Navigation VII
Navigation VII
Navigation VII
Function:
Competence:
4. restricted visibility
5. traffic separation schemes
6. vessel traffic service (VTS) areas
7. areas of extensive tidal effects
Voyage planning
The purpose of voyage planning is to adequately prepare for a voyage,
provide the necessary support to the bridge team and aim to establish
the most favorable route while maintaining appropriate margins of
safety and safe passing distances..
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Voyage Planning
All navigators must be briefed regarding the proposed navigation
throughout the voyage berth to berth. The voyage plan should be in
compliance with all statutory requirements and the practice of good
seamanship.
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Voyage Planning
Principles of passage planning
Voyage Planning
Appraisal
Before planning can commence, the charts, publications and other
information suitable for the voyage will need to be gathered and studied
to ensure they are appropriate.. Make sure that only approved official
charts and publications are used.
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Appraisal of all information relevant to the voyage, including information
from:
• Routeing Charts are essential for use in
Routieng Chart
passage planning for ocean voyages. They
include routes and distances between
major ports, ocean currents, ice limits,
load lines and wind roses, with expected
meteorological and oceanographic
conditions for each month of the year.
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Voyage Planning
• Ocean Passages of the world - Information of ocean routes
applicable to power and sailing vessels with distances between
ports and important positions. Details of weather, currents and
ice hazards, route diagrams and effects of climate, wave heights
and load line zones.
Voyage Planning
Appraisal
Admiralty Total Tide - gives comprehensive tidal
prediction program provides fast, accurate tidal height
and tidal stream predictions.
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• Sailing Directions - include detailed coastal and
port approach information, using the largest
scale chart of the area. Publications contains
information about the coastal weather, currents,
ice, dangers, features, ports, and key to the
charts available for the area.
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• Pilot Charts - depict averages in prevailing winds and currents, air and
sea temperatures, wave heights, ice limits, visibility, barometric pressure,
and weather conditions at different times of the year.
• List of lights is a publication describing lighthouses and other aids to
maritime navigation. Most such lists are published by
national hydrographic offices.
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• Notices to Mariners
A notice to mariners of important
matters affecting navigational safety,
including new hydrographic information,
changes and aids to navigation, and other
important data.
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• Navigational Warnings - are issued regularly and contain information
about persons in distress, or objects and events that pose an
immediate hazard to navigation. The four types of Navigational
Warnings - NAVAREA IV, HYDROLANT, NAVAREA XII, and HYDROPAC -
are categorized by their location.
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Voyage Planning
Planning
The voyage plan should incorporate the following details:
• Safe speed having regard to the maneuvering characteristics of the ship and,
in ships restricted by draft, due allowance for reduction of draft due to squat
and heel effect when turning.
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Voyage Planning
• Course alteration points with wheel over positions - where appropriate, on
• Planned track to make good, showing the true course of each leg.
• large scale charts taking into account the ships turning radius at the planned
• Maximum allowed off track margins for each leg with suitable parallel index
lines and navigational reference mark.
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• Port of departure
• Times of high and low water may be entered later when a more accurate time
of arrival is available
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• Charts and publications to be used during the voyage
The numbers of all charts to be used during the voyage shall be
entered, followed by NZ for New Zealand, Aus for Australia, etc.
• Navigational information between waypoints to be completed only
when there is significant information between waypoints. If the
additional information permits, more waypoints may be entered on one
page (e.g. Ocean Passages, Great Circle, etc.).
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Voyage Planning
• Ship reporting requirements Vessel Traffic Services and other reporting areas
• Ensures that charts, ECDIS, course cards and other voyage plan
documentation are prepared.
• All officers involved in navigating the vessel, including deck cadets, are to
study the plan prior to departure, and sign acknowledgement and
understanding
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Voyage Planning
Decide upon the key elements of the plan, these should include but not
be limited to:
• Ensures that adequate fuel, water and provision are available.
Voyage Planning
Monitoring
• Monitoring of the vessel’s progress along the pre-planned track is a continuous
process. The officer of the watch, whenever in any doubt as to the position of the
vessel or the manner in which the voyage is proceeding, should immediately call
the master and, if necessary, take appropriate action for the safety of the vessel.
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Voyage Planning
Advantage should be taken of all the navigational equipment with which the vessel is fitted
for position monitoring, bearing in mind the following points:
• positions obtained by electronic positioning systems must be checked regularly by
visual bearings and transits whenever available;
• visual fixes should, if possible, be based on at least three position lines;
• transit marks, clearing bearings and clearing ranges (radar) can be of great assistance;
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Voyage Planning
• it is dangerous to rely solely on the output from a single positioning system;
• the echo sounder provides a valuable check of depth at the plotted position;
• buoys should not be used for position fixing but may be used for guidance when
shore marks are difficult to distinguish visually; in these circumstances their
positions should first be checked by other means;
• the charted positions of offshore installations should be checked against the most
recent navigational notices;
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Voyage Planning
• the functioning and correct reading of the instruments used should be
checked;
• account must be taken of any system errors and the predicted accuracy of
positions displayed by electronic position fixing systems; and
• the frequency at which the position is to be fixed should be determined for
each section of the voyage.
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Voyage Planning
Execution
Execution of the plan should be carried out taking into account the factors
listed in the Guidelines. The Master should take into account any special
circumstances which may arise, which may require the plan to be reviewed
or altered and ensures that proper log and voyage records are maintained in
accordance with maritime shipping acts and other laws and regulations.
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Entries to be made in the Deck Log Book should cover, but not be
limited to the following information:
• Standard Meteorological data which must be carefully assessed
• Record of Navigational and Pilotage events during watch
• Record of Vessel Position at regular intervals
• Behavior of Vessel and Effect of Heavy seas
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• Behavior of Vessel and Effect of Heavy seas
• Change from Hand to Auto steering and vice versa including Trial of
Hand Steering every watch
• Various weather
• distance
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Weather Routeing