Chapter 4

EXECUTING THE PASSAGE/VOYAGE PLAN

Taciics
Thc plan having bccr m:rde. discussed and approved, execuiior ol the plan nou has to bc
determined. By this is meani fte metlods Lrsed to carl, oLrl lhe plan, includirg ihe best use of
available resources. Iinal details will nccd io be conlirmed l,hen the acrual iining ol the passage
can be establishe.l. The tactics io bc used lo accornplish
include:

ETA|

ETA

fot Tide

for Dalhght

Iiaffr

and should

Lrpected Tirnes ofArrival at critical poin6 to take advantage

of fa!,oulable tidal strearns.

ET

ai critical pointswhere itisprefelable to make a dar,tight

passa8e or with the sun behind the ship.

CondiLions

D?stin.ali.on ETA

lle plan can lhen be agleed

Trallic conditiors at focal points.

EfA at destination particularl)" \\'hele ihere mav be no

advantage io be gained bl eally arrlval, or where a pilot boarding
lime has been .onfirmed.

Tidal Strean information. obtained from the charl or ildal

Tidal Stredms

srean atlases, can be inchrded in the planned passage $hen the

iine ollransit ollhe rele\'ant areais hnown.Idealh, coulses !o steer

should be calculated p or ro naking the tmnsit, lhough in lact, silic!

adherence lo the planoed track w'ill aulomaticallv compensate for
lidal sfeams. CLrrren! infonnalion c;Ln also be oblained and sho{,n
on lhe chari.

Plan Modif.cation

It must

in mincl thai safe execulion of the

passage ma,v only be achieved b,w rnodificaiion of the plan in the
ahr,ays be borne

case of navigatjonal equipment beconring unreliable or inaccurate

or time cha.ges having to be made e.g. delaved departure.

Additiondl Personnel

To achieve safe execution of ihe plan it nav be necessalv to

n)anage the dsks b) using addiiional deck or engine persorncl. llis
r,ill i clude an awareness ofpositions at whicl il will be flecessal, to:

Call the masler to lhe bridge fol routine situations such as

approaching lhe coast, passing throu8b constrained $'atels,
approaching the pilot staiion etc.

2
:l
1

Change from unattended to manned machinery space.

Call an extra certificated officer to the bridge.

N{akc pcrsomel, in addition io the $athkeepels, ayailable
for bridgc duties such as manning the Nheel. keeping look

out, etc.
i
l
I
I

38

THL, NAUTICAI, INSTITUTE

N,Iake personnel, in addilion to the natchkeepers, available

lbr deck dLrdes such as pleparing piloi ladders. clearing and

staDding b) anchors, preparin g b erthing equipment, engaging

tugs. eic.

Brieling

Iielor e connnencing the vol'age/passagc it will bc necessary

to brief all concerned. This ensures thal all pcrsonnel ale arvare of
rheir involve ent in fie proposed planncd passagcrvoyage and also
giles thcm $e c,pportunity to quef or conlnreDt on any pari ofthe
plan thai lhe) do not fulh nderstand. Brieling may take place over
a considclable peliod of tirne. As th actual commencement of dle
vo,vage apploachesl certain specific personrelr'ill have to be bliefed
so that tork scheclules and recluirernelts can bc planncd.

In p:ulicular, anv variation from the routinc rurning of the

ship, e.g. doubling ol waiches, anc.hor parv rqrdrcncnts eic. must
be spccifically adrised to involved personnel, cificr bv the masier
or the navi:iator. Such briefing will require frcqrcnt updaring and
differenl stagcs \\,i11have to be re briefed as drc |oyagc progresses.
Bnefing rvill makc individuals alr are of fieir oun part in the or e, all

p,, : J,"rtr br'.ru,l,ai \'o r'.'ri\tJ

Fatigue

nn

Pr.ior to ihe conmencement of thc passage, and in certain

cases, d[ring lhe passage, it ma,v be neccssarylor fie master to ensure
th ar restcd aDd unlatigLled personnel are availablc. This could include
such times as lcaving port, enredng verl hcarl tlalllc areas, bad
s,eafier conditions orhigh risk situations such as tlaDsiting anarrot'
strait etc. This availabiliir can be achieved, r!.itlin thc limils of the
total number ofpersons available, bl ensuring that watchkcepels ol
all desolptions are rclicved oI their duties t'ell in advance of being
rcqufied on tatch in order l}lat thev may rest.

This could rcquire changes ro routine rvatchkeePing pedods,

e:((ending certain r\'atchcs oI even curtailing watchcs but i! is al tbe
naster!s dlscretion ard he shouldnotbesitate lo make such changes.

Passage/Vo!age

PreParation

Bidge PrcParutinn

Onc ol lhe basic principles of lranagenenr is ensu ng ihal

the wolkplacc is prepared and readicd lcrr lhe ensuing task. This
nol.nally be ihe task of a junnrr olliccr who *,ill prepare the
'l1l
brldge for sea. Such rouiine tasks are besl achicved by ihe use of a
checklist but carc has io be taken to ensure that this doe! nol just
nean that ilems on thc checklis( are tic.liecl rrithout the actual iask
being clone.

]\t the timc desi8rated bl the mastcr, the oflicer responsible

should prepare thc blidge br':

Ersuring ihat the passage plan alld supporting illfor.nlalion is

available and to haDd. lt is likel,v ihat thc navigati.g officer
responsiblc fbr preparation ofihc passagePlan !\ill have madc
thcse itenrs read,v; rcvcrtheless, thelr readincss should slill be

rorfinred
BRIDGE TEATI AIANAGEIIENT 3!)

Charts should be in order. in the chart drawer and the in use

charl be available on the chart table. It is bad pracrice to have
more than one chart on ihe table at a iime, as inlomration read
lrom one and translened to the other mav not be coneci.
Checking that charl iable equipment is in order and to hand,
e.g. pens, pencils, parallel rules, compasscs, dividers, note pads,
scr ap padsj etc.
Checldng that ancillary r'atchkeeping equipment is in order
and to hand, e.g. binocul;irs, azimuth ngs, Aldis lamp, etc.

Confirming ihat monitor-ing and recording equipment, e.g.

course recorder, engine movement rcorder is operatiolal and
recording papel replaced if necessalv.

Conlilm

rg that the master g)'r'o is fully operational and correct

and repeaters aligned. The magnetic compass should be checked.

Checking that all instrument illumination lamps are oper.ational

and their light levels adjusted as required. The availabiliiv arld
nh-rn.bo.rt. ol .pare. .lrur ld oe,l-er\ed.
7

Checking navigaiion and signal lighis.

Srvitching or anl electronic ravigational equipmeqt that has

been shut down and the operating modc andposition confir.med.

Srviiching on and confirming tle readouts of echo sounders

and logs and confirming associated recording equjpmeni.
10

Afiel ensuring ihat the

ll

Sn'itching on and testing control equipmeni i.e. telegraphs,

combinators, drusters and sleeriDg gear as approp atc.

12

S$'itching on and tesling communications equipnent both

intemal (ielephones and portable radio$ and extemal (\rHI
ald NIF radios, NAVTEX, INNIARSAT and cMDSS systems

scanners are c]ear., srvitching on and

luning radars and setting appropriate ranges and modes.

as

appropriate.)

13

Testing the rvhisile.

1.1

EnsuriDg that clear view screens and wipers are oper.ational

and thal all i(,indows are clean.

t!

Confilming that all clocks and recording equipnent are

synchronised.

t6

Ensuring that the workplace is in correct or.der, iiBhting is as ii

shorld be, doors and windor.s open and close easily,
temperature conirols ar-e setas appropriate andmovable objects
are in theil con ect place.

17

Sn'itcling on and conecd)' enteringthe ship\ data into the AIS.

t8

After ensudng that there is no rele\.ant new infomatior on the

Telex, Fax or Naviex advising the masier that the bridge is ready

The list above is onlv a general guide. Each ship lvill have its own specific checks that hare
to be includcd. A modified version ofthe above should also be carried out u'hen approaching port
or any area nhere other than rouiine watchkeepiDg may occur-

40 THE

NAI ITICAI,INSTITI ]TE