The UK P&I Club reveals its concerns about ECDIS

News Release Thomas Miller P&I Ltd September 23, 2011

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18904"></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
The UK P&I Club
recently completed a  a series of three short
articles which provide a user friendly guide to the mystery surrounding
electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS). These have now been
consolidated into a 16-page booklet “ECDIS – Navigational and claims
issues” that is available in hard copy from the Club or as a .pdf file from
the club’s website.
 
While the
booklet is not really intended for navigators, it should, the Club believes, be
of great value to anyone in shipping who needs to be aware of what ECDIS is and
the implications of any ECDIS-associated errors and
oversights.
 
All three articles can be
downloaded individually  or in the 16-page combined format
from the Loss Prevention section of the  UK P&I Club website <A
href="redir.aspx?C=92a83da628cb4467b8178bf7674a5b76&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ukpandi.com%2floss-prevention%2flp-reports"
target=_blank>http://www.ukpandi.com/loss-prevention/lp-reports</A>.
 
Whilst
welcoming the new mandatory requirement to have ECDIS as the principal means of
navigation on board merchant vessels, the Club is warning shipowners and
managers about potential problems associated with its
implementation.
 
Karl Lumbers, a Director of Thomas Miller P&I Ltd, Managers
of the UK P&I
Club, states:
 

“ECDIS is not
an easy ride. There are still thousands of seafarers who will need to be trained
and safety management systems will need to be revised. It will in many cases
restrict the flexibility owners/managers currently enjoy to switch officers
between the different ships in their fleets and we have seen already that Port
State Control inspectors will be looking closely at ships’ ECDIS arrangements to
ensure compliance. There is a sharp learning curve ahead and if you haven’t yet
really started on the journey, you will have to move very quickly indeed. The
risk of a vessel detention for non-compliance is very real.”
 
Lumbers also
points out that risks will need careful and meticulous
management:
  
 
“Although
ECDIS should make the navigation of ships so much easier, we expect that its
incorrect use will feature regularly in accident inquiries. Humans tend to put a
great deal of trust on machines but machines sometimes fail. There will still be
a need to look out of the bridge windows regularly.
 
“Of course,
when an incident does occur, we know that investigators look first at data
records. It is imperative that data is stored safely. If it can’t be found,
there is an immediate suspicion of guilt. Who is going to believe that the data
was erased accidentally?”
 
In conclusion, the
UK
P&I Club stresses that it is very much in favour of ECDIS becoming a fixture
on ships’ bridges, it’s just that like all things new, it comes with a learning
curve during which time incidents and errors are more likely to occur. It is
important that both those on the bridge and those back in the office are alert
to this fact and use every means possible to have the right management systems
in place.
 </DIV></BODY></HTML>