Basic Watchkeeping Routines

Safe bridge watchkeeping is based on the use of correct routines and best practices. This needs to be tempered with adherence to the regulations and guidance available to the officer of the watch so that the vessel is navigated as directed by the company and Master.

The single biggest cause of accidents at sea is often quoted as complacency. This is especially true of navigation incidents that are caused by the watchkeepers making mistakes leading to a navigation incident or near-miss. Therefore, the officer of the watch and all of the bridge team need to stick to the best practices and conform to the guidelines at all times to ensure the vessel remains safe.

Situational Awareness

It is imperative during watchkeeping that the bridge team maintains situational awareness at all times. This is often thought of as knowing just the navigation and traffic issues affecting the vessel. However, true situational awareness is also affected by the internal work, maintenance and any other factor that affects the safety of the crew or the way the vessel is run.  

The Bridge Team is expected to maintain at least the situational awareness they gained on taking over. As the watch progresses, the team needs to remain alert to all developing situations, both internal and external, that may affect the safety of the vessel or the crew. This is more likely to happen in high-stress or challenging situations and is compounded by factors such as restricted visibility or heavy weather. It is vital that the OOW calls the Master or increases the manning level of the team as required to help manage a situation and maintain situational awareness. 

When losing situational awareness, the OOW may no longer be fully appraised of:

• The ship's progress along the passage plan and current position relative to hazards.
• The traffic situation including the movements and actions of other vessels.
• The weather situation including visibility or proximity of hazardous conditions.
• The internal ship restrictions on navigation caused by maintenance or crew activities.

It should always be remembered that any member of the bridge team can lose situational awareness, not just watchkeepers or junior officers. It is important for the officer of the watch to be able to recognise when situational awareness has been lost by one or more members of the team. Some ways situational awareness may be lost include:

• Unnecessary distractions from internal sources (telephone, radio calls or visitors to the Bridge).
• Multiple alarms from bridge equipment (ECDIS, RADAR, ARPA, GMDSS, Echo Sounder, BNWAS, Fire alarm panel, Autopilot, VDR).
• Failure of propulsion and/or navigational equipment.
• Emergency situations (Fire, blackout, steering gear failure, man overboard).
• High-density traffic.
• Rough/Extreme weather conditions.
• Fatigue and stress.

The best way to prevent any losses of situational awareness is good communication and management of the bridge personnel. The officer of the watch needs to talk through all situations and actions as well as encourage watchkeepers to report objects, vessels and all other issues promptly and accurately so that the overall situation is known at all times. The officer of the watch should also be empowered to phone the Master, additional personnel and then brief them fully when they arrive so that they are fully appraised of the situation and can assist in a productive way.

Bridge Familiarisation

It is a requirement of SOLAS that all officers standing the navigational watch should be made familiar with all of the navigation equipment and bridge systems before standing the watch. This takes the form of a formal bridge familiarisation session that will be documented in the ship's Safety Management System.

The familiarisation should  include, as a minimum, the following:

• Bridge and deck lighting control panels.
• Emergency arrangements in the event of main power failure, steering failure, or other similar situations.
• Navigational and signal lights and sound apparatus including locations and operation.
• Safety equipment location and operation.
• All ship communication facilities;  internal, external, and emergency including the GMDSS logbook.
• Alarm systems.
• The ECDIS system and passage plan.
• All electronic navigation systems and aids.
• Engines, steering and thrusters.
• Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS).

The officer should be comfortable with all of the equipment and possibly even questioned or tested on certain functions, such as the trial manoeuvre on the ARPA, to ensure that they are fully able to use all of the available systems. It is then incumbent on the Master to ensure that they are fully ready to stand the navigational watch and understand the functions and uses of all of the systems at their disposal.

Regular Checks of Navigation Equipment

During the watch, the officer is mandated to make a few checks that must be recorded in the logbook. Test your knowledge on these three checks that are mandated by SOLAS:

However, the officer of the watch should check all pieces of navigational equipment at times throughout the watch and not just when they alarm. Maintaining a safe watch is all focused on ensuring that the equipment and monitoring systems are all performing correctly. The best way to achieve this is to systematically check the equipment throughout the watch to ensure that the errors within each system are known and are accounted for.

Additional checks the officer can make are:

• GNSS position compared to a terrestrial or celestial fix to compare the accuracy of the fed position.
• Integrated Bridge System feed to check to ensure all equipment is transmitting feeds as required.
• Ships speed should be measured between two fixes and compared to the log speed for an accuracy check.
• Bearing error check of the radar systems by comparing bearings to gyro bearings taken from the pelorus.
• Echo sounder calibration checks when crossing a well-charted contour to determine any significant errors in under-keel clearance measurements.

This is just an example of some of the checks of the equipment that can be made during the watch. Any checks, performed correctly, will reduce the unknown errors and allow the officer of the watch to navigate more accurately. This in turn will increase the safety of the watch as the ship's position in relation to navigational hazards along the passage plan will be better known.

Keeping a Good Lookout

It is a requirement of the COLREGS, rule 5, that an effective lookout is kept at all times and by all available means. This means that visual, audible and electronic means of looking out and monitoring the traffic and navigational situation must be employed at all times on board. 

This can take many forms, including solo watchkeeping during the day. It is up to the Master to decide the minimum safe manning level on the bridge, but the officer of the watch should be empowered to call for assistance when required.

To assist in the lookout functions, the officer of the watch should brief all engaged personnel on the bridge as to their lookout duties. This should include ensuring that each lookout has been informed of:

• What is expected of them while engaged in lookout duties.
• How to report observations.
• The vessel’s operations and any safety concerns on the ship or surrounding water to look for.
• Expected traffic density.
• Expected landfall.

The officer of the watch is personally responsible for all aspects of safe navigation. However, they need to delegate the duties of looking out as well as keep their own watch on the situation to avoid becoming overwhelmed or missing something important. They should manage the lookout of the vessel and ensure that any personnel are well rested, well briefed and regularly relieved so that the lookouts remain fresh and alert throughout the watch.

Handovers

Handing over the watch is a critical time for the safety of the vessel. All information relevant to the safety of the ship, safety of navigation and the overall situation of operations needs to be communicated effectively between the watches. Any critical information that is missed is likely to result in an accident or emergency resulting from a loss or lack of situational awareness.

The most effective method for handing over the watch effectively is to use a ship-specific and company-approved checklist. This should be an aide-memoir to ensure that no essential information is lost between watch handovers. This checklist should include sections containing:

• The progress of the vessel along the passage plan.
• The status of the ship propulsion and engine room manning.
• The status, operational and set up of all navigational equipment.
• Radio setups and any GMDSS logbook information.
• Current navigational warnings, meteorological conditions and forecasts for the watch.
• Internal ship work including any permits to work or hazardous duties being undertaken.
• The traffic situation and projected traffic density throughout the watch.
• Any other information relevant to the ship that may need to be handed over.

The officer of the watch should also remember that when handing over, they are responsible for assessing the fitness for duty of the oncoming officer and lookouts. They should be assessed for fatigue, mental state and even if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. You must not hand over to any person deemed not fit for the duty and should call the Master immediately if you believe the oncoming watch members are not fit for duty in any way.

The International Chamber of Shipping Bridge Procedures Guide contains a standard checklist that can be built upon for changing of the watch. Please view the PDF below for further information.