The document discusses requirements for ECDIS and passage planning on ships over 3000 GRT engaged in international voyages. It must include at least one type-approved ECDIS unit using official ENCs, and a secondary means of navigation such as a second ECDIS or paper charts. The document also discusses requirements for company navigation procedures, familiarity with ECDIS and under keel clearance policies, and management of charts, publications, notices and warnings.
The document discusses requirements for ECDIS and passage planning on ships over 3000 GRT engaged in international voyages. It must include at least one type-approved ECDIS unit using official ENCs, and a secondary means of navigation such as a second ECDIS or paper charts. The document also discusses requirements for company navigation procedures, familiarity with ECDIS and under keel clearance policies, and management of charts, publications, notices and warnings.
The document discusses requirements for ECDIS and passage planning on ships over 3000 GRT engaged in international voyages. It must include at least one type-approved ECDIS unit using official ENCs, and a secondary means of navigation such as a second ECDIS or paper charts. The document also discusses requirements for company navigation procedures, familiarity with ECDIS and under keel clearance policies, and management of charts, publications, notices and warnings.
The document discusses requirements for ECDIS and passage planning on ships over 3000 GRT engaged in international voyages. It must include at least one type-approved ECDIS unit using official ENCs, and a secondary means of navigation such as a second ECDIS or paper charts. The document also discusses requirements for company navigation procedures, familiarity with ECDIS and under keel clearance policies, and management of charts, publications, notices and warnings.
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VIQ with regard to ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information
System (ECDIS) Tankers of 3,000 GRT and upwards engaged on international voyages shall be fitted with at least one Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). ECDIS must be “type approved” in accordance with IMO Res A.817 (19) as amended and use only official Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs). A secondary means of navigation must also be provided. The secondary means may comprise: - • A second “type approved” ECDIS with ENC’s and voyage plan loaded before commencement of the voyage and must be operational at all times when the ship is in coastal waters, or, • A full folio of paper charts that satisfies SOLAS carriage requirements, corrected to the latest available Notices to Mariners, covering the intended voyage and showing the intended voyage plan. 4.1: Are the deck officers’ familiar with the Company navigation procedures and instructions and are the Company navigation procedures comprehensive? • The ISM Code requires every Company to have an SMS which covers instructions and procedures to ensure safe operation of ships and protection of the environment. This should include practical guidance on navigational safety including: · Allocation of bridge watchkeeping duties and responsibilities; · Procedures for passage planning and navigation, including departures from the passage plan; · Chart and nautical publication update and correction procedures; · ECDIS procedures (including chart and software updates); · Procedures to ensure that all essential navigation equipment and main and auxiliary machinery are available and fully operational; · Ship position reporting procedures; · Accident and near miss reporting procedures; · Recording of relevant events and Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) policy; · Use of Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System (BNWAS) modes (automatic, on and off) and procedures for ensuring correct operation; · Bridge access and distraction prevention procedures; · Procedures for familiarization and effective handover when crew changes occur; · Training and drill requirements; · A system for identifying particular training needs; · Company contacts, including the Designated Person Ashore (DPA); · Emergency procedures; and · Any other information relevant to the safe operation of the ship. Procedures for ECDIS should, as a minimum address; • Safety parameters (contours, depths and safety frame) • Primary means of navigation for the vessel • T&P Notices, navtex and navarea warning management • ENC management and correction process including safety measures to avoid viruses • Contingency planning in the event of dual ECDIS failure. NOTE The following publications should be considered as part of the publication folio onboard and passage planning should follow the publication guidance:- • NP 231 Admiralty Guide to the Practical Use of ENC's; • NP 232 Admiralty Guide to ECDIS Implementation, Policy and Procedures; • NP 5012 Admiralty Guide to ENC Symbols Used in ECDIS An up to date copy of the operator's navigation policy and procedures must be available on the bridge and officers should demonstrate familiarity with them. If the policy is provided in electronic format only, a back-up independent means of power supply to the computer must be provided. It is expected that emergency procedures that include failure of key equipment are available in hard copy format. Masters standing orders should be provided to explain particular requirements to the Bridge Team. These orders should be drafted to support the SMS. Company and Masters' Standing Orders should be read by all Bridge Team members upon joining the ship, signed and dated. A copy of the orders should be available on the bridge for reference. In addition to Master's Standing Orders, specific instructions will be needed. At least at daily intervals, the Master should write in the bridge order book what is expected of the OOW for that period. These orders should be signed by each OOW when taking over a watch, to confirm that they have read, understood and will comply with the orders. Inspectors should verify the OOW understanding of these orders. 4.5: Are the deck officers’ familiar with the operators Under Keel Clearance policy, able to demonstrate satisfactory UKC calculations for the last voyage and is the policy comprehensive? • The operator's policy relating to underkeel clearance should be included as part of the Master/Pilot exchange in the form of a written underkeel calculation. The policy must provide a minimum allowed under keel clearance for both coastal, river navigation, while alongside and guidance on the action to be taken in shallow water to ensure the minimum clearance is maintained. • Under keel clearance can be affected by several factors and the underkeel calculations should include, but not necessarily be limited to; - The predicted height of the tide; - Changes in the predicted tidal height, which are caused by wind speed and direction and high or low barometric pressure; - Nature and stability of the bottom - i.e. sand waves, siltation etc.; - Accuracy of hydrographic data, (References to reliability is often included on charts or in the form of CATZOC on ENC's)* ; - Change of water density and the increase in draught due to fresh water allowance; - The vessel's size and handling characteristics and increase in draught due to heel; - Wave response allowance, which is the vertical displacement of the hull due to heave, roll and pitch motions; - The reliability of draft observations and calculations, including estimates of hogging and sagging; - Reduced depths over pipelines and other obstructions. *consideration of the CATZOC should be captured within the UKC calculation or policy. • Once the available under keel clearance has been calculated taking into account all the applicable factors, including those above, it can then be determined whether any speed reduction is required to counter the effects of squat. Any reduction in speed should be made only after taking into account the resulting effect on maneuverability of the vessel especially if the passage involves passing navigational hazards at close proximity or critical course alterations in restricted waters. Squat information relevant to the vessel for both loaded and ballast passages should be readily available on the bridge. • Where there is doubt that sufficient clearance can be maintained during any part of the voyage, the master must: - Inform the operator at the earliest opportunity; - If within port limits, obtain the latest sounding information, including the nature of the bottom, directly from the local authorities or terminal well before arrival. Should this not be available, the master should request guidance from the operator; - If alongside, vacate the berth if in any doubt about the risk of grounding. It should be recognised that occasionally smaller vessels 'take the ground' - i.e. sit on the bottom - at some ports. This may even be to the extent that the berth dries out completely. • In such circumstances considerable reliance is placed on previous experience, as often there is no other information available to ensure that the berth is safe. In such circumstances, documentary evidence should be sought to demonstrate that the operator is aware that the vessel takes the ground at these particular ports and that the situation has been fully assessed, including the effects of stress and stability and the nature and level of the bottom. Adequate procedures should be in place for maintaining services such as firefighting and engine cooling water. • Inspectors should take time to verify the UKC calculations have been correctly calculated for the critical stages of the route. • Record in Comments, the operator’s policy relating to under keel clearance requirements for ocean passage, shallow water, within port limits and while alongside the berth or at SBM/CBM mooring. 4.12: Is there an effective Chart and Publication (Paper and Electronic) Management System in place and are the deck officer’s familiar with the process including the effective management of T and P notices? • A management system should record the charts, publications and licences/permits carried, and also when the charts and other publications were last corrected. (5th edition BPG 4.12.1) • Publications in electronic format may be accepted by certain flag Administrations and should be indicated where approved in lieu of paper publications on SEC Form E including backup arrangement. • One shortcoming of ECDIS is that it does not very effectively draw attention to temporary and preliminary (T&P) updates within ENCs. It is also a fact that not all Hydrographic Offices include T&P information in their ENCs. The UKHO has also recognized that the lack of consistent, worldwide, T&P information is a significant problem for mariners and, as an interim measure, is including all Admiralty T&P NMs in its ‘Admiralty Information Overlay’. This allows the limits of the T&P NMs to be displayed as an overlay to ENCs in the Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) by compatible display systems. Other ECDIS manufacturers and ENC suppliers may have their own similar system. Inspectors should verify the system installed to ensure relevant notices are effectively managed. 4.13 : Are deck officers aware of the requirements for managing Navtex and Navarea Warnings and is there evidence of an effective system in place to monitor these warnings? • Navtex warnings should be monitored by the officer on watch at the time of receipt. He should ensure that the system is maintained by initialling the warnings received to show that they have been checked as to whether they are relevant to the current voyage. Those which are relevant should be charted. • Some ECDIS systems permit Navtex messages to be automatically input onto the ECDIS and displayed automatically. Inspectors should establish the procedure onboard each vessel to ensure relevant messages are captured on the ENC's as an overlay either automatically or by manual input. Where manual input to the ECDIS is necessary, there should be an effective means in place to remove expired messages. The navtex and ECDIS should be checked to ensure that the correct station(s) and message type(s) are entered. • Navigation warnings maybe received through EGC, navtex messages or the weekly NTM's. Warnings received through other means such as Chartco should be verified with the official source data. The availability of Navigational Warnings on the web does not relieve Masters / Captains of the requirement to receive Navigational Warnings via IMO/IHO approved broadcast systems, as websites are not continuously updated and not necessarily monitored for correctness. (IHO) 4.14: Are Master and deck officers familiar with the operation of the ECDIS system fitted on board? • The Master and deck officers should be familiar with the operation of the ECDIS. Master and deck officers should be able to demonstrate the operation of the ECDIS including, but not limited to:- • Creating and uploading passage plans • Recalling previous voyages • Route checking and management of alarms • Plotting manual fixes ( visual bearing and radar range) • Creating parallel index lines Cont…. • Setting safety depths and safety contours as appropriate to the draught of the vessel • Setting of Safety frame/safety cone • Ensuring system is updated to the latest corrections. • AIS and or Radar overlay if fitted • Understanding of limitations of operating in RCDS mode • Knowledge of SCAMIN and how it is displayed • Knowledge of CATZOCs • Familiarity of deck officers with contingency action in case of ECDIS failure. Cont…. • The above list is not exhaustive and the inspector can ask other features to be demonstrated in order assess knowledge of the system. Further guidance to the operation of ECDIS can be found in MSC.1/Circ 1503 “ECDIS – Guidance for Good Practice”. • The ECDIS must be updated to the latest version of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) standards, the list of current standards is maintained on the IHO web site www.iho.int . Changes to the IHO S-52 Presentation Library introduced in edition 4.0 which is mandatory on all ECDIS from 01 Sep 2017. The IHO may make further changes as necessary. 4.15: Is the master and deck officers’ familiar with the safety parameter settings for the ECDIS and have the safety settings been correctly applied for the vessels passage? • Safety parameters should be well understood, clearly defined within the Company SMS and correctly applied, with due consideration for the vessels position, charted depth and surrounding navigable waters/ hazards. Hence, during the voyage there are likely to be several changes to the safety parameters that must be clearly identified in the passage plan. • The value of the safety contour should be calculated during the planning phase and entered by the OOW. The Safety Contour marks the division between "safe‟ and "unsafe‟ water. When the safety contour is not displayed to the specified value set by the navigator, then the safety contour is shown to the next deepest contour as per the default layers in the electronic charts. During route planning, an indication will be made if the route is planned to cross the ship’s safety contour. At the time of route monitoring, ECDIS should give an alarm if, within a specified time set by the navigator, own ship is likely to cross the safety contour. • The Safety Depth highlights individual soundings in bold that would appear where the sounding is less than the level set on the safety depth alarm. This is generally set the same as the safety contour. Safety Frame or Safety Cone is equally as important as the Safety Contour, as this will provide early indication of the vessel running into danger or approaching an area of concern. Equally, if the safety frame is set too large then the ECDIS is likely to provide alarm overload with the result that an essential alarm may possibly be ignored. 4.17: Are the master and deck officers aware of the requirements of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) and does the system fitted meet SOLAS and flag state requirements? ECDIS must be “type approved” in accordance with IMO Res A.817 (19) as amended and use only official Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs). For vessels greater than 3000gt a secondary means of navigation must also be provided. The secondary means may comprise: • A second “type approved” ECDIS with ENC’s and voyage plan loaded before commencement of the voyage and must be operational at all times when the ship is in coastal waters, or • A full folio of paper charts that satisfies SOLAS carriage requirements, corrected to the latest available Notices to Mariners, covering the intended voyage and showing the intended voyage plan. • Record of Equipment for Cargo Ship Safety (Form E) attached to the Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate will state if ECDIS is fitted and the method of back-up (either another ECDIS or paper charts). The ‘Record of Approved Cargo Ship Safety Equipment’ will provide additional information of systems provided and should be maintained up to date. (MSC.1/Circ.1496) The Company SMS must clearly state what is the primary means of navigation regardless of Safety Equipment Certificate Form E (or Safety Certificate Form C) • Frequent checks should be made of the ECDIS position fixing system (normally GPS) by the use of other means. Such checks should include: - Parallel indexing and use of clearing bearings; - Use of radar to check the accuracy of the charted position by comparing the location of the radar target against the charted symbol, including the use of radar overlay if fitted. - Visual cross bearings; • ECDIS should store and be able to reproduce certain minimum elements required to reconstruct the navigation and verify the official database used during the previous 12 hours. The following data shall be recorded at one-minute intervals: .1 to ensure a record of own ship's past track: time, position, heading, and speed; and .2 to ensure a record of official data used: ENC source, edition, date, cell and update history. In addition, ECDIS should record the complete track for the entire voyage, with time marks at intervals not exceeding 4 hours. ECDIS should be connected to systems providing continuous position-fixing, heading and speed information. (Res A.817(19)12.2) • As long as the ECDIS meets the minimum performance standard, then observations should NOT be made even if the ECDIS cannot perform other features that maybe be additional to some ECDIS e.g. radar overlay, navtex connection etc. • Changes to the IHO S-52 Presentation Library introduced in edition 4.0 which is mandatory on all ECDIS from 01 Sep 2017 invalidated the previous test required in IHO ECDIS Data Presentation and Performance Checks which were specifically designed and developed for ECDIS using the IHO S- 52 Presentation Library edition 3.4 or earlier. • The ECDIS must be updated to the latest version of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) standards, the list of current standards is maintained on the IHO web site www.iho.int . 4.19: Is the master and deck officers aware of the requirements for the echo sounder and is there evidence that it has been in use as appropriate during the voyage?
• The echo sounder should always be used when
making a landfall and kept switched on in coastal and pilotage waters. If the echo sounder is fitted with a shallow water alarm, the alarm should be set to an appropriate safe depth to warn of approaching shallow water. • The date and time of switching on should be marked on the recorder chart where provided. In addition, the date and time of passing significant land or seamarks should be marked on the recorder. Many modern electronic echo sounders have an in-built 24-hour memory which can be recalled in lieu of paper trace. If an electronic memory is not provided, the echo sounder should be provided with a printed record. It is acceptable evidence for the echo sounder history to be noted from the ECDIS data. Where an electronic display history is provided to record trending and a VDR to record times, a 'Y' response should be made, together with a short explanation in Comments. 4.20: Was a comprehensive passage plan available for the previous voyage and did it cover the full voyage from berth to berth? • Prior to proceeding to sea, the Master shall ensure that the intended voyage has been planned using appropriate charts and publications for the area concerned.(SOLAS V/34 and IMO Res. A.893) • Notes: The passage plan should be completed by the navigating officer and verified and approved by the Master. It should be comprehensive, contain full details of the voyage and be easy to interpret. • Passage planning should follow the publication guidance; • NP 231 Admiralty Guide to the Practical Use of ENC's; • NP 232 Admiralty Guide to ECDIS Implementation, Policy and Procedures; Cont…. The passage plan should be written on each applicable chart, which may be supported by a conning notebook, or equivalent. Excessive information in the navigational areas of a chart must be avoided by recording the information away from the track and drawing attention to it by a line or reference letter. The following should be marked on the chart, where it enhances safe navigation: • Parallel indexing (not from floating objects unless they have been first checked for position); • Chart changes; • Methods and frequency of position fixing and/or position verification; • Prominent navigation and radar marks; No-go areas (the excessive marking of no-go areas should be discouraged) • Landfall targets and lights; • Clearing lines and bearings; • Transits, heading marks and leading lines; • Significant tides or current; • Safe speed and necessary speed alterations; • Changes in machinery status; • Minimum under keel clearance; • Positions where the echo sounder should be activated; • Crossing and high-density traffic areas; • Safe distance off; • Anchor clearance; • Contingency plans; • Abort positions; • VTS and reporting points, etc. • Air draft when passing under bridges/power lines/cable cars etc. • In the event that ECDIS is the primary means of navigation, the above should be taken into account. • Charted passage planning information should not obscure printed details, nor should the information on charts be obliterated by the use of highlight or felt-tip pen, red pencil, etc. • No-go areas should be highlighted but should be reserved for those areas where the attention of the navigator needs to be drawn to a danger such as shallow water or a wreck close to the course line. Extensive use of no-go areas should be discouraged. No-go areas vary with change of draft and tide and will therefore also vary with the time of passage. They should not therefore be permanently marked. • All courses previous to the last voyage should have been erased. Course lines must not be marked in ink, although it is acceptable to plot alter course positions in ink where these are frequently in use. • If the vessel is ECDIS compliant and has one ECDIS and paper charts, either is designated as the primary means of navigation and the other the back up. If the back-up is ECDIS it must be loaded with relevant official charts and the voyage plan before commencement of the voyage. Similarly, if paper charts are being used as the back-up, they must be readily available, and the voyage plan must be indicated on the charts. The back-up arrangement must be ready for immediate use, particularly when in confined waters.