What is an ECDIS?
ECDIS stands for Electronic Chart Display & Information Systems and is a real-time decision aid. It accurately displays the vessels position and provides Navigation Officers with reliable information about both the ship’s position and its intended movements in relation to charted navigational features.
An ECDIS may be accepted as complying with the up-to-date chart requirements as per SOLAS Regulations V/19.2.1.5 provided there is adequate backup arrangements. These requirement for backup arrangements is discussed in greater detail later in this article.
The ECDIS is capable of displaying user selected information from a system electronic navigational chart (SENC) with positional information from navigation sensors. It can assist the mariner in route planning, route monitoring, and displaying additional navigation-related information.
Basic Navigation Functions
All ECDIS have the following basic Navigation functions:
- It must be capable of displaying the vessels Position, Course and Speed.
- Electronic Bearing and Distance
- Manual position fixing
- Dividers and chart work tools
- Danger areas
- North up chart display
- True motion
- The ECDIS shall have means to display the position from at least two positioning methods identify which method is being used, and provide a means for the operator to select the method they want to use.
- Enter the geographic coordinates of any position, and display that position on demand.
- Select any point, feature, symbol or position on the display, and read its geographic co-ordinates on demand.
- Adjust the ship’s geographic position manually.
Any manual adjustment of the ships position shall be:
- Noted alpha-numerically on the screen
- Maintained until altered by the mariner and
- Automatically recorded.
ECDIS Approval/Standards
All ECDIS equipment on vessels must be a type approved for use. In order to be approved it must have been designed and tested in line with the requirements of the International Electrotechnical Committee based on the IMO ECDIS performance standards.
ECDIS in operation which comprises of hardware, software and data. It is important for the safety of navigation that the application software within the ECDIS works fully in accordance with the Performance Standards and is capable of displaying all the relevant digital information contained within the ENC. Any ECDIS which has not been upgraded to be compliant with the latest version of the ENC Product Specification or the S-52 Presentation Library may be unable to correctly display the latest charted features. Additionally the appropriate alarms and indications may not be activated even though the features have been included in the ENC. Similarly any ECDIS which is not updated to be fully compliant with the S-63 Data Protection Standards may fail to decrypt or to properly authenticate some ENCs, leading to failure to load or install. Any ECDIS which has not updated for the latest version of IHO Standards may not meet the chart carriage requirements as set out in SOLAS regulation V/19.2.1.4. The IHO Standards that relate to ECDIS, ENC production and distribution, are listed below:
Backup Arrangements
SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 19 states that if an ECDIS is used as the primary means of navigation then an appropriate folio of paper nautical charts may be used as a back-up arrangement. It also states that other back-up arrangements for ECDIS are acceptable and refers to IMO resolution A.817(19) – Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS).
This resolution doesn’t specifically state the required backup arrangements and the vessels Flag State should be consulted to check what back-up arrangements are acceptable, as the requirements vary. The systems that may be acceptable could be a second ECDIS unit using ENCs maintained by an independent power supply, a chart radar, a second ECDIS unit using raster navigational charts (RNCs) which are digital copies of paper charts, maintained by an independent power supply, a folio of fully corrected paper navigational charts covering the operating area / intended voyage or a combination of the latter two options.
Do Navigating Officers need special training to operate an ECDIS?
At present there is no specific IMO requirement for deck officers to undergo ECDIS training. However it is an ISM requirement that ships officers are adequately trained in the use of equipment fitted onboard and an STCW requirement that mariners on vessels are competent to carry out the duties expected of them. Therefore all deck officers must attended an approved generic ECDIS operators course and type specific training must be completed by all deck officers to ensure they are fully familiar with the equipment fitted onboard their individual vessel.
Do all ships need to have an ECDIS?
Since the year 2002 it was optional for vessels to be fitted with an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) as the primary means of Navigation.
This option was changed into a mandatory requirement at a meeting of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee in May / June 2009 with further amendments to SOLAS regulation V/19 made to make the carriage of ECDIS mandatory on vessels engaged in international voyages.
The implementation schedule for the carriage of ECDIS on new and existing vessels is as follows:
• New passenger vessels of 500 GT and upwards constructed on or after 1st July 2012.
• New tankers of 3,000 GT and upwards constructed on or after 1st July 2012.
• New cargo ships, other than tankers, of 10,000 GT and upwards constructed on or after 1st July 2013.
• New cargo ships, other than tankers, of 3,000 GT and upwards but less than 10,000 GRT constructed on or after 1st July 2014.
• Existing passenger ships of 500 GT and upwards constructed before 1st July 2012 not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2014.
• Existing tankers of 3,000 GT and upwards constructed before 1st July 2012 not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2015.
• Existing cargo ships other than tankers of 50,000 GT and upwards constructed before 1st July 2013 not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2016.
• Existing cargo ships other than tankers, of 20,000 GT and upwards but less than 50,000 GT constructed before 1st July 2013 not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2017.
• Existing cargo ships other than tankers, of 10,000 GT and upwards but less than 20,000 GT constructed before 1st July 2013 not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2018.
There is no mandatory carriage requirements for existing cargo ships of less than 10,000 GT. Vessels may also be exempted from the requirements of the new regulation by their Flag State if the vessel is to be permanently taken out of service within two years of the implementation date for that vessel.
