o f M o g a d is c io ; the scientific ca m p aigns
in the B la ck Sea, the Sea o f M a rm a ra and the A e g e a n aboard the M a r s i l i ;
a study o f the tidal r e g im e in the seas b o rd e rin g Ita ly and in the Red
Sea; the creation o f a Service fo r p r o v id in g m e te o ro lo gica l in fo r m a tio n
the S erviz io M eteo M a rin a — ex ten d in g also to co lon ia l coasts, a service
that fu n ction ed up until 1961 w h e n it w as superseded by a w o r ld m e te o ­
rological service run a c c o rd in g to rules laid do w n by the W o r l d M eteo ro ­
logical O rg a n iza tion .
ACTIVITIES BETWEEN 1946 A N D THE PRESENT D A Y
A t the end o f the w a r resurveys o f all the coasts and seas o f Ita ly
w ere a necessity. T h e destructions caused by the war, the m any alterations,
w h eth er natural or artificial, and the new and m ore accurate inform ation
available, together w ith new dem ands o f navigation, all encouraged Ita ly
to undertake an im posing program m e o f updating surveys, a program m e
that even today is still in progress. W ith this in m ind the H ydrograp h ic
Institute decided to set up a new national geodetic net fo r its coasts — a
w o rk that has only recently been com pleted — on w hich m arine carto­
grap h y must depend. It also arranged to survey anew all Italian ports
and to system atically update surveys a fter the com pletion o f alterations;
and to undertake surveys o f the m an y sm all ports and approaches to ports
in order to m eet the ever-increasing needs o f pleasure c ra ft navigation.
System atic surveys o f all national w aters w ere also program m ed, starting
w ith the A d riatic, the T y rrh en ia n portion o f this survey program m e being
still in progress. Italian charts w ere to be m odernized w ith a view to
standardizing scale, fo rm a t and coverage (w ith this aim sets o f charts o f
v a ry in g scales — 1/100 000, 1/250 000, 1/750 000 — w ere established to
co ver all Italian coasts), and all nautical publications w ere re-edited and
m odernized in order that they should conform to all m aritim e navigational
requirem ents.
TASK
A lth o u g h lim ited strictly to the principal activities o f the Institute
d u rin g the first century o f its existence, this account has been a fa ir ly
len gth y one, and I fea r som ew hat dull. H ow ever it is m y hope that in
recou n tin g them I have ensured that everyone w ill understand the im p or­
tance o f the w ork that our H yd rograp h ic Institute must accom plish in order
to fu lfil its m ission. T h is task am ounts to cooperating in efforts tow ards
n a viga tion al safety at sea, to the grow th o f our kn ow ledge o f the oceans,
and to the effectiveness o f our co u n try’ s N avy. These are responsibilities
w ith w h ich the Institute has been entrusted by either the State (fo r the
Institute is the co u n try ’ s officia l cartographic service) or by the N avy
to m eet its own needs.
F in a lly, I m ay perhaps be a llow ed to outline the present activities
and capabilities o f our Institute, as w ell as to enum erate w hat we
consider constitute its principal problem s, for a solution must be found
fo r these problem s i f the m ission allotted to the H ydrograp h ic Institute is
to be accom plished.
PRODUCTION
T h e Institute em p loys a s ta ff o f 350. It produces and m aintains
con tin u ally up to date :
400 charts o f variou s types;
9 sets o f Sailin g D irection s fo r M editerran ean basins;
1 volu m e o f “ L is t o f L ig h t s ” fo r the M editerran ean;
2 volum es o f rad iosign als fo r the M editerran ean;
and in addition m ore than 50 other nautical or scien tific publications.
It also publishes a w eek ly edition o f N otices to M arin ers so that these
nautical publications m ay be con tin u a lly updated. In addition to this
w o rk fo r the m a rin er’ s benefit, the Institute studies, plans, distributes and
services all the n aviga tion al instrum ents w hich ships o f the N a v y must
carry, and it also carries out trials o f instrum ents w hen requ ested by private
firm s.
Sales o f nautical docum ents have increased en orm ou sly du rin g the
course o f the last 10 years, and from 40 000 charts and 11 000 pu blications
has n ow risen to about 100 000 charts and 33 000 publications.
A m o n g its other im p ortan t activities w e m ay m ention :
1.
N autical and oceanograp hic studies and research ca rried out jo in tly
w ith national, fo re ig n or civil scien tific organ ization s and institutes;
2.
Studies and research
national defence.
3.
A ctin g as consultants to public and private organ iza tion s on m atters
fa llin g w ith in the In stitu te’s province.
of
a technical
nature
on
m atters
concern ing
Th is w ill perhaps be the a pprop riate m om ent to m en tion the In stitu te’ s
activity in the field o f oceanographic research.
W h ile speaking o f M a g n a g h i w e em phasized that he m ade no distin ction
betw een the m ission o f the m arin er and that o f the scientist, and w e
recounted h ow w ith the W a s h in g to n he took up in Ita ly the scien tific
w o rk started tw o centuries ea rlier by Count L u ig i F erd in a n d o M a r s i l i
w h ich had later been neglected.
A fte r the last w ar astonishing strides w ere m ade th rou gh ou t the
w o rld in oceanographic research. N o lon ger is this research m erely a
m atter o f scien tific cu riosity, rather is it stim ulated tod a y b y concrete
needs and econom ic interests. T h e prin cip a l h yd rogra p h ic o ffic e s o f the
w o rld have as a result w id en ed their interests; they no lon ger co n fin e
them selves sim p ly to the restricted fie ld o f h y d rog ra p h y — d efin ed as
the study o f the sea consid ered as a n aviga tion al rou te — and now take
in the w h ole and much la rg e r fie ld o f ocean ograp h y w h ich can be described
as the study o f the m arin e en viron m en t, its natural ph enom ena and its
resources that are today so vita l fo r the su rvival o f the hu m an race.
Ita ly has not rem ained a stranger to this trend, and the H y d ro g ra p h ic
Institute — one o f the foreru n n ers in oceanographic science — has a lw ays
g iven every assistance, both in m en and m aterial, and has been able to
in itia te action regard in g research program m es, w hich in Ita ly are m ain ly
ca rried out by the C onsiglio N azionale delle Ricerche. T h is aid c h ie fly
consists in the production o f purpose-designed nautical charts w hich are
indispensable aids fo r all later investigations or scien tific research w o rk
and to any study o f the m arine en vironm en t from the physical and dynam ic
points o f view.
T h is oceanographic a ctivity is today both intense and continual and
is carried out in co llab oration w ith scientific organizations in Ita ly and
abroad. It w ill certa in ly be some years before the task is com pleted, and
in the fu tu re an effort w ill be required that is lik ely to increase as the
needs and interests o f both the nation and the w orld com m u n ity them selves
increase.
T h e H yd rograp h ic Institute has recently been deeply concerned, and
at levels, w ith the problem o f m arine pollution w h ich is fortu n ately now
attractin g w o rld w id e attention. Our Institute has m ade a concrete con­
trib u tion — in the fo rm o f studies and surveys — and has am ong other
efforts carried out tw o research cam paigns in the L ig u ria n Sea, the results
o f w h ich w e believe w ill constitute an invaluable basis fo r fin d in g a
solution to this problem .
OUR PROBLEMS
Headquarters.
T h e Institute w h ich one hundred years ago had been entrusted to
Captain M a g n a g h i had established its headquarters in the old F o rt S.
G iorgio dating fro m the 16th Century, but even at the tim e these prem ises
w ere considered on ly as its provision al home.
T h e visito r of today is surprised to find the Institute still housed in
such cram ped and outm oded quarters. It has seen its task pass through
m an y phases and its interests w iden, and although it has been able to
m odern ize its appointm ents and its production equ ipm ent it has not the
space to breathe, and this g rea tly ham pers its progress.
It is essential that a su fficie n tly large site be found fo r a new building,
although this w ill not be an easy m atter, and i f such a site cannot be
found near the w a terfro n t in Genoa itself then it w ill be necessary to search
fu rth er afield , though the N a v y trusts this m ay never be the case.
In any event, how ever, this problem is a pressing one, and a rational
solution consonent w ith present-day needs must be found.
Personnel.
In the course o f this account the accent has been on the expansion
o f the In stitu te’s a ctivities and its productions. Th is progress has been
achieved by the in trodu ction o f m odern m ethods and by the developm ent
and m odernization o f equipm ent. A t the present time, how ever, it is
certain that the personnel is in su fficien tly num erous fo r the w orkload,
and this situation w ill be aggravated in the future. F rom the point o f
view o f professional qu alification , there is also a need fo r refresh er courses
in order that the staff can adapt to m odern m ethods.
From copper en graving at the tim e o f M a g n a g h i we have m oved on
and are now drafting our charts on special m aterial using com puter
controlled autom atic flatbed plotters.
W e are at a stage o f continuous developm ent and this sorts ill w ith
the G overnm ent’ s rigid p o licy regarding personnel, w ith all the negative
consequences that this is lik ely to have.
Material.
T h e num erous surveys being carried out everyw h ere o f f Ita ly have
already been m entioned, as has the expansion o f activities associated w ith
oceanographic research. A fte r 25 years of effort, this survey w ork is
still fa r from being achieved, the reason being the high cost o f surveys and
the plethora o f means that have to be used. A year ago Ita ly ’ s sole
hydrographic vessel — the S ta ffetta — was “ re tire d ” on grounds o f age,
and now there rem ain on ly tw o small sweepers adapted to hydrographic/
oceanographic w ork. Th e assistance o f N ational Research C ouncil vessels
(w hich u nfortunately can only be occasional) cannot be considered as a
solution. So long as the H yd rograp h ic Institute lacks a sufficient num ber
of w ell-adapted ships it w ill run up against serious d ifficu lties i f it is to
m ove w ith the times. N atu rally, it is not a question o f com parison w ith
the U.S.A. w here 321 ships are em ployed on oceanographic w o rk , but even
when w e com pare ourselves to countries whose scientific and econom ic
im portance is less than our own such a com parison is not to our advantage.
Fortunately, w ork is about to begin in Genoa itself on the construction o f
a new vessel specially designed fo r hydrographic and oceanographic w ork ,
and it is to be hoped that it is not destined to rem ain the on ly one fo r
too long.
CONCLUSION — THE W A Y AH EAD
Enum erating the a ctivities carried on at the H ydrograp h ic Institute
it becomes obvious that these are not solely lim ited to w ork fo r the N avy.
Its principal custom er, in fact, is not — as is gen erally thought —
the M in istry o f D efence but rath er the M erchant N a v y w hich acquires most
o f the Institute’s product output.
T h e Institute’ s operational and scientific a ctivity in fa ct extends to
m any m atters on the national scale, in w hich such M inistries as those of
Research, Pu blic W o rk s, Education, Tou rism , Indu stry and Com m erce, the
“ P artecip azion i S ta ta li” , Posts and Telecom m u nications and the “ Cassa per
il M ezzogiorn o” are concerned.
T h e N a vy w h ich fro m the ve ry beginning has been responsible fo r the
our n ation’s h ydrogra p h ic o ffic e is m ore than w illin g to continue this
respon sibility to the State. H ow ever, w ith its present fin ancial means it is
not in a position to m eet this respon sibility adequately, and is u nlikely
even to be able to do so in the future.
T o our m ind, the role a h yd rograph ic office must play is an essentially
universal, continuous and dynam ic one. It seems to us at the H ydrograp h ic
Institute that i f pa rtia l or com plete disarm am ent should one day come
about it w ould be safe to say that the Institute w ould be one o f the fe w
organ izations not m erely to retain its functions but even to expand them,
p ro fitin g fro m a consequent increase in financial resources.
It appears to us that a m aritim e n ation’s im portan ce should be m easur­
ed not only by the num ber and the tonnage o f its m erch ant ships — and
ou r m erchant fleet is am ongst the first in the w orld — but also by its
h ydrogra p h ic and oceanographic fleet o f w ell designed ships able to con­
tribute efficien tly to an accurate kn ow ledge o f the seas. A ccord in gly, it
is not therefore su rprisin g that w e now feel it necessary to pass fro m a
cartograph y that is p u rely national to one that w ill at least em brace other
parts o f the M editerranean.