Kayod Marino

Passage Planning Requirements In most ships it is customary for the Master to delegate the initial responsibility for preparing the plan for a passage to the Officer responsible for navigational equipment and publications. The Company requires that the Second Officer is the designated Navigation Officer It will be evident that in small ships, the Master may himself need to exercise the responsibility of the Navigating Officer for passage planning purposes.

Navigation Responsibilities Of The Officer Of The Watch (O.O.W.) a) General The O.O.W. is the Master's representative and his primary responsibility at all times is the safe navigation of the ship. He must at all times comply with the applicable regulations for preventing collisions at sea. He is to send for the Master if he is in doubt, taking such actions in the meantime, as he considers necessary to avoid risks. Should the Officer of the Watch think the ship to be in shallow water, and/or be in doubt as to the position of the ship, he is to stop the ship at once and verify the position.

Responsibilities Of Master a) General Nothing contained in this chapter is to be construed in any way to relieve the Master of his full responsibility for the safe navigation of his ship and the efficient organisation onboard. The Master has overall responsibility for the safe operation of his vessel in accordance with flag state laws and international regulations. Under no circumstances is commercial pressure to justify the taking of an unnecessary risk. The Company will support a decision taken by a Master in good faith and in the interests of safety.

AIS, which stands for Automatic Identification System, has been mandated by IMO to enhance the safety of life at sea, the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment. Its correct title is Universal Automatic Identification System (UAIS) but the ‘U’ is rarely used. The purpose of AIS is to help identify vessels, assist in target tracking, assist in situational awareness and to simplify safety related information exchange between vessels and between vessels and the shore.