The main mission of the SHN is to provide safe navigation on national waters.

The service does so with the creation and maintenance of nautical charts, coastal marker buoys, and lighthouses.

In concordance with the International Maritime Organization regulations, the SHN is also the global coordinator for the NAVAREA VI zone, which covers the South West Atlantic Ocean region[1] and is responsible for issuing alerts to ships at sea and coordinating search and rescue operations.

By means of Decree 788/2007 it was transferred from the Argentine Navy field to the Ministry of Defense one.

As of 2010 the following Navy ships are assigned to it: In February 2015 CONICET acquired the RV Sonne.