The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is located in Taunton, Somerset, with a workforce of approximately 900 staff.

Supplying defence and the commercial shipping industry, they help ensure Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), protect the marine environment and support the efficiency of global trade.

The Admiralty's first Hydrographer was Alexander Dalrymple,[2] appointed in 1795 on the order of King George III and the existing charts were brought together and catalogued.

[citation needed] Dalrymple was succeeded on his death in 1808 by Captain Thomas Hurd, under whose stewardship the department was given permission to sell charts to the public in 1821.

[4] In 1819, Captain Hurd entered into a bi-lateral agreement with Denmark to exchange charts and publications covering areas of mutual interest.

In 1828 Captain Parry and the Royal Society organised a scientific voyage to the South Atlantic, in collaboration with the Hydrographers of France and Spain, using HMS Chanticleer.

During his time as Hydrographer, he developed the eponymous Scale, saw the introduction of official tide tables in 1833 and instigated various surveys and expeditions.

[10] In the 1870s, the Royal Naval Surveying Service supported the Challenger expedition, a scientific exercise that made many discoveries, laying the foundation of oceanography.

Following the RMS Titanic in 1912, the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention was established, as well as the introduction of ice reporting and forecasting.

In the Second World War, while led by Vice-Admiral Sir John A. Edgell, chart printing moved to Creechbarrow House in Taunton in June 1941.

The UKHO continues to serve the Royal Navy as its prime customer by supplying hydrographic and geospatial data.

[16] In addition to traditional paper nautical charts and publications, the range has expanded to include a number of digital products and services.

It is part of the Ministry Of Defence, and operates as a trading fund, enabling it to be self-funding through sale of products and licensing of data.

The UKHO is committed to the Information Fair Traders Scheme[22] and makes available for reuse those data that are collected as part of its Public Task,[23] which do not include third party Intellectual Property Rights.