St.

Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

“VOYAGE PLANNING USING AN ELECTRONIC CHART DISPLAY AND

INFORMATION SYSTEM”

Individual Research Output Presented to

Capt. Renato Sabado MM, PHD

St. Therese MTC-Colleges

Iloilo City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of

The Requirement for the course

Navigation 7

By:

Mdpn. Mark Anthony T. Lim

BSMT 3-7

October 2022
 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

An Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) is

a geographic information system used for nautical navigation

that complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO)

regulations as an alternative to paper nautical charts.

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

What are the advantage of using ECDIS in preparing a

Voyage or Passage Plan?

An ECDIS, Electronic Chart Display and Information

System, is a navigational tool that runs on a geographic

information system that conforms to the International Maritime

Organization (IMO) as a replacement for paper charts.

The advantages of these systems include enhanced safety and

the ability to incorporate more information compared to other

navigation tools. ECDIS units also help automate numerous

tasks such as ETA computation, ENC updating, and route

planning and monitoring to ease the navigator’s workload.

The ECDIS works by incorporating traffic routing systems

(GPS), RADAR, coastline information, units of depth and

height, Echo sounder, ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid), and

other navigational equipment incorporating all of this

information to give ship navigators the necessary information

for their voyage. Although these systems are of great help,

your ECDIS unit must comply with certain regulations.

An ECDIS unit can be used as a primary means of navigation as

long as the unit is approved and certified as complying with

the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) standards.

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

When was ECDIS invented?

The ECDIS Invited by the mid-80s, the North Sea

Hydrographic Commission (NHSC) began work on defining what was

initially called an Electronic Chart and Display System and

was later amended to include the all-important word

‘information', giving rise to the now familiar term Electronic

Chart Display and Information System or ECDIS. The work of the

NHSC provided the first recognized set of user requirements

for ECDIS. This work also paved the way for what was later to

become the IHO standard S-52, the IHO Specifications for Chart

Content and Display Aspects of ECDIS.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) began

taking an interest in ECDIS in 1985 as a result of

presentations by the IHO, their eventual aim being the

establishment of standards for the use of electronic chart

navigation in ships. The IMO/IHO Harmonization Group on ECDIS,

with significant input from the IHO, built on the established

user requirements to eventually create the IMO performance

standard for ECDIS, which was published in 1995.

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

What is the purpose of ECDIS?

ECDIS provides continuous position and navigational

safety information. The system generates audible and/or visual

alarms when the vessel is in proximity to navigational

hazards. The Electronic Chart Display and Information System

(ECDIS) is a sophisticated route charting, planning, and

navigational system that allows members of the Marines Corps

to accurately map out their voyages and minimize risk along

the way. This innovative technology has been proven to help

companies avoid and mitigate potentially dangerous situations

such as poor weather conditions, natural disasters, and

security threats by accurately alerting crewmembers of

impending risks and helping them reroute their initial

trajectories. Not only is this essential to the safety and

survival of Marines Corps officers, but it’s also useful for

ensuring national security.

What is the function of ECDIS?

ECDIS also incorporates and displays information

contained in other nautical publications such as Tide Tables

and Sailing Directions and incorporates additional maritime

information such as radar information, weather, ice conditions

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
and automatic vessel identification. But, the primary function

of ECDIS is to contribute to safe navigation 

Why is ECDIS important in Voyage Planning?

ECDIS can improve the safety of navigation. For example,

it has significantly improved the accuracy and reliability of

navigation charts,” he explained. Corrections and updates,

such as wreck and cable positions, used to be added manually

on paper charts. The purpose of the ECDIS is to facilitate

efficient navigation, not to substitute it. It is still

vitally important to practice essential skills such as Radar

Plotting, Sights, and Compass Errors etc. which will come in

handy in the event of an ECDIS breakdown

What is the use of ECDIS in navigation?

ECDIS provides continuous position and navigational

safety information. The system generates audible and/or visual

alarms when the vessel is in proximity to navigational

hazards.  By using the ECDIS a navigator constantly evaluates

the ship's position, anticipates dangerous situations well

before they arise, and always keeps "ahead of the vessel".

This paper intends to emphasize the manner in which the modern

navigator must also understand the basic concepts of ECDIS,

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
evaluate its output's accuracy, and arrive at the best

possible navigational decisions.

Is ECDIS mandatory?

Yes, IMO adopted performance standards for electronic

charts in the 1990s. In 2000, IMO adopted the revised SOLAS

regulation V/19 - Carriage requirements for shipborne

navigational systems and equipment to allow an ECDIS to be

accepted as meeting the chart carriage requirements of the

regulation. Recognizing the advantages of ECDIS for

navigation, in 2009, IMO adopted further amendments to

regulation V/19, to make mandatory the carriage of ECDIS.

When ECDIS was become mandatory?

The amendments entered into force on 1 January 2011,

making ECDIS mandatory for new ships built after set dates and

also phasing-in the requirement for existing ships.  

The amended SOLAS regulation V/19 requires all newly built

passenger ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards, as well as

newly built cargo ships of 3,000 gross tonnage and upwards

engaged on international voyages to be fitted with ECDIS. For

existing ships, phase-in introduction of fitting requirements

are being introduced for all ships of certain size engaged on

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
international voyages (See SOLAS regulation V/19.2.10 for

details).

What are the 4 stages of voyage planning?

1. Appraisal

The ship's master will discuss with the second mate (the

officer in charge of navigational matters) on the voyage order

received, destination port and how he intends to sail there.

Based on the master's advice the officer will gather all

information relevant to the proposed passage, including

ascertaining the risks and assessing its critical areas.

The following are, but not limited to, publications or e-

publications, charts or e-charts and information used in

passage planning:
 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
2. Planning

Once an appraisal is made using the publications and

information in hand, the officer will prepare a plan which is

detailed and simple to understand. The plan is first laid out

on a small-scale chart, which is then transferred to charts of

suitable scales, and then tweaked and modified as and when

deemed necessary.

It is a good standard practice to lay out the plan from berth

to berth and to mark dangerous areas such as wrecks, shallow

areas, hazardous coastal areas, fish farms or fishing zones,

reefs, small islets, anchorages, heavy shipping, density

areas, Traffic Separation Scheme precautionary areas and any

other relevant information that will assist with safe

navigation.
 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

The voyage may not go as planned and emergency action may be

required when the voyage has to be deviated or aborted.

Contingency plans account for such situations, so that the

Officer on Watch (OOW) can take immediate action. Contingency

planning will include alternative routes, safe anchorages,

port of shelter, waiting areas and emergency berths.

The master should thoroughly review the passage plan and

provide corrective instructions where necessary. If it is

stated in the company SMS (Safety Management System) that

shore management should also review the passage plan this is

to be effected only with the intention of having one extra

barrier in place in order to ensure the highest quality and

reduced risk.

A detailed risk assessment and briefing by the master prior to

departure should be performed with the members of the bridge

and engine teams.

3. Execution

Once the passage plan is reviewed and approved by the master,

the bridge team will execute the plan. During the passage the

speed is adjusted by the master based on the ETA, traffic

density and the sea and weather conditions. The onboard

quantity of fuel, water and food ration should also be taken

into consideration to prevent shortages.

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
 

4. Monitoring

This phase is where the bridge team use their experience,

personal judgement, and good seamanship to monitor the safe

passage.

Monitoring is checking the position of the vessel by all

available means, to ensure it remains within safe distance

from any hazardous areas. Plotting the ship's position using

more than one method is a good practice and those include e.g.

GPS, visual bearings, radar range/bearings and

astronavigation.

At the end of a voyage, a de-briefing meeting is to be held to

share experience and lessons learned from the conducted

voyage. This information can be used in future passage

planning.
 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City

What is the difference between voyage planning and passage

planning?

Voyage planning, also referred to as passage planning, is the

detailed procedure of laying out a vessel's voyage from start

to finish. The steps and protocols for voyage planning are

explained in the International Maritime Organization's (IMO)

RESOLUTION A. 893(21), Guidelines for Voyage Planning

A voyage extends from berth to berth. Passage (or “sea

passage”) is the phase of a voyage between the seaward limits

of pilotage waters at the ports or places of departure and

destination, usually denoted by “Full away on passage” and

“End of passage” entries in a bridge movement book.

What is the execution in voyage planning?

In this stage, the navigating officers execute the plan that

has been prepared. After departure, the speed is adjusted

based on the ETA and the expected weather and oceanographic

conditions. The speed should be adjusted such that the ship is

not either too early or late at its port of destination.

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
Who does the voyage planning in ECDIS?

Shipping cargo from one port to another involves coordinated

working of several operations of both land and ship staff. One

of the most integral parts of a shipping operations is the

cargo or voyage planning, which is mainly undertaken by

a navigational officer of a ship.

What are the methods of route planning with ECDIS?

The advanced nature of JRC's new ECDIS system allows route

planning in different ways. Either plan your route by using

the table editor, while displaying current waypoint or

graphically draw your next waypoint on the chart. Editing the

route is just as simple as inserting.

How is the Chart Catalogue used in voyage planning?

With Chart catalogue you need to physically see the

approximate planned route and then note down all the charts

that the route of your voyage pass through. We can then check

our inventory and select the one we do not have. Same need to

be ordered before the voyage.

What is the role of the Master in Voyage Planning?

 St. Therese MTC-Colleges
College of Maritime Education Program
Magdalo, Lapaz Iloilo City
The Master should ensure that the voyage is properly planned

from berth to berth. An overall assessment of the intended

voyage should be made by the master, in consultation with the

navigating officer and other deck officers who will be

involved, after all relevant information has been gathered.