🎙️Exclusive Interview: RADM Luigi Sinapi, Director of IHO #ihohydrography.
- M Abti
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
Exclusive interview with Rear Admiral Luigi Sinapi, Director of the International Hydrographic Organisation – IHO.
🗣️ Hydrography as a cornerstone of Safe Navigation, Sustainable Ocean Management, Marine Spatial Planning and Marine Knowledge.
BIOGRAPHY
Counting on a solid and long-lasting career in the Navy sector at the international level with focus on Hydrography, Rear Admiral Luigi Sinapi was appointed on the 1st September 2020 as the Director of the International Hydrographic Organisation – IHO. Thus, he has been coordinating the IHO’s program for six years. After joining the Naval Academy in Livorno in 1985, RADM Sinapi has held numerous responsible roles, notably, he acted as Commanding Officer of the MIRTO Survey Vessel, Commanding Officer of Frigate ZEFFIRO, Commanding Officer of Destroyer DURAND DE LA PENNE, Head of the Financial Planning, the Operations and Logistics Departments of the Italian Navy General Staff. From October 2015 to July 2020, he was acknowledged as the Director of the Italian Hydrographic Institute, national Hydrographer of Italy.
Based on his knowledge in Physics, Navigation and Maritime Science, International Diplomacy, Marine Geomatics, Hydrography, International and Military Strategies, he also dedicated himself to teaching hydrography and geodesy at the Parthenope University in Naples, from 2001 to 2004. He has also lectured in various prestigious Italian Universities, notably: the Politecnico of Turin, the Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna, the University of Messina, the University of Pavia, the Milano Bicocca University, to name a few. Moreover, he has published a number of essays within national and international journals and reviews.
RADM Sinapi was awarded numerous honours throughout his career, including: the Commemorative Medal for the 11th Italian Expedition to Antarctica, the NATO Medals for the former State of Yugoslavia and Kosovo Operations, and appointed as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
MONACŒCOART® was honoured to collect the meaningful feedback by Rear Admiral Luigi Sinapi on the occasion of an exclusive interview, where he pointed out the crucial role of Hydrography in developing an increasingly comprehensive knowledge of the ocean floor to enable sustainable use of marine resources and ensure valuable interstate cooperation and governance.
ℹ️ International Hydrographic Organisation: IHO Official Website
🔸QUESTIONS =
🗣️Taking a summary of 2025, what are the greatest achievements reached through the work of IHO to put in your top three, as the Director of IHO since 2020?
🖱️👆CLICK HERE
🗣️ Will the entry into force of the Treaty affect the activity of the IHO? If yes, in what terms and to what extent? 🖱️👆CLICK HERE
🗣️ How do you see the evolution of Hydrography during the upcoming year? Does the International Hydrographic Organisation envisage new projects to promote a Sustainable Ocean Management?🖱️👆CLICK HERE
🎙INTERVIEW
MONACŒCOART®: The Blue Economy and Finance Forum - BEFF, held at the Grimaldi Forum on the 7th and the 8th June 2025, as integral part of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), actively contributed to the transition towards new regenerate economic models, with the concrete allocation of €8.7 billion.
There are various interventions identified, notably: shipping and port decarbonisation, marine ecosystem restoration, offshore energy sources, and biotechnology. Can you list three strong points that are generating beneficial effects, almost six months after BEFF conclusion?
🗣️ RADM Luigi Sinapi : As IHO Director, looking back over 2025, I would highlight three stand‑out achievements that helped strengthen the role of Hydrography in Sustainable Ocean Stewardship.
First, I refer to the accelerated implementation of the S‑100 framework and its application profiles. It is about an interoperable bathymetric datasets and specialist guidance to support marine spatial planning and area‑based management measures under the High Seas Treaty. Throughout 2025, we saw a significant expansion of operational S‑100 products across hydrographic offices and marine stakeholders, improving interoperability while enabling more effective use of hydrographic data in maritime planning, environmental assessments and emergency response. This digital shift is making hydrographic information more accessible, machine readable and directly applicable to policymaking.
Secondly, I consider very important to underline an intensified international cooperation on seabed mapping, a particularly deeper collaboration with GEBCO/Seabed 2030 (Editor’s note: Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between GEBCO - General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans - and The Nippon Foundation to facilitate a comprehensive mapping of the global ocean floor by 2030), and an expansion of capacity‑building programmes for developing coastal states. These efforts materially increased the global coverage of high‑quality bathymetry, filling critical data gaps needed for conservation planning, climate resilience modelling and safe navigation.
Thirdly, the IHO has increased its stake in high‑level policy summits. In particular, we provided authoritative hydrographic science standards and best practices to inform marine spatial planning, the designation and management of Marine Protected Areas, and coordinated responses to marine hazards and climate impacts. By integrating technical evidence into political discussions at venues such as UNOC3 (Editor’s note: United Nations Ocean Conference, held in Nice from 9th to 13th June 2025) and regional summits, the IHO helped bridge science and policy to advance Ocean Protection objectives.
MONACŒCOART®: After reaching sixty ratifications in late 2025, the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement) is about to enter into force on January the 17th, 2026. The goal of regulating international marine spaces is considered a very important step, or rather a real epochal achievement, able to accelerate the so-called “30x30” goal under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to halt biodiversity loss, combat climate change, and secure vital ecosystem services. Do you agree on this line? Will the entry into force of the Treaty affect the activity of the IHO? If yes, in what terms and to what extent?
🗣️ RADM Luigi Sinapi: I fully agree with your statement.
The BBNJ Agreement entering into force is an epochal moment for Global Ocean Governance and will provide fresh momentum toward the 30x30 targets of the Kunming‑Montreal Framework. For the IHO, this development complements our mandate rather than replaces it.
Effective implementation of the BBNJ will depend on accurate, standardised hydrographic and seabed data to delimit areas, evaluate baseline conditions, monitor human impacts and assess conservation outcomes over time.
Practically, we provided an increased demand for S‑100 products.
The IHO’s role will include supplying technical standards and data models, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration with environmental and legal organisations. It allows to scale up targeted capacity‑building to help states meet new obligations.
In short, the BBNJ will enhance and broaden the importance of IHO’s data services, standards and training, including coordinated efforts in the Principality of Monaco and its international partners It will then expand our advisory and operational engagement in support of treaty implementation.
MONACŒCOART®: Hydrography has evolved over time introducing advanced technological devices like Sonar, Lidar, AI, and Data Standardisation (S-100), as well as Digital Ocean Mapping equipped with satellites, drones, and autonomous vessels. How do you see the evolution of Hydrography during the upcoming year? Does the International Hydrographic Organisation envisage new projects to promote a Sustainable Ocean Management?
🗣️ RADM Luigi Sinap: Over the coming year, I expect Hydrography to accelerate its technological convergence, combining autonomous platforms (AUVs and USVs*), advanced multibeam sonar**, high‑resolution coastal LiDAR***, satellite remote sensing and AI‑driven processing pipelines to produce faster, richer and more cost‑effective ocean maps.
We will also see more regulated crowdsourced bathymetry initiatives, supported by quality control protocols and S‑100‑compatible workflows. The IHO will continue to champion S‑100 as the global digital framework for interoperable marine data, while developing new application profiles (including targeted profiles for Marine Protected Area management and environmental monitoring), and expanding user‑friendly data‑sharing platforms.
Additionally, IHO aims to scale up the development of hydrographic capacities and technical assistance, particularly addressed to small island and developing states, and to foster cross‑sector partnerships, combining hydrographic data into Climate Adaptation, Biodiversity Protection and Blue Economy planning. Our overarching goal remains unchanged: to ensure reliable, open and standardised hydrographic information to support safe navigation, effective ocean protection and equitable access to marine knowledge for all stakeholders. ***
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FOOTNOTES
*AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) and USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles) are transforming hydrographic surveys by providing efficient, high-resolution mapping of seabed, shorelines, and water columns without the need for crew on board.
** The Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) is an advanced sonar for 3D high-resolution bathymetric mapping of the seabed.
*** Bathymetric LiDAR is an airborne laser technique to capture geospatial data of the coastline and shallow waters, facilitating efficient and fast creation of hydrographic data.
✒️ Maurice Abbati
Strategic Communication Specialist, Editor in Chief, Journalist, Executive.
Lecturer and Author in English in the field of Environmental Communication to foster Circular and Blue Economy.
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