Electronic Navigation Systems Guidance for the safe use on leisure vessels EDITED BY Jane Russell Published by Royal Institute of Navigation 1, Kensington Gore London SW7 2AT Tel: +44 (0) 20 7591 3135 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or used in any form by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems or otherwise – without the prior permission of the publisher. Version 1, 2020 © 2020 Royal Institute of Navigation Graphics by William Thomson Company and product names mentioned in the booklet are usually trademarks of their respective owners and, where used, are for the purpose of identifying the systems being described. RIN and the other stakeholders are not associated with any of these products or manufacturers and the names/images are used in good faith for the purpose of education only. Design by CGT Interactive Limited – cgt.uk.com ISBN 978-1-8382360-0-7 (Print) ISBN 978-1-8382360-1-4 (Digital) Important Message This document has been produced by the Royal Institute of Navigation (“RIN”) drawing on the expertise of a large number of people with skills in a range of areas which are relevant to the safe navigation of leisure vessels. It has been produced in good faith as an overview to the safe use of electronic navigation equipment and related systems on leisure vessels. As stated elsewhere it is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to their use but merely a summary of operational issues highlighting, where appropriate, the advantages and drawbacks of use. This document should not be taken as giving guidance for the use of electronic navigation or equipment on Commercial Vessels of any size. The information and advice contained in this booklet is intended merely as general guidance to assist the navigator in the use of electronic navigational aids and, as always, the safety of the vessel and its crew is entirely the responsibility of the Master/skipper. It is for the individual Master/skipper to decide whether it is prudent to act on this advice in the circumstances in which he/ she finds him/herself and in no circumstances whatsoever will RIN, the authors, the editor or any of the organisations who have supported the production of this booklet accept any liability whatsoever for any damage, loss, costs or any penalty incurred by anyone acting upon the comments, suggestions or advice contained in this booklet. Recommendations for official bodies, developers and manufacturers The production of this document has highlighted a number of areas where improvements to electronic navigation systems could be made by manufacturers and official bodies to assist the safety of leisure vessels through better design or regulation. These recommendations do not sit comfortably in this document so are listed on the RIN website where they can be viewed at: https://rin.org.uk/page/ENav RNLI name and logo are trademarks of RNLI used by The Royal Institute of Navigation under licence from Royal National Lifeboat Institution. CONTENTS Acknowledgements 2 Glossary of terms 4 Our Objective 6 Introduction 7 Chapter 1 GNSS in marine navigation 11 Chapter 2 Electronic charts and their display systems 19 Chapter 3 Using Radar and AIS 39 Chapter 4 Guarding against electronic failure on small craft 53 Chapter 5 Key navigational skills 65 Chapter 6 Future Developments 91 Appendix I Extracts from accident reports 93 Appendix II SOLAS regulations and small craft 94 Appendix III Chart of emergency signals 97 Notes For your personal use 98 1 Electronic Navigation Acknowledgements It would not have been possible to produce this document without the assistance of many people and institutions: First we must thank Trinity House who had the vision not only to actively support the idea for a booklet but also to provide key financial support. Secondly the contributors who wrote text for us or who edited and corrected the drafts, all of them unpaid. Your contributions form the backbone of content and expertise throughout this booklet. Out of necessity, many contributions were edited down or out as we altered the overall scope and size of the document. This included most of my own chapter on ocean navigation. Jane Russell, of the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, who has done a miraculous job as editor. That, however, understates her work. She took the text from all the contributors in as many styles and joined it together to form an almost seamless document. It is now very difficult to identify some of the contributions but most are there. William Thomson, whose graphics have brought the book to life and we thank him for his attention to detail. Finally, our other stakeholders: the RYA, MCA and RNLI who have all contributed comments and suggestions. It was always clear that we all shared the same objective of seeking to educate leisure vessel users in the safe use of new technology. The overall purpose has been to provide, in a single short document, a comprehensive, accurate and authoritative summary of how electronic systems on leisure vessels function. In particular we hope it will provide an explanation of their benefits and also how to minimise the risks implicit in using them. By being available as a free download we hope to be able to update the document quickly when new technology appears, or if errors are spotted. Although compiled by a UK navigation body, it is only the references to UK regulations in this booklet which are specific to the UK. All of the information about electronic systems applies worldwide (except as noted). However, the regulations applying to leisure/small vessels in other flag states will be different, even if apparently similar. This booklet has been a joint effort by four charities, a government agency and the national governing body of boating in the UK, as well as all the individual contributors. Our thanks go to all of them. Paul Bryans (Chair of the Small Craft Committee, RIN) 2 The following people have been instrumental in providing text, information, images and feedback on the drafts: Hugh Agnew Michael Gill Rakesh Pandit Roger Barker Alan Grant Tom Partridge Robin Baron Roger Grimsdick Dag Pike Richard Bell Richard Harris Susie Plume Clive Blount John Hasselgren John Pottle Bob Bradfield Catherine Hohenkirk Mike Reynolds Martin Bransby Kathy Hossain Simon Rowell Paul Bryans Darryl Hughes Jane Russell Craig Burton Simon Jackson Peter Russell Nigel Calder Norman Kean James Stevens Nick Charman Matthew Keightley William Thomson Emma Clayton Grant Kelly Chris Tibbs Bob Crighton Steve Lacey Antony Wells Jim Duerden Oliver Mallinson Lucy Wilson Peter Eddis Mungo Morris Regulations and Technical Services group (RATS) of the Adam Egeland-Jensen Thomas Mellor Cruising Association Timothy Evans Andy Norris and remembering Richard Falk Robert Orr the late David Last Editor’s note: I am very grateful to all of the members of the RIN Small Craft Committee, in particular Paul Bryans and Kathy Hossain. I could not have brought this booklet together without their close collaboration and support. JAKR 3 Electronic Navigation Glossary of terms Note: For the purposes of this booklet our definition of electronic navigation systems includes onboard equipment and software, whether stand alone or integrated, as well as the satellite and land-based systems with which they link. “Leisure Vessel” as used in this document means, in the UK, a small vessel classified as a “Pleasure Vessel” under UK legislation as set out in MGN 599. If a vessel is not a Pleasure Vessel then it is a Commercial Vessel. Vessels in commercial use (also called “Coded Vessels”) are subject to different regulations. See MCA Small craft codes at www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-craft-codes. “Small” in this context means up to 24m Load Line Length. This document is aimed at all users of leisure vessels, sail and power, and the terms “sailor” and “yacht” are used generically to encompass all. This document is intended to be non-specific to a particular type of leisure vessel except where the context dictates. AIS Automatic Identification System (see page 45) ARPA Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (see page 44) AtoN Aid(s) to Navigation (see page 13) BMS Battery Management System (see page 55) CATZOC Categories of Zones Of Confidence (see page 31) ColRegs International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended CPA Closest Point of Approach (see page 51) DGPS Differential GPS (see page 14) ECS Electronic Chart System (see page 20) ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System (see page 19) ECMWF European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (see page 82) ENC Electronic Navigational Chart (see pag 21) GBAS Ground-Based Augmentation System (see page 13) GFS Global Forecast System (see page 82) GLA General Lighthouse Authorities) GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System (see page 11) GPS Global Positioning System, the US military operated GNSS (see page 11) GRIB Gridded Information in Binary (see page 82) GT Gross Tonnage (a volume calculation, not displacement) 4 HDoP Horizontal Dilution of Precision (see page 11) HO Hydrographic Office IALA International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation (originally called ‘International Association of Lighthouse Authorities’) IHO International Hydrographic Organization Lidar Light Detection and Ranging (see page 27) M Nautical Mile MFD Multifunction Display POD Print On Demand Racons Radar beacons (see page 40) Radar Radio Detection And Ranging (see page 39) RNC Raster Navigational Chart (see page 21) SOLAS International Convention for the Safety Of Life At Sea, 1974, as amended (see page 93) SBAS Satellite-based Augmentation System (see page 13) TCPA Time to Closest Point of Approach (see page 51) TSS Traffic Separation Scheme VDES VHF Data Exchange Signals (see page 16) WGS84 World Geodetic System 84 (see page 33) ZOC Zone Of Confidence (see page 31) 5 Electronic Navigation Our Objective The objective of this booklet is to provide guidance on the safe use of electronic navigation and associated systems on leisure vessels.