ECDIS needs management, says UK P&I Club
There are still thousands of seafarers who require ECDIS training, according to the UK P&I Club.
The UK P&I Club has completed a a series of three short articles which provide a user friendly guide to the mystery surrounding electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS).
These have now been consolidated into a 16 page booklet titles ‘ECDIS – Navigational and claims issues’ that is available in hard copy from the Club or as a .pdf file from the club’s website.
While the booklet is not really intended for navigators, it should, the Club believes, be of great value to anyone in shipping who needs to be aware of what ECDIS is and the implications of any ECDIS-associated errors and oversights.
All three articles can be downloaded individually or in the 16 page combined format from the Loss Prevention section of the UK P&I Club website http://www.ukpandi.com/loss-prevention/lp-reports.
Whilst welcoming the new mandatory requirement to have ECDIS as the principal means of navigation on board merchant vessels, the Club is warning shipowners and managers about potential problems associated with its implementation.
Karl Lumbers, a director of Thomas Miller P&I Ltd, managers of the UK P&I Club said,“ECDIS is not an easy ride. There are still thousands of seafarers who will need to be trained and safety management systems will need to be revised. It will in many cases restrict the flexibility owners/managers currently enjoy to switch officers between the different ships in their fleets and we have seen already that Port State Control inspectors will be looking closely at ships’ ECDIS arrangements to ensure compliance. There is a sharp learning curve ahead and if you haven’t yet really started on the journey, you will have to move very quickly indeed. The risk of a vessel detention for non-compliance is very real.”
Lumbers also pointed out that risks will need careful and meticulous management, adding, “Although ECDIS should make the navigation of ships so much easier, we expect that its incorrect use will feature regularly in accident inquiries. Humans tend to put a great deal of trust on machines but machines sometimes fail. There will still be a need to look out of the bridge windows regularly.
“Of course, when an incident does occur, we know that investigators look first at data records. It is imperative that data is stored safely. If it can’t be found, there is an immediate suspicion of guilt. Who is going to believe that the data was erased accidentally?”
In conclusion, the UK P&I Club stressed that it is very much in favour of ECDIS becoming a fixture on ships’ bridges, it’s just that like all things new, it comes with a learning curve during which time incidents and errors are more likely to occur. It is important that both those on the bridge and those back in the office are alert to this fact and use every means possible to have the right management systems in place.
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