At the 9th International Hydrographic Conference in 1967 it was agreed to set up a Commission to study the constitution of an international set of charts, confining the study initially to charts on scale smaller than 1 in 1 million. This set should eventually enable all the members of the International Hydrographic Bureau (I.H.B.) to print in facsimile all such small-scale charts required for world-wide navigation in international waters. Among the factors which influenced this decision were:

(1) The duplication of charting which exists at present; as an example, six nations compile and publish a general chart of the Mediterranean, all with almost the same scale and limits.

(2) The large degree of standardization of chart symbols achieved by the work of the Bureau.

(3) The great and continuing increase in the work load of all the national hydrographic offices.