Navigation

Introduction

By navigation is understood any act or procedure that will ensure the sapety of passangers and crew, vessel and cargo during a voyage from a point of departure to a destination.

This safety is greatly determind by good seamanship.

And since good seamanship refer to The Human Factor (HF). It is obvious that the influences on safety on board vessels is largely determind by act of the seafarers on board.

Therefor the manning of the vessel must be planned very accurately, and becouse most vessels are manned with multy lingual crews, special attention should be paid to the international standardized from of maritime communication. Both intership and intraship.

Manning

All vessel have one thingin common, they must be manned with qualified crews.

On board vessels the two main departements are the deck departement and the engine room departement.

The radio management is often integrated in the deck departement.

The head of the deck departement is the First mate – or Chief officer

The Chief Engineer is the head ef engine room departement

Officers are assisted by Ordinary seamen and able (bodied) seamen (OS and ABS)

An “able seamen” is the experienced seafarer. He  or She will often act as man-at the-wheel (helmsman), or lookout.

The boatswain, or bosun, is the head of the rating (OS and ABS)

Apprentice officers are officers in training.

Nowaday many vessels are manned with General Purpose Officers – or Multi- Purpose Officers – who have been trained to perform the duty of the mate, engineer and radio operator together.

Duties

Of course the main responsibility of all the deck officers on merchant vessels is navigation. I.e. getting the vessel safety to her destination.

There are many other duties to be performed in the deck departement.

The First mate is responsible to making up the stowage plan, supervion of loading and discharging of the cargo and general ship maintenance.

The second mate is responsible for the navigation equipment.

The Third mat will often act safety-officer. He or She is responsible to maintenance of all the safety equipment on board

The main duties of engineering-officer in the engine room departement are the maintenace and overhauling of the main engine and the auxiliary-engines.

The Captain, or the Master, is Ultimately responsible for all that goes on board the vessel.

Usually he has not been integrated in the watch-keeping system on the bridge. If he thinks it necessary to appear on the brige and interfere with the work of the officer on the watch (OOW), or the Master is called to the bridge by the OOW, he must clearly indicate that he will become the conning officer by saying “ I Now have the watch” To confirm this, the OOW will then answer “You Now Have the Watch”

The tasks of radio operator are to contact shore base stations and orher vessels in cases of distress, to transmit urgency messages,safety messages when there are imminent  danger to navigation, to listen to notices to marine, weather report and navoigational warnings and to the maintain contact with other ships for a safe and efficient voyage.