Gone are the days when a ship navigation officer had to take help of unconventional ways to plan and navigate a voyage at sea. Today, a ship officer has myriad of marine navigation equipment which makes his life a lot simpler, thanks to the advancement in technology. Moreover, present-day seafarers are trained so as to know the functioning and operation of all modern day navigational equipment that has made the journey at sea smoother and safer.
With modern day facilities and automation, a ship today has several advanced navigation equipment systems which give accurate data for the voyage.
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Herein, we have enlisted 30 types of navigational equipment, both old and new, which are present on all merchant ships.
It is used for finding the right direction. Unlike magnetic compass, gyro compass is not hampered by an external magnetic field. It is used to find the correct North Position, which is also the earth&#;s rotational axis to provide a stable directional source. Its repeater system must be present in the steering platform for emergency steering.
Read more about Gyro Compass here
Related Read: Top 3 Free Marine Compass Apps for Android Smart Phones
The seagoing vessels depend on S-band and X-band frequency radar system for navigation as it can detect targets and display the information on the screen such as the distance of the ship from land, any floating objects (an island, rocks, iceberg etc.), other vessels, and obstacles to avoid a collision. It is a rotating antenna which discovers the surrounding area of the ship.
Read more about ECDIS here.
Related Read: 15 Things To Consider While Using Radar On Ships
The magnetic compass work in conjunction with the magnetic field of the earth and is the essential means of the direction indicating device. It is used to get a planned course for the voyage. This ship navigation equipment is usually fitted at the centre line of the ship on the monkey island. A transmitting magnetic type compass is fitted so that the output can be displayed in the bridge panel.
Related Read: What is a Binnacle On Ships?
The ship bridge layout is filled with equipment and tools used for navigation. The autopilot is considered to be one of the most effective bridge navigational equipment as it assists the human operator in controlling the ship by keeping the steering in autopilot, which allows them to concentrate on broad aspects of the operation.
It is a combination of hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical system and is used to control the ship&#;s steering system from a remote location (Navigation bridge).
Related Read: 10 Things to Consider While Using Auto-Pilot System on Ships
Automatic Radar Plotting Aid displays the position of a ship and other vessels nearby. The radar displays the position of the ships in the vicinity and selects the course for the vessel by avoiding any kind of collision.
This bridge navigational equipment constantly monitors the ship&#;s surrounding and automatically acquires the number of targets, in this case; ships, boats, stationary or floating objects etc., and plot their speeds and courses respectively. It also presents them as vectors on the display screen and constantly update the parameters with each turn of the antenna by calculating their nearest points of approach to own ship and also the time before this will occur.
Just like ARPA, automatic tracking aid displays the information on tracked targets in graphic and numeric to generate a planned layout for a safer and collision-free course.
Usually, A large size target measuring 800 m or more in the circumference is considered as a landmass and not tracked. Echoes less than 800 m are deemed as targets to be tracked.
Related Read: 10 Important Things To Do During Ship Collision Accident
This bridge equipment on a ship is used to measure the speed and the distance travelled by a ship from a set point. By calculating the same, ETA of the ship is adjusted or given to the port authority and agent.
There are many modern ship navigation tools present on ship and echo sounder is one of the instruments which has been in the play from almost 100 years now. It is used to measure the depth of the water below the ship&#;s bottom using sound waves which work on the principle of transmission of sound waves and an audio pulse which will bounce off a reflecting layer, returning as an echo to the source.
ECDIS is a development in the navigational chart system used in naval vessels and ships. With the use of the electronic navigation equipment, it has become easier for a ship&#;s navigating crew to pinpoint locations, and attaining directions are easier than before.
Read more about ECDIS here.
Related Read: Pros and Cons of ECDIS Or Paperless Navigation Of Ships
AIS is also among the types of a navigation system which helps to pinpoint the location and other navigational statistics of ships. AIS uses VHF radio channels as transmitters and receivers to send and receive messages between ships which endeavours to fulfil a lot of responsibilities.
As per the regulation enforced by The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), all passengers&#; vessels and commercial ships over 299 Gross Tonnage (GT) sailing in the international to carry a Class A AIS transponder.
Read more about AIS here.
Related Read: Download: The Definitive AIS Handbook
LRIT is an international tracking and identification system incorporated by the IMO under its SOLAS convention to ensure a thorough tracking system for ships of 300 gross tons and above which are on international voyages across the world. This maritime equipment is fitted to improve the maritime domain awareness.
Read more about LRIT here.
Rudder angle indicator, as the name indicates, provides the angle of the rudder. The display is provided on the navigation bridge equipment console so that the ship navigation officer can control the rate of turn and rudder angle of the ship. The indication is also provided in the bridge wing and engine control room.
Related Read: How Does A Rudder Help In Turning A Ship?
A VDR or voyage data recorder is a crucial instrument among the ship navigation equipment list which is installed on a ship to continuously record vital information related to the operation of a vessel. It contains a voice recording system for a period of at least the last 12 hours. This recording is recovered and made use of for investigation in events of accidents. The importance of VDR is similar to a &#;black box&#; installed on an airplane.
Read more about VDR here.
This navigational tool indicates how fast the ship is turning at a steady rate (useful during pilotage and manoeuvring), normally shown as a number of degrees turned. The rate a ship is turning is measured in degrees per minute. This essential tool assists a coxswain in steering a course safely.
A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver is a display system used to show the ship&#;s location with the help of Global positioning satellite in the earth&#;s orbit.
With the record of the ship&#;s positions, the speed, course, and the time is taken to cover the distance between &#;two marked positions&#; can be calculated.
Related read: 5 Best Handheld Portable Marine GPS Devices
This acoustic system is required for a ship with a fully enclosed type bridge. It enables the navigating officer inside the cabin to listen to the sound signals (such as fog or ship&#;s horn) from other ships in the vicinity. This is fitted in ships bridge equipment console and helps the navigating officer to conduct the look-out duty as per the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
Related read: 10 Important Points Ship&#;s OOW Should Consider During Restricted Visibility
All boats &#; whether big or small are required to have night lights as a part of the navigation systems. This system was introduced in the year by the United States and then was followed by the United Kingdom in . In the year , the International Maritime Conference was established by the United States to establish proper guidelines to prevent marine accidents. In the year , these rules were officially adopted internationally. The navigation lights are one of the most critical navigation equipment needed for sailing in high seas as it enables self vessel being clearly visible to other ships in the vicinity.
Read more about navigation lights here.
Related read: How Maintenance of Navigation Lights is Done On Ships?
A ship&#;s horn is known as a whistle and it is generally provided in duplicate. One is driven by air and the other is electrically operated. The whistle should be both manually and electrically operational from the bridge.
Among different instruments used in difficult navigation such as bad weather, fog, poor visibility, high traffic etc., the ship&#;s whistle or horn helps in alerting the nearby vessels.
During an emergency, the horn is used to notify and alert the ship&#;s crew and other vessels nearby.
They are light-signalling devices used for emergency signalling in the day time (and can also be used during the night). Like other emergency ship instruments, the energy source for the lamp is not solely dependent on the ship&#;s main power supply. Also, the lamp enclosure should be weather and seawater- proof material.
It is an informative booklet provided to the ship&#;s pilot. It consists of the dimension, draught, turning circle, manoeuvring, propulsion equipment and other navigation tools and instruments list of the vessel for safe manoeuvring.
Related Read: What Are The Duties of Officer On Watch When Pilot is On Board Ship?
A voyage Plan must be present onboard for referring past voyage plans or planning a future voyage. Among the different aids to navigation carried on a ship, a voyage plan is a tool for the deck officer to ensure the safety of the ship from a commercial and legal perspective too. It is prepared by gathering different information such as weather, meteorological, ship&#;s current and future cargo data, other navigational data etc.
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Read more about Voyage Plan here
It is used to mark the presence of the ship in fog or bad weather and sound the alarm in case of an emergency, along with the ship&#;s main horn or whistle.
Related Read: What to do When Ship Encounters Rough Weather?
In this booklet, the performance of the propulsion plant and the ship during manoeuvring in different weathers and situations is recorded for quick reference. The important content of the manoeuvring booklet are:
Related Read: Understanding Different Types Of Manoeuvres of a Vessel
It is a day time signalling shape used to determine the characteristics of the vessel with a different arrangement of ball shapes. For e.g. a vessel at anchor will show a black ball at the foremost end of the forecastle and a ship not under command shows two black balls in a vertical line on her highest mast.
Related Read: Responsibilities Of Deck Officer During Anchoring Operation
All the navigational activities which are performed by the ship&#;s officers and crew using different navigation equipment on the bridge must be recorded and kept on board for ready reference. This is mandatory and the most important log book.
Related Read: Different Entries To Be Made In Bridge Log Book of The Ship
The hard copy of all the ship navigation system and equipment list must be present as records onboard ships for ready reference of port and regulatory authorities and must be signed by master and duty officers of the ship.
Related Read: Daily, Monthly And Weekly Tests Of GMDSS Equipment On Board Ships
Present in the Navigation bridge, it displays detailed information of manoeuvring characteristics of the ship including turning circle, stopping and manoeuvring characteristics of the vessel.
Transmitting Heading Devise or THD is an electronic device which is used to display the information of the vessel&#;s true heading. The THDs compliance information is provided in chapter V of the SOLAS Convention.
When the ship is being towed or when a vessel is unable to manoeuvres on itself, a black diamond shape is shown during the day time.
Related Read: Preparations For Emergency Towing Of Ship &#; 10 Important Points
Various types of ship flags with different colours and signs are used to indicate a navigation ship&#;s position. Signal flags are they are commonly known, have been used since the ancient times and are still used on all vessels.
These are the different bridge equipment and their uses which are installed on the ship to assist the deck officer for navigating the vessel safely. If we missed any equipment or you want to add more to the list, please comment below.
Related Read: Understanding Nautical Flag Etiquettes
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Navigating a boat is absolutely, positively nothing like navigating a vehicle on land. There are no roads, few signs other than basic navigational markers outlining major channels, and you may have to contend with fog or an inability to see land or landmarks. In fact, it takes years of accumulated knowledge and advanced learning to become a marine navigational expert. But don&#;t let that deter you&#;just as long as you have a firm grip on the basics, learning how to navigate a boat in most inland and nearshore waterways in normal weather conditions is a piece of cake. We can break it down into these simple steps...
Thanks to modern tech, navigating with a modern GPS/chartplotter is a piece of cake. You can pull up an electronic map (though mariners always refer to their maps as &#;charts&#;), which shows your real-time position, speed and direction of travel, and more.
Locating your position is as simple as looking for the boat icon and/or GPS coordinates on-screen. To get from point &#;A&#; to point &#;B,&#; all you&#;ll have to do is create a waypoint.
The most important thing about creating waypoints and routes and then navigating to them is to look closely at the chart, and make sure you won&#;t be trying to cross any major obstructions like a finger of land, restricted areas, or waters which may not afford your boat it&#;s minimum draft (how much water your boat needs to avoid running aground).
There are many other electronic items that assist in navigation, like radar and autopilots. But these are naturally a bit more advanced. What about using a navigational app on your cell ? There are a number that can prove helpful to boaters, including a wide range of iOS boating apps and Android boating apps.
However, boats and cell phones don&#;t always mix well; the moist environment and risk of shock damage are ever-present, and cell coverage can be sketchy or non-existent in many boating areas. As a result, you should never rely completely on a cell for navigating a boat.
Electronics can and do fail, so it&#;s also important to gain a basic understanding of the tools you need for analog navigation, and keep them aboard your boat at all times. These include:
With these basics, as long as you&#;re within sight of land and major landmarks you can figure out where you are and where you&#;re going.
Compass
A compass tells you which direction your boat is heading in&#;north, south, east, or west &#; as measured in degrees relative to magnetic north. There are 360 degrees representing a full circle. Zero degrees on the compass is north, 180 degrees points south, it&#;s 90 degrees to the east, and 270 degrees leads to the west. So a glance at your compass tells you what direction you&#;re travelling in, at any given time. When you steer your boat to a specific degree on the compass to maintain a straight course, you call this your &#;bearing.&#; So if you&#;re cruising to a restaurant for lunch and it&#;s directly to your north, you&#;ll be steering a zero-degree bearing. If it&#;s to your south you&#;ll steer a 180-degree bearing, and so on.
Charts
Charts are simply maps of the water and waterways, with special marking for water depths, channel markers, lighthouses, and restricted areas. NOAA produces charts for US waterways which can be viewed online for free, but to get printed versions you have to purchase charts or books of charts (for larger areas) from a NOAA certified agent. You can also pick up charts and chart books for your local waterway in virtually any marine supply store.
Parallel Rulers
Parallel rulers are two rulers attached by a pair of swiveling arms, so you can swing the rulers close together or far apart but they will always remain perfectly parallel. By doing so repeatedly, you can &#;walk&#; the rulers across a chart. Why in the world would you want to? Because it will allow you to determine the exact compass bearing of any course you may want to steer. All charts have a compass rose with all 360-degrees printed on them. Place the ruler on top of the chart, on the course line you&#;d like to steer. Then walk the rulers to the compass rose, and viola&#;you know what compass bearing you need to steer your boat on to run the course.
Dividers
Dividers have two arms that are attached at one end, and can be pulled apart to different widths at the other end. These are used to measure distance. All charts have a key which shows scale by miles and nautical miles. Hold the dividers up to the scale and pull them apart until the arms&#; width equals the chart scale for a mile or any increment of miles (it&#;s common to see one, five, 10, or even 20 mile increments depending on the scale of the chart). With the dividers set you can then use them to measure the distance between any two points on the chart.
With these tools in hand&#;or at the helm&#;you can accomplish the three most basic navigational tasks: figuring out where you are, where you want to go, and following a course to get there.
Where is Your Boat?
How to Navigate to Where You Want to Go
This is just a matter of identifying your location and destination, then determining the corresponding compass bearing between the two places. Set your boat&#;s compass to match the bearing, and you&#;re ready to get underway.
Following a Course
Now that you know how to get a bearing, following the course is easy&#;all you have to do is steer the boat to keep the compass on that bearing. You&#;ll notice that keeping a boat on course can be difficult, especially with smaller, faster boats, and if you can keep your path within five or so degrees of the intended course you should consider it a job well done. Now get out there, and navigate!
Read Next: Boating Safety Guide
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