The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (or UKHO) is an organisation within the UK government responsible for providing navigational and other hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements. The UKHO is located in Taunton, Somerset on Admiralty Way and has a workforce of approximately 1000 staff.
The office is a Trading Fund of the Ministry of Defence and is directly responsible to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans. The current minister is Andrew Robathan, MP. The Chief Executive of the agency is Ian Moncrieff, BA, CBE who took over in October 2011 after the previous CE, Mike Robinson, left following five successful years at the head of the organisation. The agency is self-funding and its Trading Fund status allows protection of the copyright in its publications.
Rear-Admiral Nick Lambert is the current UK National Hydrographer and Deputy Chief Executive (Hydrography). He took up post in August 2010.
In December 2007 the UKHO announced a downsizing exercise codenamed 'project AMBER' aimed at reducing overheads by allowing large numbers of staff to leave under an early release arrangement. The UKHO launched the Admiralty Vector Chart Series in April 2008.
Read more about United Kingdom Hydrographic Office: History, Publications, Access To Data and Criticisms
Famous quotes containing the words united, kingdom and/or office:
“In the United States there’s a Puritan ethic and a mythology of success. He who is successful is good. In Latin countries, in Catholic countries, a successful person is a sinner.”
—Umberto Eco (b. 1932)
“Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)