Legislation and Guidance

Holding the navigational watch aboard a vessel is a large responsibility that is highly regulated.  The following video will give you more information on the legislative requirements.

Guidance

Separate from legislation, many international organisations and flag states produce guidelines for watchkeeping. These provide the details of how to comply with the legislation as well as suggest good practices and routines that can be used to increase the safety of the navigational watch. The following video shall explain a few examples of the guidance from a flag state.

Safety Management Systems (SMS)

There are many aspects of the SMS that will apply specifically to watchkeeping and the safety of the vessel from the point of view of the officer of the watch. This ensures compliance with the International Safety Management Code as well as the company practices and procedures.

Although the SMS is typically a written manual, it will also contain the checklists for routine and emergency procedures for the bridge. These should be ready at hand in case of emergency as well as routinely reviewed by the Master and the officers to ensure they are fit for purpose. While they will contain the expected company reactions, they may need updating for new policies or to reflect changes and updates to bridge equipment.

Another key aspect of the SMS will be the organisational structure of the ship and bridge team. There will be detailed role descriptions as well as chains of communication fully explained within the document. This will allow for proper coordination of the navigational teams as well as set defined guidelines for out-of-watch work. This is to ensure no one works above the mandated hours of work and thus receive adequate rest.

Master's Standing Orders

The Master should provide his/her own standing orders which will be supplemented on a daily basis by night orders. These can be said to be the extracts of the Master’s own experiences, points that have caused concern in the past or the lessons that have been learned.

Standing Orders set the general standards required of watchkeepers. The standing orders will reflect the ship type, her trading pattern, the persons forming the bridge team and their experiences, which will be specific for each ship and her crew. The Master must insure that the officers understand the contents of the orders. A copy should be available on the bridge and all the officers should sign it to confirm that they fully understand the contents.

The purpose of Standing Orders are:

• To lay down ground rules for the Master’s expectations, in different circumstances for his/her officers.
• To reinforce practices that the Master expects to be followed.
• To create relationships in which mutual confidence is established.
• To increase the responsibility of officers, without imposing limitations.
• To ensure that a mistake by one person does not put the vessel in danger.
• For officers to check their own work and verify the work of others at hand-over and takeover.

The officers will know when the Master wants to be called and the Master will know that they will do so. It is advisable to consider carefully the special circumstances which exist, every time a Master takes over command. These will relate to the particular ship, to the officers and the crew serving on her. There is a temptation to use just one set of tried and tested Master’s standing orders without any adjustment for each ship. This would be a mistake and the Master will lose the opportunity to address the special needs and the circumstances that each command brings.