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2018 • A supplement to Maritime Digitalisation & Communications

The complete guide to

ECDIS drives safer navigation

and voyage planning

Bridge systems are not cyber-secure

Better ENCs and hardware will

enhance e-navigation

Seafarers need familiarisation

training to prevent accidents

Failure “to ensure safe and efficient operation of the ECDIS may
lead to improper display of charted features”
Gilles Bessero, former IHO chairman and now member of the French Maritime Academy, see page 6
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2018 contents
The complete guide to
Regulars
3 Comment

Regulations & standards

4 ECDIS drives safer navigation and voyage planning
Published July 2018

ECDIS maintenance Editor: Martyn Wingrove

t: +44 20 8370 1736
6 Owners need an ECDIS mindset e: martyn.wingrove@rivieramm.com
7 10 steps for managing ECDIS correctly
Sales Manager: Paul Dowling
t: +44 20 8370 7014
E-navigation e: paul.dowling@rivieramm.com

8 ECDIS is at the heart of sea traffic management Sales: Jo Lewis

9 Data analysis improves navigation safety t: +44 20 8370 7793
e: jo.lewis@rivieramm.com
10 Better ENCs and hardware will enhance e-navigation
Head of Sales – Asia: Kym Tan
t: +65 6809 1278
Operator feedback e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com
14 Shipowners react to the challenges and invest in ECDIS innovation
Production Manager: Richard Neighbour
15 Spliethoff saves fuel through weather routeing t: +44 20 8370 7013
e: richard.neighbour@rivieramm.com

Voyage planning Subscriptions: Sally Church

16 Weather routeing reduces fuel costs and improves ship safety t: +44 20 8370 7018
e: sally.church@rivieramm.com
17 Route optimisation using tidal data reduces fuel consumption and emissions
Chairman: John Labdon
Managing Director: Steve Labdon
ECDIS perceptions Finance Director: Cathy Labdon
18 A competitive market that has driven the development of bundle solutions Operations Director: Graham Harman
Head of content: Edwin Lampert
20 ECDIS should be considered as part of a complete bridge system Executive Editor: Paul Gunton
Head of Production: Hamish Dickie

Cyber security Published by:

22 Summit review: Bridge systems are not cyber secure Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
Mitre House
23 Owners set bridge rules to reduce the risks of malware infections 66 Abbey Road
24 Security flaws open ECDIS up to cyber crime Enfield EN1 2QN
UK
25 Training is essential to prevent cyber attacks on operational technology

ECDIS training
26 Seafarers need familiarisation training to prevent accidents
www.rivieramm.com
27 Training simulators, online courses, competence assurance and shipmanagement
ISSN 2055-5180 (Print)
Forward thinking ©2018 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
28 ECDIS will be at the centre of autonomous shipping

(Front cover credit: Sperry Marine)

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ECDIS is the
cornerstone of
e-navigation
N
ow most of the global fleet
of tankers, gas carriers and
passenger ships and a growing
proportion of dry cargo ships
have installed ECDIS, shipping is turning its
focus to enhanced and electronic e-navigation.
Before the technical challenges and issues
of e-navigation can be tackled, shipowners
and managers have to be confident in using
with ECDIS on their vessels. They need to be
in an ECDIS mindset to do so.
Most crews on tankers and passenger
ships have been living with ECDIS for around
five years at least. Some have been working
Martyn Wingrove, Editor with ECDIS for more than a decade.
Owners of dry cargo ships of more than
10,000 gt have also been tackling the issues
of installing and using ECDIS to meet IMO’s
rolling mandatory carriage requirements. If
owners have not yet installed ECDIS, then
they have until the next class survey of the
ship to do so.
Shipowners have trained seafarers to
use ECDIS effectively and with competence,
ensuring they are familiar with operating the
ECDIS on board the ships they are working
on (see page 26).
Otherwise, the ship could be considered
to have a deficiency by port state control
inspectors and vessels could be detained in
port until ECDIS trainers can be sent to train
the crew.
Working with ECDIS also means keeping it
well maintained and updated with the latest
software and electronic navigational charts
(ENCs). This is now mandatory and will be
checked by port state control officers (see
page 26).
Last year, shipowners and managers had
to ensure their ECDIS was in compliance
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
COMMENT | 3
with the latest International Hydrographic
Organization standards, which IMO imposed
with a deadline of 31 August 2017.
This led to turmoil in the sector as IHO’s
standard updates were retrospective, so
existing ECDIS on board every ship needed to
be compliant. This left some owners scrambling
around for hardware and others having to
replace complete ECDIS at high cost.
Manufacturers too, felt the squeeze
as they faced class re-approval for newly
designed hardware and software. In this
edition, Tom Mellor, chairman of the IHO's
ENC working group, explains the various
standards that ECDIS needs to comply with.
“E-navigation will reduce the
risk of accidents by improving
navigational safety”
Shipping does not need another wave of
updates on this scale. It would be far better
to introduce them steadily using software that
every unit can update to. IMO and IHO should
ensure these measures are enacted seamlessly
at little or no additional cost to owners.
ECDIS technology can be used to test
and implement e-navigation, such as in the
ongoing Sea Traffic Management (STM)
project that covers some ships operating in
the North Sea and Baltic (see page 8).
ECDIS on ships involved in that project have
advanced functions enabling them to display
position and expected routes of surrounding
ships. Vessels share their routes with other
operators, vessel traffic controllers and port
authorities using data exchange standards. This
is where ECDIS technology is taking shipping
to. E-navigation is also being tested in South
Korea where STM and maritime connectivity
principles are being used.
E-navigation with its related voyage
planning and route sharing elements is
the future for shipping (see page 16). It will
reduce the risk of accidents by improving
navigational safety and enable ships and
ports to communicate more effectively
– ultimately reducing costs and allowing
efficiency improvements.
And this all stems from up-to-date and
reliable ECDIS on board global fleets. Owners
need to ensure their ECDIS and crew are
compliant otherwise e-navigation will never
become a reality. ECDIS
4 | REGULATIONS & STANDARDS

ECDIS drives safer navigation

and voyage planning
ECDIS benefits
are much
more than
IHO IEC IHO
just regulatory
compliance,
but more ENC S-57 ENC IEC 61174 S-52 ECDIS
standards are on specification ECDIS display
the way

S-58 ENC IEC 62288 S-64 ECDIS

validation displays test data

S-63 ENC
security
IEC and IHO set standards for ENCs and ECDIS

A
s the majority of
merchant shipping
has either installed
ECDIS or will in the 12
months from July, the
emphasis has moved to living
with and gaining the benefits
“Accidents can of this critical navigation aid.
and do happen All passenger ships of more
than 500 gt have ECDIS, as
when ships do the majority of tankers
fail to set the greater than 3,000 gt and
ECDIS system dry cargo ships of more
than 10,000 gt, according
up correctly and to SOLAS, Regulation
navigate into V/19.2.10.
Those not yet using
dangerous areas” ECDIS and electronic
navigational charts (ENCs)
need to do so for regulatory
requirements by their first
periodic surveys after 1 July
2018. From that point, on
all SOLAS vessels, ECDIS
will be the primary means of
navigation and therefore needs
to be kept safe, secure and
well-maintained.
Shipping companies have
come to terms with ECDIS
compliance and are gaining
the benefits. UK Hydrographic
Office’s head of OEM technical
support and chair of the
International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) ENC
working group, Tom Mellor,
provided Maritime Digitalisation
& Communications with a round-
up of the benefits of ECDIS, and
the standards they have to meet.
Key benefits are
improvements in navigation
safety and more effective voyage
planning from using ENCs.
“ECDIS prevents accidents,”
said Mr Mellor. “Using ENC in
ECDIS, seafarers can easily plot
routes and automatically check
them for dangers such as rocks,
wrecks and obstructions or other
related navigational hazards.”
ECDIS has three basic
components: hardware, software
and data. It is important for the
safety of navigation that the
application software within the

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com


ECDIS works in accordance
with the performance standards
and is capable of displaying
the relevant digital information
contained within the ENC.
Presentation library
The IHO presentation library
used in ECDIS controls the
display of the ENC data.
Any ECDIS which is not
upgraded to be compatible
with the latest edition of the
IHO presentation library may
be unable to correctly display
the latest charted features.
Additionally, the appropriate
alarms and indications may not
be activated, even though the
features have been included in
the ENC.
It is important to note that
the ECDIS must use official
up-to-date ENCs in order to
make critical safety decisions.
Only when a system is using
ENC data from hydrographic
offices will it satisfy SOLAS
requirements. Mr Mellor
explained “ECDIS can not
only improve navigational
safety by alerting navigating
officers to potential dangers but
the automatic updating of the
ENC information saves time
and automatically positions
ENC updates in the correct
geographic location.
“Accidents can and do
happen when ships fail to set
the ECDIS system up correctly
and navigate into dangerous
areas, which can then in turn
lead to insurance claims,” Mr
Mellor explained.
“ECDIS that are set up
correctly display the ship’s
position in real-time. The
ability to integrate other
sensor information such as
AIS [automatic identification
system] and radar into the
system can also improve a
mariner’s situational awareness,”
said Mr Mellor. “ECDIS can
quickly reroute and check
that route again. But this
depends on the competence
of the crew to use ECDIS,”
said Mr Mellor. Therefore,
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
familiarisation training of
navigating officers to effectively
use the installed equipment on
board is critical.
ENC updates can be
delivered by distributors to
ECDIS either by using a
USB memory stick, DVD or
direct link to the ship’s satellite
communications. Shipowners
can order ENCs as part of a
monthly subscription or they
can take a pay-as-you-sail
approach, where all ENCs are
loaded for planning purposes,
but only for the ones used for
voyages are paid for.
Another advantage is the
ability to overlay metocean
information for voyage
planning. Radar and AIS
data can also be overlaid on
ENCs to identify and track
surrounding ships.
These benefits can only
come from ECDIS and
ENCs that comply with the
latest IHO standards and
those from the International
Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC). These include:
• IHO S-57 ENC product
specification.
• IHO S-58 ENC validation.
• IHO S-63 ENC security.
• IMO ECDIS performance
standard.
• IEC 61174 ECDIS
performance testing.
• IEC 62288 navigation
displays.
• IHO S-52 ECDIS display
specification.
• IHO S-64 ECDIS test data.
• EC MED.
ENCs from hydrographic
offices and distributors must
comply with IHO’s S-57
product specification and be
validated by organisations
such as UKHO to IHO’s
S-58 standard. “We check that
geometries in ENCs are correct,”
said Mr Mellor “And that all
the data is compliant with the
requirements in the S-57 ENC
product specification.”
IHO’s S-63 standard
ensures ENC data is secure,
authenticated as coming from
an official hydrographic office
REGULATIONS & STANDARDS | 5
and encrypted so it cannot
be pirated or tampered with.
S-63 also enables mariners to
license ENC data for three, six
or 12 months.
IMO performance standards
for ECDIS mean it will satisfy
SOLAS carriage requirements.
It ensures ECDIS has day,
night and dusk modes, can
apply automatic ENC updates
and follows IHO’s S-52
presentation library standard.
ECDIS is tested against IEC’s
61174 standard for ECDIS
performance and IEC 62288
for navigation displays.
ECDIS must also
be type-approved by a
competent authority, such
as a classification society.
Within the EU, ECDIS are
awarded the wheelmark of
conformance under the Marine
Equipment Directive (MED)
when they pass all tests in IEC
61174. When an ECDIS is
type-approved by a notified
body, the OEM and that
organisation will use ENC test
data from IHO S-64.
If ECDIS is not approved,
“then this could lead to ENC
data not displaying correctly”,
Mr Mellor said, adding that
this could also be because the
presentation library software
was out of date if an ECDIS
had not been maintained.
Standard changes
There were changes in
2014 to IHO's S-57 ENC
specifications and S-52
presentation library that
encouraged manufacturers to
update their ECDIS. There
were also changes to S-64
ECDIS test data. This led to
the need for software updates,
upgrades to hardware and in
some cases complete ECDIS
replacement on ships by
September 2017.
There were benefits to
these updates as IHO removed
anomalies in ENCs and reduced
the ECDIS alarms to just one:
for the point where a ship
crosses a safety depth contour.
Tom Mellor (UKHO): Owners
must ensure ECDIS software
is updated to the latest
presentation library
According to Mr Mellor,
other changes to standards
are in the pipeline. One
involves plans to change S-63
to improve cyber security of
ENCs. The IHO working
group on ENCs is reviewing
methods of improving this
standard based on feedback
from IEC.
“If any changes were made
then the release of a new
standard would undoubtedly
have a big effect on the
shipping industry,” said Mr
Mellor, which is why the
working group is carrying
out a full impact assessment
on the proposed changes and
is engaging with ECDIS
manufacturers through
Comité International Radio-
Maritime and other shipping
organisations, such as BIMCO
and Intertanko.
“ENCWG is tasked to
completely map out the impact
and proposed solution before
any decision is made on a new
edition,” said Mr Mellor.
New standards are
also being developed for
ENC specifications with
expectations that S-57 could
eventually be replaced by
S-101. “We are finalising
production of specific and data
conversion between S-57 and
S-101,” said Mr Mellor. ECDIS
 6 | ECDIS MAINTENANCE

OWNERS NEED AN
ECDIS MINDSET
ECDIS needs to be continuously maintained, with
10 STEPS
software updated and regularly patched TO ECDIS
MANAGEMENT

Bridge resource ENC ⊲ ECDIS is compliant with

management management all standards.
Route checks Navigational
safety
⊲ Ensure safety contour
and safety depth are
Voyage set correctly.
planning

ECDIS
Situational ⊲ Set cross-track distance.
awareness
Reduced ⊲ Alarm module is

Radar BENEFITS ENC costs switched on.

overlay ⊲P
 roposed route
is tested for any
grounding risk or
obstacle.
Real-time Regulatory
Metocean
Quick positioning compliance ⊲ Ensure crew are trained
data overlay
re-routeing to ensure they are
Depth safety
familiar with equipment
contours on board.

O
nce ECDIS and electronic navigational
charts (ENCs) are compliant with
regulations and standards, it is down to
ship operators to ensure ECDIS is continuously
maintained. ECDIS needs regular software updates,
perhaps some hardware replacements and in some
cases wholesale replacement of ECDIS.
ECDIS should be considered an onboard
computer, critical operational technology
to navigating and sailing the ship. As such,
shipowners, managers and operators need to
acquire an ECDIS mindset, said former chairman of
the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
and member of the French Maritime Academy,
Gilles Bessero.
He told Maritime Digitalisation &
Communications that an ECDIS mindset includes
⊲ Do drills between
recognition that an ECDIS is a software-based primary and secondary
system and effective maintenance should become means of navigation.
best-practice. “It is essential to ensure safe and
efficient operation of the ECDIS,” he said. ⊲ Cyber security policies
Annual costs to the ship operator cover and procedures are
software upgrades, ENC updates, equipment adhered to.
servicing and officer refresher courses. Owners
cannot apply a “buy and forget mentality” to ECDIS
⊲ Ensure ENCs are official
said Mr Bessero. “Like any software-based device,
and up-to-date.
an ECDIS may require updates for a number of
reasons.” He listed them as:
• Preventive maintenance. ⊲ Back-up is either second
• Corrective maintenance. ECDIS or paper charts.
• Regulatory compliance.
• Performance improvement. (Credit: UKHO)
Preventive and corrective maintenance relate to
ensuring the equipment is in satisfactory operating

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com


condition in accordance with the applicable
performance standards. Mr Bessero noted that
ECDIS is a highly complex system with a central
processor and memory like a personal computer.
“Preventive maintenance may be conducted
through annual performance tests, periodic clean-
ups or diagnostics,” he said.
Corrective maintenance may be required to
address faults or failures that may occasionally
occur despite the care taken through type-approval
procedures and individual equipment checks.
“Software updates may be required for the
purpose of maintaining regulatory compliance”
said Mr Bessero. They may also be required
to ensure an ECDIS continues to operate in
an optimal condition and meets the provision
of IMO ECDIS performance standards, which
dictate that ECDIS is able to display ENCs, and
S-MODE DISCUSSIONS
CONTINUE
There has been calls for at least a decade from
various industry bodies, including Intermanager,
Intertanko and the Nautical Institute, for
greater standardisation of ECDIS functions
and operations. Shipowners have also made
requests to manufacturers, through IMO, to
include standardised modes in ECDIS to
reduce the need for familiarisation training.
These requests were countered by ECDIS
manufacturers' arguments that standardisation
would reduce their ability to differentiate their
makes and models from competitors, and would
reduce development of more advanced functions
and innovations in e-navigation products.
IMO requested that manufacturers and
shipping companies create a form of standard
mode (S-mode) for displaying information on
navigation systems. CIRM collaborated with the
Nautical Institute, and other organisations, to
develop a more harmonised mode of operation.
Interim guidelines on harmonising the
display of information was presented to IMO’s
Navigation, Communications, Search and
Rescue sub-committee in February this year
and then to the Maritime Safety Committee
(MSC) in May.
These guidelines focused on core functions
that must always be available to navigators,
CIRM has since looked for a flexible approach
that would safeguard technology innovation,
without jeopardising legitimate user needs
to locate and interpret essential information
quickly, which is crucial to safe navigation.
MSC will reconvene in December this year
when it will be updated on these developments.
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
ECDIS MAINTENANCE | 7
all updates provided, in conformity with the
relevant IHO and IEC standards.
“Failure to do so may lead to improper display
of the latest charted features,” said Mr Bessero.
Additionally, he said “the appropriate alarm and
indications may not be activated”. For example, the
alarm for the point where a ship crosses a safety
depth contour. This could be dangerous to ship
navigation as it puts the vessel at risk of grounding
or striking obstructions.
To avoid such shortcomings, ECDIS must
operate with the latest versions of the IHO ENC
product specification and presentation library. If not, Snapshot CV
then ship operators must update or replace the
ECDIS to comply. Gilles Bessero is
Mr Bessero said improvements in ECDIS a former chairman
performance are either user-driven or of the International
regulation-driven depending on whether Hydrographic
ship operators want additional functionality Organization (IHO) and
in ECDIS from manufacturers, or regulators has been involved in IMO
revise their requirements. activities for 24 years.
ECDIS performance standards could be With a background in
affected in future by the development of hydrographic surveying
e-navigation functionalities, said Mr Bessero. and nautical charting,
This is driven by the IMO's e-navigation strategy he has served in French
implementation plan. government departments.
In all cases, and as set out in IMO guidance, Mr Bessero was the
“adequate software and firmware maintenance head hydrographer in
arrangements should be implemented by France from 2005 to
shipowners and be supported by equipment 2010, then in 2012 was
manufacturers,” Mr Bessero said. The International appointed as director of
Safety Management (ISM) Code provides the the IHO. He served in
appropriate framework for this. Updates to ISM will that position until 2017.
also include a requirement for ship operators to He is now a member
ensure onboard computer systems, and especially of the French Maritime
operational technology, are cyber secure by 1 Academy, a national
January 2021. scholarly organisation
UK Hydrographic Office head of OEM technical dedicated to promoting
support and digital standards Tom Mellor* the maritime sector and
expects annual performance tests will eventually providing expert advice
be introduced for ECDIS. He explained that on maritime issues.
manufacturers, working through their industry
body Comité International Radio-Maritime (CIRM),
are working on guidelines for an ECDIS annual
performance test.
This would “ensure sensors are connected
and alarms work correctly” and test that ECDIS
is connected to the voyage data recorder and
bridge navigational watch alarm system. Mr Mellor
provided a 10-step plan for ECDIS management. “Preventive
This includes ensuring ECDIS is compliant with
all IHO and IEC standards and only official and
maintenance may
validated ENCs are loaded and used. be conducted
He said alarms should be switched on, safety
contours and safety depths set correctly and the
through annual
cross-track distance populated. Routes should be performance tests,
tested for any obstructions and grounding risks.
Mr Mellor also said crew must be familiar with periodic clean-ups
the ECDIS installed on board and competent in
its operation, including being drilled for possible
or diagnostics”
failures of ECDIS as a primary navigation aid. ECDIS
8 | E-NAVIGATION
ECDIS is at the heart of
sea traffic management
F The STM validation
or the future of e-navigation,
ECDIS has become an essential
device. It is at the heart of current
and future e-navigation technology and is
used by ships that are already implementing
the next generation of navigation, such
as those involved in the Sea Traffic
Management (STM) validation project.
This is operating in the seas and ports
around Denmark, Sweden and Norway,
in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. STM is
designed to facilitate communication of
ship routes and movements using onboard
ECDIS, satellite communications and
vessel traffic services (VTSs).
STM takes e-navigation a step further
for ship safety with information exchanged
between ships and ports using data
standards and protocols. The STM project
will include 300 ships, 13 ports and five
shore centres.
E-navigation technology in STM was
demonstrated on DFDS ferry Pearl Seaways
The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com
project enables better
communications and
route transfers between
ship ECDIS and vessel
tracking services
in January this year as it sailed between
Norway and Sweden. Officers on this
ferry used Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum bridge
equipment to send the ship’s voyage plan
to a VTS centre in Norway. The route was
also sent by the Wärtsilä ECDIS Pilot to a
shore centre in Sweden.
Information was processed by the
Konsgberg-supplied systems at the
Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum bridge systems are adapted for
Norway VTS and on the Saab-provided
computers in Sweden. Data was transferred
using standards developed by the STM
team, including recommended arrival
time, navigational warnings and route
suggestions, displayed on onboard
navigational systems.
Data is also transferred to surrounding
ships indicating the expected route. A ship
with STM-enabled ECDIS on board can
identify nearby vessels and their planned
routes to determine closed points of
approach and avoid potential collisions.
The STM validation project also
developed a method of transmitting
navigational warnings in the Baltic region
directly to the onboard ECDIS. These
warnings can be sent only to those affected
and deleted when no longer relevant.
Integrated bridge systems providers
Wärtsilä and its new subsidiary, Transas,
are both intimately linked with the
STM project. Ships involved in this
e-navigation in the STM validation project

“Masters can predict
movements and possible
manoeuvres of surrounding
ships, which should increase
safety at sea”
e-navigation testbed are using Wärtsilä
and Transas ECDIS configured to handle
STM requirements.
This includes Wärtsilä’s Nacos Platinum
integrated bridge system and Transas’ Navi-
Sailor 4000 ECDIS. The two companies
combined in May as Wärtsilä acquired
Transas, including its e-navigation and
simulation experience and products, in a
US$245M deal.
After completing this acquisition,
Wärtsilä manager for navigation products
Eberhard Maass explained to Maritime
Digitalisation & Communications that
STM connects ships to shore and defines
standards for data exchange, including
routes between these entities.
“STM makes it possible to exchange
routes, to optimise voyages and transmit
route information with other ships, such as
position and speed using AIS,” he said. It
can also facilitate more types of information
exchange, such as other vessels’ intended
routes. “This means masters can predict
movements and possible manoeuvres of
surrounding ships, which should increase
safety at sea,” said Mr Maass.
He expects more progress will be
made in e-navigation and STM later this
year and into 2019. “Acceptance tests are
now ongoing and the next step will be
implementation,” he said. ECDIS will be
an important aspect to this implementation.
ECDIS standards
There are changes coming to standards
for data used by ECDIS. “Implementation
of new standards S-100 and S-101 is
on the agenda and under proposal,”
said Mr Maass. He expects these to be
implemented in the next two to three years
“with additional functionality and more
information for ECDIS”, including more
detailed depth soundings in S-100. “This
will be the next milestone for ECDIS
technology,” said Mr Maass.
It should be an easier introduction
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
Transas has incorporated voyage
planning tools into ECDIS (credit: Riviera
Maritime Media)
and integration than the changes
in ECDIS and ENC standards
manufacturers had to implement in
2016-2017 when the International
Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
updated standards. Mr Maass said both
Wärtsilä and Transas upgraded their
products to the updated standards well
before the 1 September 2017 deadline.
Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine
also upgraded its VisionMaster ECDIS,
including those already installed on
ships, to the latest IHO standards before
the deadline. Its head of product line
management for commercial ships Ralf
Magner said this was a huge programme as
“worldwide our customer hardware had the
updates by August 2017”.
He also expects S-100 and S-101
standards to be updated in the future and
e-navigation technology to be developed
rapidly using back-of-the-bridge voyage
planning systems. These use ENCs and
other route planning software with weather
and ocean condition information.
“We are trialling with one of our
large customers a voyage planning system
for automatic route exchange and chart
updates,” Mr Magner told MEC. He said
e-navigation will only be as effective as
the information it can deliver, such as
knowledge of when ships should arrive
at ports. “E-navigation is about making
things more transparent, considering new
technology and new decision processes,”
he explained.
Sperry Marine introduced its
VisionMaster Net networked bridge
solution in January this year, including
workstations for multiple ECDIS, radar,
conning, chart radar, alarm monitoring
and control, engine and thruster controls,
radio communications and other
navigational aids.
E-NAVIGATION | 9
Remote monitoring
As e-navigation technology is further
deployed, there will be more emphasis on
keeping it serviced and operational. “We
are looking at remote assistance and remote
maintenance of bridge systems to minimise
downtime,” said Mr Magner. “If critical
navigation equipment, such as radar or
ECDIS is ineffective, we will have service
engineers to ensure they can get to ships
worldwide to fix the problem.”
Furuno Electric has introduced
remote monitoring and diagnostics for its
integrated bridge systems. Its HermAce
gateway is connected to ECDIS, radar,
speedlog, sonar, voyage data recorders and
alarms through an Ethernet network and
Dell-supplied hardware.
This can be used for real-time
monitoring of performance and condition
of bridge systems, said Furuno UK area
manager Paul McKenzie. He said if there
was an issue with ECDIS, radar or other
bridge equipment, the shipmanager would
be alerted and review the problem through
a portal. Furuno would also be alerted and
“would advise the shipowner on how to fix
the problem”, he said.
Data analysis improves
navigation safety
Totem Plus has incorporated an
e-navigation data analysis (EDA) tool on its
ECDIS. This enables shipowners to analyse
data from ECDIS monthly to identify if the
crew have violated IMO’s International
Regulations for Preventing Collisions at
Sea (COLREGS) and if vessels were close
to having an accident. Its ECDIS will also
alert officers if the GPS signal is switched
off or tampered with, said Totem Plus chief
executive officer Azriel Rahav.
EDA scans data recorded by ECDIS
and voyage data recorders for near
misses using parameters such as
distance, speed and water depth.
Management is alerted if near misses
and COLREGS violations are identified.
They can then message the ship
involved or the whole fleet. Seafarers
would have the opportunity to explain
the situation and learn from experience.
Capt Rahav said this has already
improved navigation safety for fleet
managers using this tool. ECDIS
10 | E-NAVIGATION
Better ENCs and hardware
will enhance e-navigation
E High resolution ENCs, ultra-high
-navigation and
voyage planning
requires high
resolution
electronic navigational
charts (ENCs), high definition
screens and automatic
updating services. It needs
a mixture of electronic
navigation publications,
weather and metocean data
and folios of global ENCs at
different scales.
For more exact navigation
in coastal areas, harbour areas
and shipping lanes, better
ENCs are being produced
with high density bathymetric
information from multibeam
sonar surveys.
When these are available,
organisations such as the
UK Hydrographic Office is
sending them to ships with
regular updates. With high
density bathymetric data,
masters and navigators
have greater confidence to
sail through channels and
in shallower waters without
risking grounding.
This increases the
amount of open water
ships have for manoeuvring
and navigation, especially
in straits, channels and
harbours. Hydrographers
in the UK, Singapore and
Australia are leading the
investment in high definition
bathymetric data for ENCs.
Hydrographers worldwide
are also improving the
category zone of confidence
(Catzoc) on ENCs so
navigators can be more
confident about calculating
under-keel clearance. A
The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com
definition displays and more fleet
management functionality is coming
to e-navigation
Voyage planning stations have been developed for e-navigation
(credit: Riviera Maritime Media)
Catzoc of A1 means the
bathymetric data is from a
multibeam survey and the
quality will be high.
Other Catzoc values
provide advice to navigators
on the confidence they can
have for calculating under-keel
clearance, and around 70% of
all ENC cells worldwide have
accurate Catzoc values.
Alternatively, Catzoc
U is for ungraded, which
means there is no level of
certainty that the depth
value is accurate to any
percentage. There are areas
around coastal states where
hydrographic officers have
not yet assessed survey
areas to get accurate Catzoc
values. The International
Hydrographic Organization
is trying to address these
issues and remove Catzoc U
from ENCs.
ENCs need to be
consistently updated on ECDIS
to ensure navigators can use
the latest hydrographic data
with confidence. Ships also
need to be kept updated
with the latest navigation
information that comes from
temporary and preliminary
notices to mariners, which are
published by ENC suppliers,
such as UK’s Admiralty,
ChartCo and Norway-
headquartered Nautisk and
C-Map and local distributors.
Beyond ENC updating
E-navigation is becoming
more than route exchange
and voyage planning.
According to ChartCo chief
commercial officer Howard
Stevens, it should also include
regulations compliance,
environmental security and
safety management.
ChartCo is helping shipping
companies make the transition
towards an ever-more
complex digital navigation and
compliance-driven future, said
Mr Stevens. It offers version 5.4
of EnviroManager, which helps
crews comply with both Marpol
and national regulations.
This software indicates
to crew what discharges
are and are not permitted
at any location around the
world, including bilge water,
sewage, air emissions,
garbage, food waste and
ballast. This information
can be used for routeing
ships between regulatory
jurisdictions and ensuring
vessels remain in compliance,
Mr Stevens explained.
ChartCo also offers
FleetManager, which helps
shore-based staff access live
ship management and tracking
data at any time through the
internet. It links with ChartCo’s
PassageManager software so
shore staff can review active
passage plans.
In May this year, Nautisk
launched an automated and
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12 | E-NAVIGATION

secure ECDIS chart updating Integrated planning Norway-headquartered Navtor

service, NaviUpdate, as an
alternative to conventional
approaches for ENC updates:
CDs or USB devices.
NaviUpdate acts as a server
on the bridge delivering
updated information directly
to the ship's ECDIS. It is
protected by a robust firewall
and antivirus software.
Nautisk head of marketing
John Dawson said it was
developed in partnership
with MarineMTS, rigorously
tested and compatible with
existing Nautisk products
including NaviPlanner voyage
planning software.
“It delivers real-time vessel
tracking and monitoring and
utilises multiple data streams,”
he said. These include GPS,
AIS and radar. NaviUpdate
can also monitor engineroom
systems and send reports
back to shore.
C-Map, which is being
acquired by Navico, has
added an Integrated Maritime
Suite (IMS) of services to its
flat-fee and pay-as-you-sail
ENC supply and licensing
arrangements for commercial
shipping. IMS combines route
optimisation with weather,
navigational charts and
digital publications and can
be integrated with C-Map’s
shoreside fleet management
tools. It relates to voyage
planning and nautical
information management,
while helping owners lower
fuel consumption and
operational costs.
In May, C-Map introduced
an updated version of its
FleetManager program.
This web-based product
collates information about
ship performance and route
optimisation in real-time.
Nautisk NaviUpdate acts as a
server on the bridge delivering
updates to ECDIS
and Japan’s Weathernews
Inc (WNI) are incorporating
weather information in ship
voyage planning. Since
March, Navtor has used WNI
information within its software
on its advanced route
planning station NavStation.
Navtor said it would
also work with WNI “to
develop a ground-breaking
artificial intelligence (AI)
routeing service, which could
revolutionise route planning,
efficiency and safety within the
maritime industry”.
They are integrating WNI’s
shipping weather service and
fleet management platform
into NavStation. Next they
will work together to develop
an AI route planning service
combining weather information,
electronic chart information and
navigation knowledge.
This AI system would learn

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to perceive its environment
and recommend optimal
actions that support onboard
crew and onshore control
management, said Navtor
chief executive Tor Svanes.
He said NavStation is used
for passage planning and
optimising routes based on
weather reports. It can run on
Windows operating system
computers and is mostly used
with a 46-in touchscreen
monitor that can be used as a
digital chart table.
Navigators “can create their
own dynamic workstation using
the touch functionality to select,
drag and drop the desired
navigation screen they want
to work with or to layout the
desktop to their own personal
preference,” said Mr Knudsen.
DuraMON 55-in has a
touch-disable button that
allows the user to turn off the
P-CAP touch functionality to
avoid unintentional touch input
during work sessions. The
touch sensor supports up to
10-point actions.
These products “reflect the
current market trends for flexible
and high resolution screens
with direct onscreen interaction
and intuitive graphical user
interfaces and functionality that
is very similar to what is known
from smartphone and tablets”
said Mr Knutsen.
Traditionally, ECDIS and
radar workstations have ISIC’s
DuraPanel 24-in 16:9 and 26-in
16:10 screens. ISIC developed
low power and high
performance microprocessors
and an LED backlight for these
panel PCs. ECDIS

UHD displays
There has been an increase
in the variety of voyage
planning stations. Apart

We design it.
from NavStation, JRC offers
AlphaChartTable, Kongsberg
has its K-Nav planning station,
while Sperry Marine and

We install it.
Raytheon Anschütz also have
voyage planning stations.
A key element of these

We service it.
is the large high definition
display. Denmark-based
ISIC has developed 55-in
displays for planning stations
and front-bridge systems.
Its DuraMON 55-in and

Sperry Marine.
DuraMON 32-in displays are
available with 4K ultra-high
definition (UHD) resolution
and feature P-CAP multi-

A world of support.
touch interfaces. These
can be used as a back-of-
the-bridge electronic chart
table or for ECDIS and
radar applications, said ISIC
chief executive officer and
managing director Henrik At Sperry Marine we are one of the few
Hoe Knudsen.
For these large screen navigation system manufacturers with
formats “full HD (1,920 x 1,080) our own service organisation.
resolution does not always
make the cut and 4K UHD
(3,840 x 2,160) resolution Our global network of service partners are
will be preferred” to provide certified by us to the highest standards.
the desired detail and
picture quality, he explained.
DuraMON 55-in has multiple So come and talk to us for your service
video inputs that enable split- requirements. You’ll always be dealing
screen functionality, with a
capability equivalent to four
with the experts.
full HD 27-in images allowing
mariners to work with radar Get in touch at service@sperry.ngc.com
and ECDIS, plus two additional
screens at the same time.

The Navigation Experts sperrymarine.com/GlobalServices

14 | OPERATOR FEEDBACK
Shipowners overcome ECDIS
challenges through innovation
Chellaram Shipping explains how it worked with ECDIS providers to update and
replace ECDIS, while SolstadFarstad and Chevron Shipping contracted ENC
management and route optimisation
S
hipowners, managers
and operators have
faced the challenges
of not just deploying
ECDIS, but replacing ageing
equipment as software became
redundant. Those that were
early adopters of ECDIS
technology more than 10
years ago had challenges
in meeting updated IMO
requirements when software
and performance standards
were raised.
These requirements
peaked in Q3 2017 when
ship operators rushed to
update ECDIS to the latest
International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) standards
to version 4.0, of S-52 for
ECDIS presentation libraries
and S-64 for test data used for
type approvals.
Chellaram Shipping
(Hong Kong), also known as
Chellship, was one of the ship
operators that adopted ECDIS
at an early stage. It operates
a fleet of 15 bulk carriers and
dredgers and strived to become
a leader in bridge system
technology and safe navigation
by supplementing paper charts
with electronic navigational
charts (ENCs).
According to Chellship
general manager for technical
operations, Vikas Kumar,
some of the ships under its
management have had ECDIS
on board for more than 15
years. This led to challenges
when it had to comply with the
The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com
C-Map provides optimised and safe routeing information around
ports for Chevron Shipping
renewed IHO requirements.
“When updating these to
the latest IHO standards, we
had to replace some of the
oldest ECDIS with modern
units,” Mr Kumar told Maritime
Digitalisation & Communications.
Some of the more modern units
needed updated software and
some hardware components.
Chellship worked with ECDIS
providers to ensure its ships
complied with the requirements
in time for the deadline on 1
September 2017.
For Mr Kumar, this is
“We had to replace some of the
oldest ECDIS with modern units”
not the end of the ECDIS
challenges as there are
technical and manpower
issues ahead. He explained
that advances in ECDIS
technology have led to greater
training requirements for
seafarers tasked with using
these critical navigation aids.
“There are advances
in ECDIS that have new
functions, such as alerts to crew
if the GPS signal is tampered
with and information overlays,”
he said. “But training becomes
more important and we need
some level of standardisation.”
He would like ECDIS
manufacturers to develop
standard formats of operation
and data exchange between
different models to ensure
navigation officers of all
ages can operate systems on
different ships.
“Our mature officers and
masters do not find it easy
to operate ECDIS and they
need more familiarisation
training, which is why we need
standardisation,” he said. “We
also need ECDIS that will self-
update its software.”
This extra request covers
the need for shipmanagers and
operators to update ECDIS
with the latest software to
ensure they can open the latest
ENCs and provide correct
information to bridge officers.
ENC management
investments
Operator of offshore support
vessels, SolstadFarstad, is
working with a provider of
ENC management services
as part of its digitalisation
process. The Norwegian group
contracted GNS in May to
provide a fixed-price bundle of
digital e-navigation products
for the navigation requirements
of its fleet.
SolstadFarstad operates
145 vessels, including 32
construction service vessels, 50
anchor handling tug supply
vessels and 63 platform supply
 OPERATOR FEEDBACK | 15

vessels. It has consolidated
its navigation information
requirements under a single
supplier, thus simplifying
ENC purchasing. The offshore
vessel operator has transitioned
from buying an on-demand
programme to a fleet-wide
fixed-price bundle.
GNS’ service includes
digital publications and route-
specific navigation products
with analysis of vessel and
fleet ENC requirements.
SolstadFarstad chief operating
officer Tor Inge Dale said the
company expects to “achieve
significant savings and
purchasing efficiencies” through
this agreement.
“Sourcing our navigational
data this way allows vessels to
get very fast access to what they
actually need and significantly
reduces the administration
time we spend on purchasing
navigational products. This
removes the costs associated
with processing large numbers
of small transactions.”
SolstadFarstad can use GNS
analysis to manage navigation
spending on individual vessels
and across the fleet, reducing
administration and improving
compliance assurance.
Chevron Shipping has
turned to Norwegian ENC
specialist C-Map for its
ECDIS chart provision and
fleet management services.
C-Map was appointed this
year by the United Kingdom
Hydrographic Office as an
official Admiralty digital
distributor and ENC service
provider. It is managing ENCs
for Chevron and providing
the US oil major with shore-
based routeing and voyage
optimisation services, plus
technical support and training.
Chevron will use
Admiralty electronic
navigational charts and digital
publications on board crude
tankers, product tankers and
LNG carriers. It will also
use C-Map’s Pro+ charts and
UpdateWizard for worldwide
chart coverage on ECDIS on
these ships.
C-Map claims to have
the world’s largest marine
navigation digital chart
database and said its data and
software solutions are used
by more than 80% of the
world’s hydrographic offices.
C-Map’s Integrated Maritime
Suite, a cloud-based program
for fleet management and
route optimisation, will be
implemented by Chevron on its
tankers and in its onshore fleet
management offices.

Spliethoff saves fuel through weather routeing

Spliethoff Group has reduced voyage costs through using
weather data from MeteoGroup for ship routeing. It operates
a fleet of dry cargo, heavy lift and project cargo ships, freight
roro and yacht transport vessels.
To assist with route planning and execution, Spliethoff
uses MeteoGroup SPOS weather routing services including
the latest SPOS9 software. This has become a vital tool for
optimising voyages and maximising safety for crew, cargo and
vessels, said Spliethoff business development manager Karel
van Zijl. “It helps us to save time, money and fuel, and is one
way we can minimise the environmental impact of our ships.”
Every day saved from a voyage has an impact on the
company’s profits. “If the difference between a good and bad
weather routeing is one day, that could mean saving 40 tonnes
of fuel, or around US$16,000.”
SPOS9 is used on board around 100 vessels in the
Spliethoff fleet and at its head office in the Netherlands. “SPOS
lets our masters navigate with minimal fuel consumption by
calculating and recalculating optimum routes and anticipating
oncoming weather and sea conditions,” he said.
The software can also be used for planning routes to meet
pre-determined estimated times of arrival. There are built-in ship
models to help vessel masters choose the best possible route.
Spliethoff is also using SPOS9 for verification “to check
the extent to which the weather forecasts and predictions
were accurate, and to optimise our fuel efficiency further,”
said Mr van Zijl. The shipowner also interacts with weather Spliethoff Group’s Heemskerkgracht uses SPOS weather routeing
experts at MeteoGroup. for reducing fuel costs during voyages
“We encourage our masters to use this expertise for
second opinions if they would like to compare ideas,” he
said. “Ultimately it is always up to the master to decide how vessel trim. Spliethoff is working with MeteoGroup to add its
to follow the SPOS9 guidelines, as they are the ones with own individual ship models into the SPOS9 ship library.
final responsibility.” Spliethoff Group operates a large and modern fleet of
MeteoGroup regularly trains Spliethoff’s masters and deck more than 100 vessels, ranging from 2,100 dwt to 23,000
officers in its software to allow them to enter the appropriate dwt. Almost all its vessels hold Ice Class Swedish/Finnish 1A
parameters, limits and ship data, such as fuel consumption and certification, and some have the higher Super 1A class. ECDIS

www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018

16 | VOYAGE PLANNING

Weather routeing reduces fuel

costs and improves ship safety
Advances in weather information and routeing performance analysis services from WRI.
Maps can also display historical vessel
advice has led to improvements in voyage track lines over a 24-hour period, which
can be used for passage planning.
planning using back-of-the-bridge ECDIS WRI can recommend routes and changes
to voyages for weather or commercial
reasons, with dead-reckoned positions
plotted on Dolphin for each option, said
Mr Wagner. Its Dolphin voyage planner

W
eather routeing has become an a day via email or online download. SPOS9 enables masters and land-based managers
important aspect of planning holds 20 elements for voyage optimisation to enter multiple routeing options, speeds or
voyages using electronic and configurable back-to-shore reports. consumptions using an interactive platform
stations at the back of ship bridges. Navigators can create and adjust and display. It then displays the safest,
Information arrives at regular intervals, routes based on time, cost or fuel fastest and/or most efficient transits.
multiple times a day, from various providers, constraints, with or without an estimated StormGeo has enhanced its weather
each claiming that their data improves time of arrival. They can use MeteoGroup’s routeing service, Bon Voyage (BVS) this
weather routeing and efficiency of voyages. route network to plan port-to-port voyages year, with extra data to provide masters
Information comes in emails or as online that include navigational constraints and with potential routes that are optimised
downloads into electronic planning tables port approaches. for variables, such as fuel consumption,
so captains can navigate around poor Weather Routing Inc (WRI) has added new ship and cargo safety, arrival time and
weather to improve fuel efficiency and features to its Dolphin online service this year. metocean conditions, said StormGeo head
prevent damage to the ship and its cargo. Director of operations Keith Wagner said the of development Thomas Weber.
More advanced products can automatically new version includes more map options and Masters can use BVS “to avoid heavy
calculate optimised routes for ship masters. vessel positioning capabilities. Weather maps weather and emissions control areas,
In May, MeteoGroup introduced a can be loaded faster and key ports, straits or to lower sailing speeds to use less
new version of its weather routeing and headlands are labelled. More port labels fuel” he told Maritime Digitalisation &
product, version 9 of its ship performance appear as navigators zoom into higher-scale Communications. Ship managers can use
optimisation system (SPOS9). It said online maps, he said. StormGeo's fleet Decision Support System
this version “enables captains to safely A vessel’s position is displayed even if to monitor the commercial performance
navigate with minimal fuel consumption and the master is not receiving active weather of a ship along a voyage and to provide
emissions” by calculating and recalculating monitoring, forecasting, routeing or reports to regulators on emissions. ECDIS
optimum routes and anticipating oncoming
weather and sea conditions.
MeteoGroup said SPOS9 has the
shipping industry’s first variable speed
algorithm to help navigators calculate
routes that bypass severe weather
and has functions covering ship trim
optimisation during voyages.
SPOS9 has pre-installed ship models to
provide these functions and more accurate
ship routeing. The models were developed
in collaboration with Dutch research group
MARIN and include algorithms covering
the resistance impact of wind and waves
on specific vessel types.
MeteoGroup said SPOS9 takes into
consideration various sea conditions,
MeteoGroup SPOS9 has a variable speed algorithm
such as wind, waves, swell and currents. that helps navigators bypass severe weather
Weather forecasts are updated four times

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com

 VOYAGE PLANNING | 17

Route optimisation using tidal data

reduces fuel consumption and emissions
Adding tidal data to ECDIS will improve the information available to navigators for
voyage planning and assist managers in post-voyage analysis

A
dvances in metocean data allows ship operators
to optimise their coastal routes without affecting
navigational safety and managers to improve fuel
efficiency through post-voyage analysis of tidal, current and
weather information.
Navigators use tidal and current data on the electronic planning
stations at the back of the ship’s bridge along with electronic
navigational charts (ENCs) and weather information for planning
optimal routes for fuel consumption and port scheduling.
Routes are checked with tidal and current data to prevent
groundings during low tide, then transferred to the main
navigational ECDIS on the bridge to execute the voyage.
Tidal data is available from various sources, including Tidetech
Commercial Marine and the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO). Data
quality has improved to a level that operators of shortsea shipping,
ferries and offshore vessels are using it for planning their routes,
said Tidetech managing director Penny Haire. Navigators can improve fuel efficiency by using current and weath-
She told Maritime Digitalisation & Communications that more er information in the North Atlantic and European waters
shipping companies are recognising the opportunities afforded
from weather and tidal data sets. “Smarter navigation helps
operators maintain more consistent vessel speed and schedule- information in three dimensions: longitude, latitude and time. Ms
keeping to save money and reduce fuel consumption and air Haire said this helps navigators forecast metocean data for future
emissions,” she said. voyages and perform post-voyage analysis.
“The opportunities exist as much for liner The Data Cube stores information in
operators sailing the biggest container ships a single, consistent format in constituent
as those that trade intra-regional routes,” she parts at the highest resolution. Data can be
explained. “It [also assists] tanker and bulk reorganised, reformatted and manipulated to
carrier operators looking to maximise earnings
“The opportunities individual shipping company requirements.
voyage-by-voyage.” exist as much for liner Users can process the data, perform analytics
Tidetech can generate metocean data and receive output in any format, such as in
at any waypoint in a voyage to provide
operators sailing the Microsoft Excel or Google Earth files.
weather, wave and current values along the biggest container ships More information on tidal and wave
whole voyage track. This is ideally suited to data can be created through computer
commercial post-voyage analysis, which can
as those that trade processing, which is why UKHO has
be fed back into future voyage plans. intra-regional routes” released a new application programming
The data can be delivered in high enough interface for its Admiralty brand that
resolution to enable operators to optimise enables access to UK tidal data. Software
the coastal and regional legs of a voyage. Ms developers can use this interface to build
Haire said simulations run for shipowners on tidal height and time predictions into their
their routes across the North Atlantic have demonstrated there are own online applications.
more potential cost savings from optimising against currents in UK UKHO expects this information to give shipping a better
coastal and northern European waters, than there are across the understanding of coastal conditions around the UK to support a
whole Atlantic. range of tasks, from navigation to helping emergency services
Tidetech has increased its metocean data to include tide, plan rescue operations. Its UK tidal database contains height data
current, temperature, ice and weather information by developing from over 600 tidal gauges and 40 stations in the Environment
a relational Data Cube, which enables navigators to visualise this Agency's UK National Tidal Network. ECDIS

www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018

18 | ECDIS PERCEPTIONS

Competitive market
drives development of
bundle solutions
A
survey conducted by consultant
ECDIS supply should be bundled with ENC The Strategy Works in Q4 2017
updates, online delivery and broadband discovered that ECDIS suppliers
need to provide bundled solutions with
provision, according to interviewees from a electronic navigational chart (ENC)
updates and value-added services for
survey carried out by The Strategy Works route planning. ECDIS supply is a highly
competitive market, dominated by the
installation of Japanese hardware from
companies such as Furuno Electric and
Japan Radio Co.
Around 90% of interviewees agreed
that Japanese manufacturers are the biggest
players in ECDIS supply. One interviewee
even said “The Japanese have taken control
of the market.”.
Interviewees said the success of Japanese
manufacturers is not necessarily just down
to price. Key factors include ease of use and
performance, along with the convenience
of sourcing multiple pieces of hardware and
software from the same place and better
integration across the bridge.
An influential European mariner told
The Strategy Works that “not many of our
decisions are based on price.” On the other
hand, smaller shipowners, particularly in
Asia, are perceived to be more cost-driven
and are waiting until they have to meet
IMO ECDIS carriage requirements.
But interviewees suggested shipowners
should not be driven by SOLAS compliance
in their decision to install and use ECDIS
for daily operations. As one interviewee
stated “Anyone who does not change to
ECDIS is wasting money because that is
what the youngsters are trained on.”

Service bundling
To compete, ECDIS manufacturers and
suppliers should consider bundling the
JRC ECDIS can be integrated into a workstation with a full range of user interfaces hardware with software and value-added
(Credit: Riviera Maritime Media) services. Shipowners interviewed suggested

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com


that services including weather information
and efficient routeing applications would be
beneficial, while ECDIS suppliers see this
as a growth market.
Around 90% of interviewees from the
downstream side of ECDIS supply felt
that this value-added service market is set
to grow dramatically within the next five
years. Increases will be driven by suppliers
seeking to gain competitive advantages
through creating one-stop-shops for
integrated software.
“Bundling is an important part of
supplying data to the ship operators,” said
one unnamed ECDIS provider. Another
European distributor said that “within the
next five years bundling will be significant”
as the customer wants “more service for the
same price”.
“Within the next five
years bundling will be
significant”
Another predicted that ECDIS service
“will be an entirely different market
within the next five years” because of
bundling, as it is an inevitable trend in
ship navigation. ECDIS hardware is
becoming something of a commodity,
so user interfaces and advanced routeing
software are seen as significant brand
differentiators as this enables good
passage planning.
An additional trend is bundling ENC
updates through satellite communications,
especially VSAT, to shipping fleets. To
provide these services, ENC suppliers have
teamed up with satellite communications
companies. This means a proportion of
the broadband that ships utilise is used for
downloading chart updates to ECDIS.
There are indications that some ECDIS
manufacturers have already started to move
into the satellite communications market.
However, there were mixed opinions
of whether there was a future role for
ECDIS manufacturers within the maritime
broadband market.
The main barrier to ECDIS
manufacturers entering the satellite
communications market themselves is
the required investment in infrastructure
along with the strength of current
broadband providers.
As one ENC distributor said
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
ECDIS can be integrated with a complete bridge system or a training simulator
(Credit: Riviera Maritime Media)
“broadband providers have the market
to themselves and do not need to share
with manufacturers.” Another barrier is
that shipowners are often on long-term
broadband contracts and do not regularly
change provider. Customer loyalty and
convenience are therefore a factor.
However, 70% of the interviewees
said bundling ECDIS supply and
maintenance with ENC delivery and
satellite communications provision would
be attractive to shipping companies.
This attractiveness is due to the
simplification that bundling provides when
updating software and the ability to pick
and choose both hardware and software,
rather than being constrained to one
brand. Bundling is also becoming more
attractive to distributors as “it gives them a
competitive edge”, one respondent said.
Lease versus own
Another competitive advantage could
come from providing an ECDIS leasing
service. Interviewees in the survey agreed
there would be benefits to shipping
companies for leasing rather than
purchasing ECDIS..
One key benefit is a lack of large
capital outlay involved in leasing when
compared to purchasing ECDIS units.
Another is the peace of mind that comes
from the user not being responsible for
maintenance and updating ECDIS, which
is with the supplier.
ECDIS PERCEPTIONS | 19
“Leasing is an extremely
competitive package”
A leading but unnamed shipping
company said that leasing “makes perfect
sense and is becoming a more attractive
option for owners and managers”. One of
the distributors said there is “great interest
in leasing applications and subscription-
based services” and that “leasing is an
extremely competitive package”.
Interviewees were also asked to consider
the future for ship navigation, and in particular
IMO’s strategy to implement e-navigation.
There was general consensus that not many
people in shipping actually know what
e-navigation is. It can mean different things
to different people. “People think that the ‘e’
stands for electronic but it actually stands for
enhanced,” said one of the interviewees.
Interviewees thought e-navigation
had not been properly adopted by
IMO yet. However, there is a clear view
that the move towards e-navigation is
considered a natural progression for the
shipping industry. Those surveyed said
the main advances are likely to occur in
automatic routeing and shore-based vessel
monitoring that could lead in some cases to
autonomous vessels.
One leading mariner told The
Strategy Works “I think we will see
20 | ECDIS PERCEPTIONS

“People think that the ‘e’

stands for electronic but
it actually stands
for enhanced”

much more e-navigation as there are

huge savings involved.” Distributors
described the transition to e-navigation
as “a natural request” from shipping
companies and that it will become “more
and more prevalent”.
Nonetheless, interviewees regard
e-navigation as technology for the future
of navigation. There are pilot projects
underway, but so far, there are no clear
leaders in e-navigation technology.

This is an edited extract from The Strategy

Works: ECDIS Market Trends. London-
based consultancy The Strategy Works
carried out in-depth telephone interviews
in October 2017 with several high-profile
industry figures from ECDIS providers,
ENC distributors and end-users from
shipping companies. ECDIS needs to have good user interfaces and graphical displays

ECDIS should be considered as part of a complete bridge system

ECDIS should not be considered a stand-alone unit, but part structure. “Many operators put the equipment on board but do
of a complete and integrated bridge system that includes both not factor in – or require – a change of behaviour, attitude or
the technology and the officers that use it. Transas leader at operational process,” Mr Coles said.
Wärtsilä Voyage Solutions, Frank Coles, believes the complete A safe navigational mentality and awareness starts from
bridge, including its human resources and devices, should having “skills and competence training in a complete bridge
improve navigational safety. picture”. This can be achieved when
But that can only be achieved if training whole bridge teams on full-
users are fully qualified and competent mission simulators.
in ECDIS use. “As a stand-alone unit “As a stand-alone unit for Mr Coles also thinks purchasing
for navigation, ECDIS increases the ECDIS, charts and voyage planning
risk of an incident,” he said. “Without navigation, ECDIS increases applications should be more integrated.
proper competence and skills training, the risk of an incident” Ship operators will buy ECDIS from
it increases the risk of an accident and one supplier, electronic navigational
these situations are commonplace in charts from another, weather routeing
our industry.” and other applications from different
Mr Coles thinks ECDIS is poorly regulated and poorly providers. This is “creating a fragmented approach to
used and seafarers are poorly trained. He noted “many operations” he said.
owners and operators cover the bare minimum required by It also reduces shipping companies’ abilities to improve
regulatory requirements for installation, use and training.” voyage optimisation. Mr Coles thinks the shipping
However, the bare minimum for certification does not industry should work on a more integrated approach to
indicate that navigators have either the skills or competency providing voyage optimisation, ship performance and safe
to use ECDIS in a complete bridge operational management navigation. ECDIS

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com

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Bridge systems are
not cyber-secure
Penetration testing has demonstrated
that ECDIS and radar can be hacked,
which could result in a grounded ship
H
ackers have demonstrated that navigation systems,
including ECDIS and radar, are not immune to cyber
attacks, even if owners enforce a physical air gap
between the satellite communications. There are four
main methods of introducing malware to ECDIS, three of which are
associated with the way electronic navigational charts (ENCs) are
introduced or upgraded.
One method is if malware has infected a USB memory device
that is plugged into ECDIS, another is to infect a CD or DVD that
is used for ENC updates and a third method is through a direct
link between ECDIS and the ship’s satellite communications. A
fourth method is through an indirect link between the satellite
communications and ECDIS, via another operational technology
The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com
Dave Manning (Cyber Prism):
OT operating systems may remain
unchanged on ships for decades
(OT) device, such as the automatic identification system or voyage
data recorder.
Penetration test specialists Naval Dome and Cyber Prism
highlighted the ease with which malware can be used to alter
information on key navigation devices at Riviera Maritime Media’s
European Maritime Cyber Risk Management Summit, which was
held on 15 June in association with Norton Rose Fulbright.
During this summit, Naval Dome chief executive officer Itai Sela
described an exercise in which cyber security experts broke into
radar and ECDIS. They were able to change the position of a ship,
the depth information on ECDIS and meddle with targets on radar.
This would have placed a ship in jeopardy of grounding.
All this was done through introducing malware in email
and breaking passwords in shipping company headquarters.
“We found multiple blind spots and that many systems were
unprotected,” he said.
One of the biggest vulnerabilities is that many ECDIS installed
on ships are operating on legacy Microsoft Windows-based
operating systems and are updated with ENCs, usually on a
weekly basis. This generates easy attack vectors to hackers and
few defensive barriers to malware, Mr Sela explained.
Naval Dome experts hacked the headquarters of a shipping

company and instructed someone there to send an infected ENC
update to the ship. Once that was inside the ECDIS, the malware
started to act, manipulating the depth data and altering the ship’s
position on the display.
Naval Dome has developed a USB-based security capsule
that defends OT equipment, such as ECDIS and radar, from cyber
attack. It provides a multi-layered defence with software that
detects and intercepts malware that generates executable files
to infect devices. There is also a cloud-based ‘sandbox’ that tests
files before they open in ECDIS.
“Nothing goes into the system without approval and detection,”
said Mr Sela. This security device was tested by Lloyd’s Register
(LR) this year and DNV GL is in the process of type-approving it,
he added.
Also at the summit, Cyber Prism technical director Keith
Chappell conducted a live demonstration of how easy it is to
access data in ECDIS using an adapted USB device. This pretends
to be a network and captures data, such as passwords, usernames
and administration accounts, he explained.
His colleague, development director Dave Manning, explained
that OT operating systems may remain unchanged on ships for
decades, which means they become unsupported by software
companies. “If hackers get into the OT then the ship can be in
trouble,” he said “and remember it could be a 20-year-old machine
running on an old operating system.”
Mr Manning said shipping companies should understand the
vulnerabilities and operating systems on their vessels. Shipping
companies should monitor systems, know the status of software
updates and patch levels. “No-one considers the source of
OT patches,” Mr Manning said, adding that ship operators
should update the security of OT on board ships if new satellite
communications equipment is installed.
Class acts
Classification societies are formulating notations and guidance to
help shipping companies improve their onboard cyber security,
especially as this becomes a requirement under IMO’s ISM Code
from January 2021. LR, ABS and DNV GL provided guidance to
delegates at Riviera Maritime Media’s summit on 15 June.
LR cyber security product manager Elisa Cassi said shipping
companies should get a third-party to monitor their IT network, the
OT equipment and people to “stop people sharing data to others
Owners set bridge rules to be cyber secure
Shipowners are using segregation and bridge rules to prevent
cyber threats from entering ECDIS and other operational
technology on ships.
Zodiac Maritime has introduced rules on its container ships
to prevent malware from entering key operational technology for
vessel navigation. Zodiac’s manager for quality, health, safety and
the environment Karl Meher-Homji told Maritime Digitalisation &
Communications that its seafarers and vendors were not allowed to
have any USB memory sticks on the bridge of the ships.
He said this was imposed to tighten security on the bridge of
container ships and had prevented malware from being accidently or
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
CYBER SECURITY | 23
or compromising procedures”.
She said an attacker may try to get through the
communications system to compromise components of
the navigation system. Shipowners “need to identify any
compromise before the attacker tries to penetrate” onboard
OT devices and “intercept this at the time when an attacker
tries to authenticate”.
Ms Cassi explained that technology can support the early
detection of cyber incidents on ships, ports or offices. It can
intercept and prevention of a cyber attack. She added that
shipping companies need to “investigate the vulnerabilities
through analytics and machine learning”, understand the
behaviour of potential threats and use predictive analysis.
LR is able to conducts surveys of cyber security of on board
systems and can determine whether a ship is safe to navigate. Ms
Cassi said LR is also working with other class societies to define
cyber secure ship notations.
ABS advanced solutions business development manager
Pantelis Skinitis said shipowners need to change passwords on
OT, such as ECDIS and radar, as some have not been changed
since they were originally commissioned on the ship. He also
advised owners to verify vendors and service engineers and
ensure that their USB sticks are clean of malware.
ABS has created cyber safety guidance for ship OT, particularly
for ships coming into US ports and terminals. In its development,
ABS identified the risks, vulnerabilities and threats to OT.
“Managing connection points and human resource deals with the
biggest threat to OT systems on board,” said Mr Skinitis.
DNV GL has developed new class notations covering cyber
security of newbuildings. It has also produced an online video
for instructing shipping companies to become more aware of
cyber threats. During the summit, DNV GL maritime cyber security
service manager Patrick Rossi said ship operators should set up
multiple barriers to prevent hackers.
These should include firewalls, updated antivirus, patch
management, threat intelligence, intrusion detection,
emergency recovery and awareness testing. OT should be
segregated from open networks, only official ENC provider
USBs and update disks should be used and cleaned of malware
before being inserted into ECDIS and these systems should be
segregated from the internet. DNV GL released its first cyber
security class notation in July. This offers shipowners and
operators a framework to demonstrate their cyber resilience.
deliberately transferred to key navigational equipment.
USBs are not even used for updating electronic navigational
charts on ECDIS. Captain Meher-Homji said ENC updates were
brought on to ship bridges on disks from reputable ENC providers
and their local agents.
Cruise ship operator Disney Cruises segregates its operational
technology from crew and passenger wifi networks to reduce the
risk of malware infection. An IT manager with Disney Cruises said
the operational network of each ship was completely separate from
the satellite communications that guests and seafarers use for social
media and other internet services. ECDIS
24 | CYBER SECURITY
SECURITY
FLAWS
OPEN ECDIS TO
CYBER CRIME
Pen Test Partners
I
n June, Pen Test Partners was tasked with
penetrating multiple makes and models of
was able to ECDIS and the results in its own words were
penetrate leading shocking. The ethical hackers found high level
issues in most ECDIS tested.
ECDIS models Pen Test Partners senior partner and ethical
swiftly and easily hacker Ken Munro said the most significant issue
was that most ECDIS ran on very old Microsoft
simulate what operating systems, including Windows XP, 7
real hackers and Windows NT. This means the majority of
ECDIS are not supported by Microsoft and thus
could achieve do not have regularly updated security.
“It was therefore trivially easy to completely
compromise every ECDIS,” said Mr Munro.
“Complete control could be gained over the
network interfaces and USB,” he told Maritime
Digitalisation & Communications.
Even if the host operating system was up-to-
date and secure, most ECDIS offered network
services that were vulnerable. These were usually
systems to allow communication with other
operational technology on a ship’s bridge.
Pen Test Partners found exposed configuration
interfaces over these networks. “We could boot up
the ECDIS from a USB key, locate the encrypted
passwords for these services, crack them and then
reconfigure the ECDIS,” said Mr Munro.
In addition, the penetrators discovered that
these passwords were rarely changed and, in
many cases, the vendor’s documentation made no
mention of changing network service passwords,
ECDIS SECURITY just the host operating system passwords.
ISSUES They were also able to cause issues with
• Out-of-date software. ECDIS models by sending unexpected network
• Insecure configuration traffic. “In some cases, this led to remote-code
interfaces. execution, whereby we could compromise the
• Unstable network ECDIS even if the software was up-to-date,” said
stacks. Mr Munro.
• Vulnerabilities in Some ECDIS models had integrated security
software. software, such as antivirus and firewalls. These
• GPS spoofing and were effective for what Mr Munro called “low-
jamming. grade attacks” but made little difference to more
• ENC denial. skillful attackers. “We found significant security
• False AIS. flaws in the ECDIS software itself, which allowed
us to bypass the security software,” he explained.
The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com
Hackers were able
to offset the vessel's
position on radar
and ECDIS
“We could compromise the
ECDIS even if the software
was up-to-date”
GPS spoofing
Cyber attacks on ECDIS may not be a direct
penetration. Mr Munro’s team were also able to
reconfigure ECDIS to believe its GPS receiver
was at the other end of the vessel, therefore
introducing a 300 m offset.
“Then, through further reconfiguration, we
changed the profile of the vessel to be 1 km2
square, for an offset of 1,000 m,” he said. Even
further offsets could be introduced by tampering
with the US National Marine Electronics
Association 0183 serial data being sent to the
ECDIS from the GPS receiver.
“Having compromised the ECDIS, we had
control over the serial COM ports through
which the GPS communicated its position
and could tamper with that position data
also,” said Mr Munro. Identical offsets could
be introduced to radar, meaning a watch
officer could not use that method to check for
position discrepancies.
Pen Test Partners also demonstrated that
automatic identification system information
could be tampered with. For example, a hacker
could create a 1 km2 floating island in a shipping
lane. “Every ship ECDIS would be alerted to the
phantom blockage and collision potential,” Mr
Munro said.
This could cause confusion on ship
bridges and potential course alterations that
in congested waters could lead to collisions.
Hackers could use these techniques to steal
money, manipulate ship movements for
financial gain or cause vessel groundings or
collisions, said Mr Munro. ECDIS

Training is essential to
prevent cyber attacks on
operational technology
I
f crew are trained to be wary of cyber threats and taught not
to use their own mobile devices on ship bridges, this would
go some way to protect vital navigational systems. Shore
managers should also be trained to watch for potential malware
and viruses to prevent them being sent to ships.
Cyber awareness training was one of the main themes
discussed in depth at Riviera Maritime Media’s European Maritime
Silverbox secures ECDIS
Securing an onboard ECDIS can be difficult if seafarers and
technicians can plug USB memory sticks or mobile devices
into it. There is also a risk when uploading chart updates from
online providers.
However, UK-based MarineMTS has launched Silverbox, a
product it said will improve cyber security and voyage planning
on ships by providing secure chart and data updates to ECDIS
in a seamless and automatic process.
MarineMTS founder and managing director Wynne Edwards
said this technology “will revolutionise maritime operations”
as it can be bolted onto any brand of ECDIS to increase its
functionality and security.
“Silverbox means that shipowners and operators will, for
the first time, be able to unlock the full potential of their
navigational systems through our innovative bolt-on technology,”
he said. “What we have developed is a plug-in that allows real-
time maritime charting to be easily accessed.”
Silverbox comes with anti-virus capabilities. It compresses
and encrypts data for transmission, offering a secure, cost-
effective and fully-integrated solution for ship operators.
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
CYBER SECURITY | 25
Philip Roche: Classification societies provide
approvals for cyber security training
Shipping companies should
train crew and onshore staff
to be more aware of the
cyber threats
Cyber Risk Management Summit, held in association with Norton
Rose Fulbright in London on 15 June.
At that event, Norton Rose Fulbright partner Philip Roche
highlighted that classification societies and some proactive port state
control authorities offer support for cyber security training, whether it
is approving courses or helping to produce e-learning packages.
Classification societies provided their perspective on cyber
security training at the summit. Lloyd’s Register cyber security
product manager Elisa Cassi said shipping companies should employ
specialists to train their onshore and onboard people to be cyber
aware, to prevent them sharing data or compromising procedures.
Seafarers should at least know the basics to prevent infection
of bridge systems and onboard computers from malware on USBs.
They could also be taught to identify phishing messages and not to
open attachments in emails from sources they cannot easily verify.
One IT manager of a shipping company affiliated with a
national energy group provided his own personal perspective at
the summit. He said there should be drills in shipping company
offices and on board ships that include testing the reactions to
cyber attacks. He said companies would be better prepared for a
real cyber attack if they practiced their response.
He said human resources should be not viewed as the main
source of cyber-related problems. They should be seen as a key
element of the solution. He asked delegates how many cyber
attacks are prevented by humans, not just those that occurred
because of them.
“Cyber security systems are managed and produced by
humans, so there is a human element and this is quite important,”
he said. “Training is important to improving people’s awareness.”
Training should include everyone involved in shipping including
vendors, engineers, seafarers, charterers and inspectors, as each
could impact a ship’s cyber security. Shipowners should also conduct
risk assessments of these people and manage these risks. ECDIS
26 | ECDIS TRAINING

Seafarers need familiarisation

training to prevent accidents

F ECDIS familiarisation is a regulatory requirement

amiliarisation training can help
prevent a ship from being
involved in a maritime accident or and its training should prevent seafarers causing
being detained in port.
With ECDIS now mandatory on an maritime accidents
increasing number of merchant ships,
it has become even more important
to ensure that navigation officers are
well trained in their generic knowledge
of ECDIS functions and in the type of
ECDIS they are utilising on board. It is a
key safety and regulatory requirement
that seafarers using ECDIS as the ship’s
primary means of navigation need to be
familiar with its operation and functions.
In the past 10 years, there have been
examples where crew unfamiliarity with
ECDIS operations was a factor in causing
ship groundings, such as when oil and
chemical tanker Ovit grounded in the
English Channel on 18 September 2013.
There are also numerous cases of
ships being detained by port state control
because the vessel was not equipped with
the right navigation systems or crew were
unfamiliar with ECDIS operations. In some
cases, ships have been detained until
ECDIS trainers are flown in to teach the
navigators. Having continual deficiencies
in navigation knowledge can also lead to
ships being banned from ports. its crew and the marine environment,” Port state control inspectors will check that
In June, the Australian Maritime Safety said AMSA’s acting general manager of bridge officers have navigation skills and
Authority (AMSA) banned cargo ship operations, Stephen Curry. knowledge (credit: AMSA)
Thorco Luna for three months after its Other port state control authorities
third detention in Australia in eight months. have found deficiencies in the knowledge
AMSA said this ship had been inspected of navigators using ECDIS. According to
five times between November 2017 and the various memoranda of understandings
June 2018, in which time inspectors found for port state control, issues with
34 deficiencies. navigation equipment and crew familiarity
AMSA said the “most serious is one of the top five deficiencies
deficiencies stemmed from the fact that encountered on ships during 2017.
officers and crew were unfamiliar with the Therefore, it is in a ship operator’s
operation of critical shipboard equipment best interests to ensure officers are “This presents an
and procedures for navigation.” This familiar with ECDIS functions. However,
included lack of knowledge of the ship’s the method of familiarising crew does not unacceptable risk to the safety
electronic navigation systems, which need a mandatory type-specific course. of the ship, its crew and the
contravened the owner's obligations under Generic ECDIS training is a mandatory
SOLAS chapter XI-1. “This presents an requirement under the International marine environment”
unacceptable risk to the safety of the ship, Convention on Standards of Training,

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com


Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).
But this only takes trainees to a set
standard of operation.
With more than 30 different
manufacturers with multiple models
of ECDIS, seafarers need additional
training to use what they encounter on
ships proficiently. This familiarisation
is a requirement under STCW and the
International Safety Management Code.
And this is what port state control
inspectors are requesting during their
vessel inspections.
Online courses
Familiarisation training can be conducted
at training academies or using e-learning
courses. Safebridge has become a main
provider of type-specific ECDIS courses
after establishing two initiatives in Q1
2017. It formed an alliance with Seagull
Maritime that enables seafarers to access
Safebridge’s e-learning courses which
cover more than 25 different ECDIS
models. Seagull has added these courses
to its onboard training systems allowing
seafarers to complete them using their
own computers.
In the other initiative, Safebridge
joined forces with Videotel to offer ECDIS
e-learning courses on ships through the
onboard Videotel on demand system.
These courses include theory sections and
practical training using the onboard ECDIS
and Safebridge’s validation systems.
Apart from its Safebridge collaboration,
Seagull provides e-learning courses for
key ECDIS manufacturers. Its courses
are based on the requirement for type-
specific familiarisation and are approved
by the ECDIS developers themselves. For
example, Seagull has collaborated with
Japan Radio Co (JRC) to provide training
on its latest models including JAN-7201,
JAN-7201S, JAN-9201 and JAN-9201S.
Pilot courses
In April this year, Safebridge extended its
courses to maritime pilots. This covers
both generic topics and type-specific
familiarisation to specifically address
pilots’ requirements. Courses include an
overview of ECDIS carriage requirements,
electronic charts, ECDIS navigational
functions and shiphandling with ECDIS.
It also includes sensor integration, alert
management and the latest changes
according to the updated International
Hydrographic Organization standards.
www.marinemec.com The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018
By the end of the course, maritime
pilots should be able to understand
the navigational functions of ECDIS
and direct the selection of and assess
relevant information. This should include
understanding the potential errors of
displayed data and the common errors of
interpretation. Pilots should be familiar with
the features common to all ECDIS systems.
Shipmanager perspective
Shipmanagement companies are one of
the biggest users of ECDIS familiarisation
courses as they manage large fleets of
commercial ships that are often owned
by multiple companies. In March this year,
Maritime Digitalisation & Communications
discussed ECDIS training with Singapore-
based shipmanagement group Thome’s
president and chief commercial officer
Claes Eek Thorstensen.
He said Thome’s fleet has ECDIS
supplied by Furuno Electric, Headway, JRC
and Kongsberg. Thome uses Safebridge
online tools to conduct ECDIS training as
it has programs covering the major brands
and models installed on ships within the
fleet. He also liked the fact that Safebridge
courses could be accessed wherever
there is an internet connection.
Thome also uses accredited training
centres around the world that have
simulators with different ECDIS systems
to train bridge teams to operate these
devices, said Mr Thorstensen. One of the
main centres used is Singapore-based
Star Centurion, which provides classroom
training. Thome also uses Furuno’s
and Kongsberg’s own computer-based
training courses.
Training simulator investment
Minerva Marine, a leading
shipmanagement company based in
Athens, Greece, has taken another
approach to providing a full programme of
seafarer training requirements, including
ECDIS. It has established the Athina
Maritime Learning and Development Centre
in Athens and contracted Kongsberg Digital
to supply bridge, engineroom and cargo
handling simulators.
Kongsberg will supply a K-Sim
Navigation full-mission Class A bridge
simulator, which will include ECDIS,
radar, conning and other navigation and
communications equipment. This simulator
uses mathematical and hydrodynamic
models that allow vessels, equipment and
ECDIS TRAINING | 27
marine objects to behave and interact as
in real life.
Athina Maritime training manager
Stelios Volakis said in May that the centre
will be capable of delivering courses
that enhance the knowledge and skills
of seafarers employed by Minerva. He
said training will be “similar to the actual
onboard operating conditions”.
Minerva chief operating officer
Sokratis Dimakopoulos said training is
important for building the “competence
of our seafarers” and “ensuring flawless,
efficient and safe operations”.
Competence assurance
Assurance of the competence of seafarers
is also an important element of preventing
port state control inspectors finding
deficiencies in crew knowledge. Ship
operators can use eMaritime Group’s
Annual Competency Assurance Training
(ACAT) for this.
ACAT contains online training courses
and competence assurance tools that
managers, operators and seafarers can
use remotely. There is also an offline
version that can be downloaded for ships
without enough internet access to use the
online course.
eMaritime said ACAT is used daily by
shipping companies for ECDIS training
assurance to ensure the competency of all
officers with navigational duties on fleets
of ships. In February, eMaritime released
a new version of ACAT with a new module
to ensure officers are up-to-date with the
latest ECDIS and ENC standards. ECDIS
A K-Sim Navigation bridge simulator will be
installed at the Athina Maritime Learning
and Development Centre
28 | FORWARD THINKING

ECDIS will be at the heart

of autonomous shipping
Kongsberg Maritime director of autonomy Peter Due explains
why e-navigation and technology developed for the Yara
Birkeland project will enable a future of autonomous shipping
twin that Kongsberg generated. This includes
navigation in different metocean conditions.
“The twin integrates all data including weather,
currents, tides and temperature with a detailed
physical ship model,” said Mr Due. “We can then
decide the optimum route and simply transfer it to

Snapshot CV
Peter Due has worked for
Kongsberg Maritime and
related organisations since
2010 in different technical
fields. Between 2010 and
2014, he was a board
member of the Kongsberg
International School. From
2014 to 2016 he was a
project manager at the
Skema Business School
and project manager for
dynamic positioning at
Kongsberg Maritime. He
moved into autonomous
shipping at the beginning
of 2017 and became
director of autonomy in
September 2017.
E
CDIS and e-navigation will be essential
for generations of future autonomous
ships. Although the first unmanned
ships will be remotely controlled and
operating in coastal waters, in the long term
there will be oceangoing autonomous ships,
with e-navigation technology monitoring their
progress onshore.
IMO placed oceangoing autonomous vessels
firmly on the global agenda during the Maritime
Safety Committee (MSC) 99 session in May
this year, by implementing a working group to
conduct a regulatory scoping exercise for using
MASS (maritime autonomous surface ships)*.
Kongsberg Maritime will be part of that
working group and will deliver technology to
the world’s first all-electric, zero emissions and
autonomous container vessel, Yara Birkeland.
This ship is scheduled to transport fertiliser
products along a 30 nautical mile route to the
ports of Brevik and Larvik next year and by 2020
is likely to be unmanned.
Kongsberg Maritime director of autonomy
Peter Due said new navigation and collision
avoidance systems that centre on e-navigation
technology were needed for this project, as Yara
Birkeland will operate on a busy waterway.
Kongsberg drew on its experience in
autonomous underwater vehicles, dynamic
positioning, ECDIS and sensor fusion as a
foundation for autonomous navigation. But
Mr Due explained to Maritime Digitalisation &
Communications that more development was
required. “Harmonising with artificial intelligence,
machine learning and digital twin technology
enables the extreme level of safety required,”
he said.
Mr Due said Yara Birkeland’s operations will
be planned, pretested and optimised in the cloud
using the Kognifai digital platform and its digital
the ship’s autonomy engine, navigation systems
and ECDIS when it is in port,” he continued.
“Once the ship sets off, sensor fusion comes into
play, enabling the autonomy engine, working with
the onboard digital twin and e-navigation systems
to adjust and reroute at sea according to the actual
conditions and other vessels in the vicinity.”
It is this dynamism a fully autonomous
navigation system requires that led to the
establishment of the Hull-to-Hull (H2H) EU-funded
research project. This will develop technical
solutions for safer navigation in close proximity to
stationary or moving vessels and objects.
H2H will use the European Global Navigation
Satellite System, Galileo, to enhance safety in
busy waters and during close manoeuvring.
“This will help mariners to make the correct
navigation decisions and will create the
fundamental conditions for autonomous vessel
navigation,” said Mr Due. Data can be used as
an input to an autonomy controller.
Ensuring that e-navigation and collision
avoidance technology works correctly will
be fundamental to autonomous shipping.
“Navigational safety is essential if the benefits of
MASS are ever to be truly realised,” said Mr Due.
“With national regulations enabling us to
proceed with projects like Yara Birkeland, our
work so far has focused on operations in busy and
congested coastal waters.” He expects technology
will take autonomous shipping much further.
“Breakthroughs in sensor fusion, digitalisation
and integration with navigation systems will be
within a new generation of oceangoing ships if
the IMO scoping exercise does ultimately lead to
the possibility,” Mr Due concluded. ECDIS
*Led by Sweden, the two-year scoping
exercise is looking into how safe, secure and
environmentally sound MASS operations may be
addressed in IMO instruments.

The Complete Guide to ECDIS | 2018 www.marinemec.com

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