Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Lack of situational awareness leads to injury

    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Dropped object with potential for injury

    iranian navy prevents piracy

    Iranian Navy prevents piracy attack on ship in Gulf of Aden

    Watch: RoPax ferry hits product tanker at dock

    Watch: Containership catches fire off East China sea

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    neste

    Neste achieves up to 80% emissions reduction with co-processed marine fuel

    scandlines

    Scandlines achieves up to 20% emissions reduction on ferry using wind power

    eastern pacific

    Eastern Pacific to retrofit two tankers with carbon capture and filtering systems

    suez canal

    Suez Canal Economic Zone signs $10 billion deal for production of green fuels

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    emsa drones

    EMSA drones to offer Denmark maritime surveillance

    TotalEnergies launches global drone-based methane and CO2 detection campaign

    TotalEnergies launches global drone-based methane and CO2 detection campaign

    remote offshore inspections

    Demonstration shows capability of drones to conduct remote offshore inspections

    uk ship shore integration

    North Star to use AI to cut SOVs emissions

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

    Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

    trade groups bottlenecks

    Ships Inspected vs Ships Called: An indicator for challenging ports

    abuja mou

    Abuja MoU: Just 14 West Central Africa countries carry out port checks on ships

    Deficiencies per Detention (DPD): An important KPI for Global Detentions

    Deficiencies per Detention (DPD): An important KPI for Global Detentions

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    imo oceans

    Watch: IMO’s actions to protect the oceans

    amsa gender equity

    Watch: AMSA discusses importance of gender equity in shipping

    wildlife smuggling

    IMO agrees on guidelines to tackle wildlife smuggling

    women in maritime

    Maritime Authority of Jamaica: Women are advancing up the maritime career-ladder

  • Columns
    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    Career Paths: Päivi Brunou, Wärtsilä Voyage 

    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    “Zero-Emission Shipping Mission” Roadmap promotes new green maritime solutions

    How EU ETS and IMO CII will change the Owner – Charterer relationship

    Trending Tags

    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Lack of situational awareness leads to injury

    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Dropped object with potential for injury

    iranian navy prevents piracy

    Iranian Navy prevents piracy attack on ship in Gulf of Aden

    Watch: RoPax ferry hits product tanker at dock

    Watch: Containership catches fire off East China sea

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    neste

    Neste achieves up to 80% emissions reduction with co-processed marine fuel

    scandlines

    Scandlines achieves up to 20% emissions reduction on ferry using wind power

    eastern pacific

    Eastern Pacific to retrofit two tankers with carbon capture and filtering systems

    suez canal

    Suez Canal Economic Zone signs $10 billion deal for production of green fuels

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    emsa drones

    EMSA drones to offer Denmark maritime surveillance

    TotalEnergies launches global drone-based methane and CO2 detection campaign

    TotalEnergies launches global drone-based methane and CO2 detection campaign

    remote offshore inspections

    Demonstration shows capability of drones to conduct remote offshore inspections

    uk ship shore integration

    North Star to use AI to cut SOVs emissions

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

    Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

    trade groups bottlenecks

    Ships Inspected vs Ships Called: An indicator for challenging ports

    abuja mou

    Abuja MoU: Just 14 West Central Africa countries carry out port checks on ships

    Deficiencies per Detention (DPD): An important KPI for Global Detentions

    Deficiencies per Detention (DPD): An important KPI for Global Detentions

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    imo oceans

    Watch: IMO’s actions to protect the oceans

    amsa gender equity

    Watch: AMSA discusses importance of gender equity in shipping

    wildlife smuggling

    IMO agrees on guidelines to tackle wildlife smuggling

    women in maritime

    Maritime Authority of Jamaica: Women are advancing up the maritime career-ladder

  • Columns
    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    Career Paths: Päivi Brunou, Wärtsilä Voyage 

    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    Career Paths: Catarina Fant, Wasaline

    “Zero-Emission Shipping Mission” Roadmap promotes new green maritime solutions

    How EU ETS and IMO CII will change the Owner – Charterer relationship

    Trending Tags

    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

Safe navigation with COLREGs: Proper lookout is critical

by The Editorial Team
June 16, 2020
in Maritime Knowledge, Safety
ship traffic

Above image is used for illustration purposes only / Credit: UK Club

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

Ship navigation is referring to the voyage practices, focusing on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of the ship from one place to another. Specifically, starting from knowing where you are on a chart and choosing the best route to where you are heading.

Marine navigation is a big challenge, as it requires both knowledge and skills. This is especially true nowadays – in the smart era – but it was also true when the only available navigation was the celestial.

“A collision at sea can ruin your entire day”, said Thucydides around 400 BC, an Athenian historian. So much truth for shipping Companies even today which focuses on practices that enhance navigational safety.

In practice, this means firstly, that a ship will navigate from point A to point B safely and secondly that the ship at the same time will avoid causing problems to other ships navigating in the area. Many vessels collide in good visibility where either one or both vessels don’t see each other until it’s too late to avoid collision.

RelatedNews

Book Review: How Tor Andreas Svanes affected shipping’s digital journey

Applying KAIZEN in shipping: Changing business through an endless process of improvement

The first issue is a matter of following common navigational practices on board with respect to planning, executing and monitoring a voyage. However, the second issue requires common rules to be followed by all ships, in order to avoid any risks when navigating closely.

In this regard, IMO adopted a set of rules in 1972, the so called Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs). However, since then, collisions still happen.

In response, some maritime experts suggest COLREGs to be revised to include new technology’s features while others claim that COLREGs are confusing; that’s why navigators find it difficult to implement those rules.

On the other hand, if we look into the root causes of collisions, by far the majority of causes is due to deviation of COLREGs proper implementation. In essence, if those involved in the collision had followed the COLREGs properly, the accident could have been avoided.

However, even though we are currently witnessing many technological advances and automation in navigation, from the completion of ECDIS phase in to sophisticated digital bridges with touch screens and high tech sensors, the implementation of COLREGs still requires human judgement and decision making.

What’s more, approximately 80% of the information received by the brain comes through our eyes. Although bridge systems nowadays give to navigator a real time picture of the area, these systems cannot identify details that the seaman’s eye can reveal.

Therefore, officers onboard should not rely on technology alone; on the contrary, proper lookout is most critical. It is specifically required by the COLREGs in Rule 5, but it is also a requirement in all safety management systems and a very good practice for any seafarer onboard.

In addition, Rule 5 requires navigators to use not only sight but also hearing; A good lookout makes use of all senses, hearing, feeling, and even smell. However, a good lookout goes along with monitoring of radar, AIS, and VTS and all bridge team members should be encouraged and competent to use the available means onboard to maintain focus and alertness.

Taking into consideration the above, COLREGs may need to be revised to include new technology items, but even in their current format, if there were implemented and followed as required, most of collision incidents would have been avoided.

Tags: COLREGsECDISsafe navigation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

Ships Re-Inspected in the same port (RSP%): Key considerations

May 17, 2022
imo oceans

Watch: IMO’s actions to protect the oceans

May 17, 2022
MARITIME EVENTS

Newsletter

GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!

Explore

  • Safety
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • Events
  • Plus

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Contact

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Alerts
    • Accidents
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Opinions
    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
  • Events
  • Plus

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Disclaimer.