Publications for small vessel operators

The Club’s publications highlight best practice, good seamanship and sensible practical operational procedures in order to help reduce the incidence of property and vessel damage by raising operating standards.

The new booklets with their simple, concise and clear text and diagrams are a useful tool for small vessel operators trading in coastal waters and harbours and are designed to complement the usual statutory safe navigation rules documentation.

The main purpose of ‘Tides’ is to allow the seafarer to have a better understanding of how to undertake tidal calculations. Hari Subramaniam, Shipowners’ deputy loss prevention manager says: “This is a major contributing factor towards groundings where the majority of our Members’ vessels operate within coastal waters, harbours and ports. Our analysis of the claims causation has highlighted the fact that many recent grounding claims could have been avoided by simply following this basic technique.”

‘Towards Effective Navigation’ is intended to open the window on navigation in a very basic way. It is aimed primarily at those mariners who are not fully trained in the art of navigation and it is hoped that this booklet will offer a better understanding of the subject. Shortfalls in such knowledge include positional and directional references; using gyro and magnetic compass; bearings; and reading charts. The booklet covers all of these, as well as providing an exhaustive reference list of nautical publications.

Hari Subramaniam says: “Our Ship Inspection Programme often highlights the fact that crews have a limited understanding of the rudiments of basic navigation and we also see claims arising where poor navigation is a main contributing factor. A better understanding of the subject will hopefully go some way towards reducing the incidence of these claims.”