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Navigators – Part 1
By Capt Ashish Joshi | In: Marine Navigation | Last Updated on April 2, 2018
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Note: This is the first article in the ship navigation series by the very experienced
Captain Ashish Joshi.
RADAR (radio detection and ranging) equipment has for a long time been one of
the best tools for enhancing the safety of ship navigation at sea. Gone are the days
when the master would be the one switching the equipment “on” and “off”, at
his/her discretion, and when old timers would sneer at a young officer on seeing
him use the RADAR. If the radar was fitted with a capable ARPA it was a real
luxury on the navigation bridge of the vessel.
Regulations for proper use for collision avoidance are mentioned in COLREGS
rules 6,7,8 and 19; where rule 5 says that all available means must be used for
keeping a proper lookout and that includes the use of radar. Rule 9 requirement to
keep as near as possible to the starboard side of a narrow channel or fairway
would also necessitate the use of radar.
Related Reading: 15 Things To Consider While Using Radar On Ship
Few items are now being discussed regarding the use of radar and this list is by no
means exhaustive:
Some radars have settings preset depending on the type of the situation and
expected use, make sure that you are aware of such settings. It is fine if such
presets have names, however, be careful in case they have numbers, e.g. Picture
1 on your previous ship’s radar may not be same as Picture 1 on your present
ship’s radar.
2. Ship owners generally have uniformity in equipment on all ships across the fleet;
this is great if you sail on these kinds of ships. If not then ensure that you are well
familiarized with the equipment prior taking over your first watch you. Get all the
information so that you are confident during your watch. Information can be
obtained from your predecessor, other navigators or the user manual.
Like all marine navigation electronics, radar can also fail and you will need to know
how to reset the equipment when needed. Nowadays we don’t have radio officer,
or sometimes not even electrical officer at sea. You must know where radar spare
parts are stored and be ready do some minor maintenance like changing the
magnetron.
3. Another setting to be careful about is the speed input into the radar. As we all
know COLREGS pay emphasis on the aspect of the vessel for ascertaining the risk
of collision and required action to be taken. This needs ships’ speed through water
(STW) by log input. Here is a look at the correct setting for collision avoidance
using STW.
This would be great if the only job on the bridge was collision avoidance. But there
is also a need for situational awareness during coastal navigation and for
ascertaining set and drift speed through the ground is needed via GPS input.
Improper monitoring of a vessel at this critical time has been the root cause of
several collisions and allisions even by experienced ship handlers.
Here is a look at setting on the radar with speed over ground setting (SOG) by
GPS input.
Both the pictures above were taken about 15 seconds apart and a navigator should
be able to differentiate between the two radar pictures and also appreciate the
need for using both the settings as situation demands.
You can also see that log speed will give the illusion that the vessel will pass to the
south of VAIS (Virtual Automatic Identification System), whereas GPS speed gives
actual information as evident from the vector that vessel will pass North of VAIS.
Related Reading: Important Points Officer Of Watch Must Consider While Using
Ship Radar
4. A word of caution is required here in view of safety of the vessel; situations can
change and develop rapidly when in coastal waters or areas of dense traffic, bridge
team must be made aware whenever a navigator is changing settings. Also if you
are a junior navigator in the team, revert the settings back to original immediately
after making your observation.
This information regarding change of settings must also be borne in mind when a
radar is being used by a pilot, do not change the settings as they may not be
completely familiar with all aspects of your equipment and can get confused or
disoriented when seeing a different picture than what is expected or they are used
to.
5. Most of the bridges will be fitted with at least two marine radars and generally
one of them will be X-band radar and the other will be S-band radar. Make sure
that you know the difference between the two and what settings are suitable
according to the situation. It is not wise to be navigating with two radars and using
same range scale on both.
Many times it so happens that navigators are comfortable conning a vessel from a
single location and this leads to over-dependence on one radar even when the
other radar is much more suitable for the situation at hand.