Passage Planning

Question 1

What is APEM?

Answer 1

• A systematic process for creating a passage plan to ensure all eventualities you may encounter have been considered
• Appraisal, Planning, Execution, Monitoring

Question 2

You are asked to plan a passage from Southampton to the Bahamas, take me through the Appraisal process?

Answer 2

• Get the passage planning checklist from the SMS to ensure nothing is missed.

Firstly

• NP131 Chart Catalogue
• overview of the route on large scale gnomonic charts - Gives rough distance of the passage
• Estimate DEP/ARR times
• Fuel or stores stop
• Time zone changes
• Once happy with the route I can transfer the passage to a Mercator chart, medium scale for ocean passages, small scale charts for port approaches/ pilotage
• Ensuring all charts and pub’s are up to date
• Ocean Passages of the World: for dist tables, recommended great circle routes, climatic charts for the extent of ice and wind conditions

Secondly
- Admiralty Sailing Directions for info on coastal passage at either end e.g. high traffic densities

• Total Tide for ports en route and destination

ALRS

• VOL 1 Maritime Radio Stations for Coast stations
• VOL 2 Radio Aids to Navigation, Differential GPS (DGPS), Legal Time, Radio Time Signals and Electronic Position Fixing System for AtoN, Racon Beacons, Daylight savings time and dates
• VOL 3 - Maritime Safety Information Services for Navtex and SafetyNET stations and safety information broadcasts
• VOL 4 Meteorological Observation Stations for the location of met stations
• VOL 5 - GMDSS for comms for distress and search and rescue, extracts from SOLAS and ITU regs, MRCC contacts, NAVTEX and MSI information
• VOL 6 - Pilot Services, Vessel Traffic Services and Port Operations for Port and pilot contacts, VTS information, reporting systems
• Load Line Charts for areas that you can’t enter, might result in a composite great circle
• Security charts to highlight dangerous areas, company SMS checklist should be consulted when passing through these areas
• MARPOL areas for what and where you can discharge
• Ships routing guide for routing schemes adopted by the IMO that may need to be followed
• Mariners handbook for useful information on a range of topics

Thirdly
- Looking at forecasts for the upcoming route that may affect the passage of the ship (shipping forecast, company private forecasting systems, internet, Sat-C, Navtex)

• Contingency plans to consider for the route

Question 3

Same passage, take me through the planning stage?

Answer 3

The planning stage will be from berth to berth and include

• Visual representation of the voyage
• a pilotage plan
• summary of the passage in written form
• Navigational workbook

Visual representation on a paper chart or ENC Shall include;
- WP’s, Course to steer (MAG too), leg Dist, no go areas, safe water, nav hazards identified, planned track, turn radius, wheel over points, clearing bearings and transits, PI lines, reporting points, decision points, contingency plans, manning levels, discharge areas, cross-track distances, position fixing features

Question 4

What is the difference between VTS and VTIS?

Answer 4

VTIS - have the power to order the movement of ships and they must adhere (e.g. Southampton)

VTS - Can only advise