• having a good perception of your surroundings

at all times
• comprehending what's happening around you
• predicting how this will affect your boat.
 Be aware of your environment, including:
1. other boats in the area
2. communications between vessel traffic services and other boats
3. weather
4. sea state
5. depth of water
6. tide and current
 Having mode awareness
 Keep spatial orientation
 Keep a time horizon
Many factors can cause you to lose situational awareness. Errors can
occur at each level of the process previously described.
Perception
Data not observed, either because it is difficult to observe or your scanning of the
environment is deficient due to:
 passive, complacent behaviour
 high work load
 distraction and interruptions including:
1. not relevant to task, for example, a person talking
2. relevant to task, for example, a warning light starts to flash.

 Unexpected, for example, reacting to a boats movement ahead of you and

forgetting about those boats overtaking.
 Visual illusions.
Understanding
 Use of poor or incomplete mental picture due to:
1. deficient observations
2. poor knowledge/experience.
 Use of a wrong or inappropriate mental picture.
 Misunderstanding perceived information: expecting to see something and
focusing on this belief can cause you to see what you expect rather than
what is actually happening.
Thinking ahead
 Over reliance on the mental picture and failing to recognize that the
mental picture needs to change
For example, expecting to berth the boat in a particular way without realizing
that the surrounding environment may have changed since departure.
 Seek the nearest stable, simple and safe method
1. Follow rules and standard operating procedures.
2. Change from automations to manual.
3. Buy time by slowing down and/or altering course
 Communicate—ask for help.
 Recover the big picture:
1. Go back to the last thing that you were sure of.
2. Assess the situation from different perspective with different sources.
3. Expand your focus to avoid fixation.
4. Manage stress and distractions.
5. Take time to think, use that time and be willing to be delayed.
6. Follow rules and standard operating procedures.