Routeing charts are published for the North and South Atlantic, Indian, and North and South Pacific Oceans. Each chart has twelve versions, one for each month, and assists the navigator to plan an ocean passage for any time of year by providing:
- An outline of the surrounding land areas and the positions of the major ports;
- The recognised shipping routes between major ports, with distances;
- Data on wind speed , direction and force
- Data on ocean currents.
- The limits of loadline zones and the locations of ocean weather
- Incidence of low visibility and frequency of storms.
- Data on sea and air temperature, air pressure and ice limit.