Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2016)

ECDIS

The Quiet Revolution

ECDIS in Maritime Navigation

TOM MELLOR riven by the SOLAS-man- tage of the bene? ts that the new editions dated transition to ECDIS, will bring to the bridge. the adoption of digital navi-

Dgation is the most visible Nautical Publications Go Digital sign of how navigational practices are Of course, ECDIS is not the only being transformed. Additional tools are new navigational tool available to mari- also playing an important role in sup- ners. New passage planning resources porting bridge teams and delivering ac- are equipping bridge teams with faster, curate navigational information to the more ef? cient and accurate navigational bridge. information. A wide range of of? cial

ADMIRALTY nautical publications are

The ECDIS Tipping Point now available in an electronic format as

We are now halfway through the tran- e-Nautical Publications (e-NPs). They sition period under the timetable set out are designed to meet SOLAS carriage in the amendments to the SOLAS Con- that ECDIS compliance, and effective requirements, contain the same informa- vention adopted in 2009, requiring the for tankers from July 2015.

tion as their paper equivalents and are

The picture is even more encouraging ECDIS use, are not the same thing. To mandatory carriage of ECDIS for ships approved for use by the Flag States of over three-quarters of ships trading in- engaged on international voyages. This for existing cargo ships over 50,000 gt. begin with, shipping companies must en-

At present, 62% of these 3,500 large car- sure that they put in place revised bridge timetable put in place a series of dead- ternationally. go ships are using an ENC service, ahead policies and procedures that re? ect the lines for different vessel sizes and class- Unlike their paper counterparts, each of the July 2016 deadline when the SO- requirements of safe, effective and com- es. e-NP allows bridge of? cers to download

LAS regulations on ECDIS carriage will pliant ECDIS operation. A further prior-

The shipping industry has now reached and apply weekly Notices to Mariners be extended to these ships. This is well ity is the need to upgrade ECDIS soft- a pivotal landmark in this process, with (NM) updates in just a few seconds, free-

UKHO data revealing that over half of ahead of where the tanker ? eet stood 12 ware to comply with the latest IHO ENC ing up their time to focus on other tasks months ago; indicating that the cargo Standards. Last summer, in response to ships trading internationally are now liv- and ensuring greater accuracy on board. ship ? eet is more advanced in its prepa- feedback from mariners, the Interna- ing with ECDIS. Of an estimated 41,500 Additionally, the new e-Reader snap- internationally trading ships around the rations. There are also some interesting tional Hydrographic Organization (IHO) variances in ECDIS readiness between unveiled a series of important updates shot function allows crews to view, save world, almost two thirds subscribe to an ENC service. When those that do not different categories of cargo ship. At to the technical standards that govern and print e-NP pages and any applicable to support passage planning. Sailing Di- trade internationally are included, 45% present, 57% of bulkers are living with the display of Electronic Navigational NMs and addendums, which can be used

ECDIS, compared to 65% of RoRos and Charts (ENCs) within an ECDIS. of all ships that are subject to the SO- rections, the Nautical Almanac and the 71% of containerships. These updates include a revised Pre-

LAS regulations are ECDIS ready. sentation Library within ‘S-52’; the Mariners Handbook are just a few of the

This is more than a symbolic land-

Why does this matter? For the ? rst standard that governs the portrayal of publications now available as e-NPs. time, vessels without an ENC service mark. To put it simply, it means that digi- tal navigation isn’t just the future. Today, an ENC on an ECDIS screen. The lat- now represent a minority of the interna- est Presentation Library (version 4.0) Conclusion digital navigation is a reality.

tionally trading ? eet. This is an impor- The shipping world is embracing digi- tant tipping point, as it signals that we This has an important implication for addresses the number one complaint tal navigation with growing familiarity are moving out of the ECDIS adoption everyone in the ECDIS supply chain, levelled at ECDIS by mariners: constant and con? dence. For shipping companies including ECDIS manufacturers, train- audible alarms. By providing clear guid- phase and into a new era. On the basis of that have installed ECDIS across their ing providers, shipping companies and ance to ECDIS manufacturers on ENC this positive trajectory for ECDIS adop- ? eet and for mariners now serving on mariners. In the past few years, the con- objects that will raise an alarm, the IHO tion, it also looks as though the shipping ECDIS-equipped ships, the new chal- versation has been dominated by discus- has tackled the issue of alarm fatigue on industry is on course to comply with the lenge is to develop and implement the sions about how to make the transition to the bridge. In addition, information such

SOLAS-mandated timetable for ECDIS carriage across the global ? eet by the ECDIS, but now we need to spend more as fairway and anchorage area names practices and procedures that will enable them to realize the full bene? ts for safe time talking about living with ECDIS; now appear on screen, with landmarks, end of this decade. and ef? cient navigation. how we use, manage and properly main- lights and buoys viewable via a ‘hover-

It is also encouraging to see that posi- tive progress towards ECDIS adoption tain digital navigation systems. over’ function. Both initiatives reduce the time-consuming need to ? nd infor- is being made by different categories of

The Author ship types and sizes. The proportion of Updating ECDIS Software mation buried in a pick report.

Thomas Mellor is Head of OEM Techni-

For ship owners navigating digitally, We strongly encourage all owners to tankers over 3,000 gt using an ENC ser- cal Support and Digital Standards at the focus of their attention must now contact their ECDIS manufacturer and vice has risen from 54% in April 2015 to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Of? ce shift towards the ongoing management plan early for the transition to the updat- and Chairman of the IHO’s ENC Working 69% in October 2015, following the EC- and maintenance of ECDIS on a day- ed ECDIS Standards, in order to ensure

Group.

DIS carriage rules that entered into force to-day basis. It’s vital to understand a smooth switchover and to take advan- 24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • MAY 2016

MR #5 (18-25).indd 24 4/29/2016 3:54:07 PM