Published: April 2025
The fully updated edition of 'Passage Planning Guidelines 2025' includes four separate publications presented in a slipcase. These titles discuss the latest procedures, guidance and best practice required for good navigation.
The following titles are included in 'Passage Planning Guidelines 2025':
- 'Passage Planning Guidelines 2025 (inc. Preparations for Inspections)'
- 'Radar and ARPA'
- 'Safe Nav Watch'
- 'Teamwork on the Nav Bridge'
'Passage Planning Guidelines 2025 (inc. Preparations for Inspections)' focuses on the appraisal and preparation stages of voyage planning using traditional methods, paper charts and ECDIS. This edition now includes two new chapters covering execution and monitoring, as well as new guidance on preparation for PSC, audits and inspections.
The guidelines reflect the industry's shift towards ECDIS and ENCs as the primary means of navigation, while still covering traditional paper chart methods. This edition provides updated imagery, detailed ECDIS passage planning guidance and practical calculation examples. The annexes of the 'Passage Planning Guidelines 2025' provide detailed templates of passage planning checklists, including an ECDIS planning checklist and appraisal report.
'Safe Nav Watch' provides essential guidance on safe navigational watchkeeping, identifying potential hazards and how to avoid them. Drawing on the expertise of experienced mariners, the book reinforces best practices in line with all applicable SOLAS amendments and bridge equipment performance standards.
Advice relating to bridge practices for navigating extreme weather, has been expanded with updated guidance on weather routeing and charts. New sections on helicopter operations, anchoring and watchkeeping at anchor have been added to bridge practices for navigating coastal areas. Chapter eight, 'Lessons from Navigation Incidents', features new and current case studies which analyse real-world errors and advise the industry-approved best practices for preventing similar incidents.
'Teamwork on the Nav Bridge' is based on original text from a leading trainer of cockpit resource management. The text has been fully revised and updated to reflect the importance of defending against the consequences of human error. It includes guidance on subjects such as situational awareness, decision-making by the bridge team and the concept of bridge resource management (BRM). It also details the importance of keeping fit for duty, ensuring adequate rest and managing the circumstances that contribute to fatigue on board.
Radar is a vital tool for safe navigation and collision avoidance at sea, providing continuous situational awareness in both clear and restricted visibility. A new 'Radar and ARPA' guide has been added to the 2025 guidelines. It explores the principles of marine radar operation, the integration of ARPA for target tracking and the essential skills required for effective radar interpretation. Covering key regulations, including Rule 7 of the COLREGs, and the importance of understanding radar capabilities and limitations, this book is an essential resource for navigators seeking to enhance their proficiency in radar use.
Contents listing:
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1 Effective Passage Planning
1.1 The Requirement for a Comprehensive Passage Plan
1.2 The Four Stages of Planning
1.3 Responsibility
Chapter 2 - Appraisal
2 Gathering Information
2.1 Carriage Requirements for Charts and Nautical Publications
2.2 Preliminary Research - Overview
2.3 Destination and Routeing
2.4 Tidal Data and UKC Calculations
2.5 'Ocean Passages for the World'
2.6 'Passage Planning Guides'
2.7 Weather and Environment
2.8 Paper Charts
2.9 ENCs and ECDIS
2.10 Passage Planning in Ice Regions
2.11 Final Considerations
2.12 Appraisal Findings
Chapter 3 - Passage Planning on Paper Charts
3 Planning using Paper Charts
3.1 Voyage Overview
3.2 Chart Preparation
3.3 Plotting Courses
3.4 Speed on Passage Legs
3.5 Pilotage
3.6 Port Approaches
3.7 Coastal and Ocean Passages
3.8 Planning a Canal Transit
3.9 Contingency Planning
3.10 Case Study
3.11 Master's Review and Bridge Team Meeting
3.12 Coastal Passage - Example
'Radar and ARPA'
Chapter 1 - Principles of Radar
1.1 Radio Waves and Propagation
1.1.1 Characteristics of Propagation
1.1.2 Reflective Properties
1.1.3 Calculating Distance
1.1.4 Solid State Radars
1.1.5 Characteristics of Targets
1.2 Radar Equipment and Controls
1.2.1 Radar Controls
1.3 Performance Standards
1.4 Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA)/Target Tracking
1.4.1 WOA Triangle
1.5 Symbols for Controls
Chapter 2 - Set-up and Use of the Radar
2.1 Set-up
2.1.1 Aspect, Radar and Collision Avoidance
2.1.2 Setting Up Radars for Navigation
2.2 Radar Modes of Display
2.2.1 Orientation
2.2.2 Stabilisation
2.3 Relative Motion (RM) Display
2.4 True Motion (TM) Display
2.5 Trails
2.5.1 Relative Trails
2.5.2 True Trails
2.6 Vectors
2.6.1 Relative Vectors
2.6.2 True Vectors
2.7 Use During Navigation and Collision Avoidance
2.7.1 Safe Speed
2.7.2 Interpretation of Landmasses
2.7.3 Positions using Radar Range and Bearing
2.7.4 Radar Range Scales
2.7.5 Radar Centring Versus Radar Offset
2.8 Parallel Indexing Techniques
Chapter 3 - Errors and Limitations of the Radar and ARPA
3.1 Overview
3.2 Limitations of Radar
3.2.1 Horizontal Beam Width (HBW)
3.2.2 Vertical Beam Width (VBW)
3.2.3 Multi-path Error
3.2.4 False Echoes
Chapter 4 - PM, Maintenance and Other Considerations
4.1 Performance Monitor
4.2 Use of Radar with Other Electronic Equipment
4.2.1 Radar and SART
4.2.2 AIS
4.2.3 ENCs
4.3 CCRP
4.4 Emergency Actions in the Event of Radar Failure
4.4.1 Single Radar Failure (X Band or S Band)
4.4.2 Multiple Radar Failure (X Band and S Band)
4.4.3 Input Failure
4.4.4 Scanner Malfunction
'Teamwork on the Nav Bridge'
Chapter 1 - What do we Mean by 'Human Error'?
Chapter 2 - Defences Against the Consequences of 'Human Error'
2.1 Technology
2.2 Understanding Human Performance
2.3 Communication
2.4 Intervening with Senior Officers
2.5 Protecting Your Eyes
2.6 Target Fascination and Reduced Processing
2.7 Situational Awareness
2.8 Decision-making
Chapter 3 - Bridge Resource Management (BRM)
3.1 Attitudes
3.2 What Makes an Effective Bridge Team?
Chapter 4 - Working with a Pilot on Board
4.1 What Changes when the Pilot Comes on Board?
Chapter 5 - Keeping Fit for Duty
5.1 Inadequate Rest
5.2 Stress
5.3 Working at Night and in Darkness
5.4 Getting a Good Sleep
Chapter 6 - Fatigue
6.1 Fitness for Duty
6.2 What Causes Fatigue?
6.3 How Does Fatigue Affect Performance?
6.4 Napping (Short Shallow Sleep)
6.5 Fatigue Management
'Safe Nav Watch'
Chapter 1 - Bridge Equipment (Carriage Requirements)
1.1 SOLAS Equipment List for Ships
1.2 GMDSS Equipment
1.3 Bridge Equipment Connections
1.4 Bridge Equipment - Performance Standards
Chapter 2 - Bridge Equipment (Overview and Usage)
2.1 Bridge Equipment (Overview and Usage)
2.2 Ship's Compasses
2.3 Autopilot Heading/Track Control Systems
2.4 Ship's Log (Speed Log)
2.5 GNSS
2.6 Automatic Identification System (AIS)
2.7 ECDIS/Paper Charts
2.8 Chart Radar
2.9 Echosounder
2.10 Integrated Bridge Systems
2.11 Communications Equipment
2.12 Internal Communications
2.13 External Sound Signalling Equipment
2.14 Signal and Navigation Lights
2.15 Telegraph
2.16 Steering Gear
2.17 Thrusters
2.18 Other Bridge Equipment
2.19 Internal Monitoring Systems
2.20 Intelligent Navigation Systems
Chapter 3 - Prerequisites for Watchkeepers
3.1 Fitness for Duty
3.2 Watch Arrangements
3.3 Master's Standing Orders
Chapter 4 - Bridge Practices - At All Times
4.1 Bridge Familiarisation
4.2 Proceeding to Sea
4.3 Nav Watch Rating
4.4 Maintaining a Proper Lookout
4.5 OOW Watch Handovers
4.6 Keeping a Safe Navigational Watch
4.7 Conning
4.8 OOW/Master Relationship
4.9 Collision Avoidance
4.10 Logbooks
Chapter 5 - Bridge Practices - Weather
5.1 General Considerations for Watchkeepers
5.2 Navigation in Restricted Visibility
5.3 Responsibilities of the OOW in Heavy Weather
5.4 Weather Routeing
5.5 Weather Charts
5.6 Heavy Weather - Tropical Revolving Storm (TRS)
5.7 Navigation in Ice
Chapter 6 - Bridge Practices - Coastal Navigation
6.1 Coastal Navigation
6.2 Pilot on Board
6.3 VTS/VTIS
6.4 Traffic Separation Schemes
6.5 Helicopter Operations
6.6 Anchoring and Watchkeeping at Anchor
Chapter 7 - Emergencies
7.1 General
7.2 MOB
7.3 Fire
7.4 SAR
7.5 Collision
7.6 Groundings
7.7 Medical Emergencies
7.8 Bridge Minimum Emergency Power and UPS Arrangements
Chapter 8 - Lessons from Navigation Incidents
8.1 'Royal Majesty'
8.2 'Express Samina'
8.3 'Hyundai Dominion' and 'Sky Hope'
8.4 'Princess of the Stars'
8.5 'Cosco Busan'
8.6 'Costa Concordia'
8.7 'El Faro'
8.8 'Star Pride'
8.9 'Nova Cura'
8.10 CMA CGM 'Vasco de Gama'
8.11 'L'Austral'
8.12 'Huayang Endeavour? and ?Seafrontier'
8.13 'Sanchi' and 'CF Crystal'
8.14 'Wakashio'
8.15 'Captain V. Madias'
8.16 'World Diana'
8.17 'Dali'
Chapter 9 - Bridge Preparedness
9.1 The Use of Checklists
9.2 Likelihood of an Accident Occurring
9.3 Preventing Complacency at Sea
