HAMBURG, GER – Safebridge had a pleasure to welcome Port State Control (PSC) of Germany “BG Verkehr” between 29th – 30th August for an intensive ECDIS training session with the aim to prepare PSC officers to be able to prove the skills of the crew on board. Moreover, the officers were introduced to the different features according to ECDIS-related questions of Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) 2017.
ECDIS summary for the inspection
This year the Maritime Authorities of the Paris MoU, in partnership with the Tokyo MoU on Port State Control agreed to conduct a CIC on “Safety of Navigation”, including ECDIS, starting 1st of September and ending 30th of November. Since ECDIS standards constantly change according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) specific regulations, the officers of PSC need to be specially trained and familiarised with the former. Safebridge is very thankful to Dr. Bernhard Berking, a Professor for Maritime Navigation at ISSUS, who supported in this year’s training. He introduced the officers to the core functions of ECDIS showing the main features of the electronic chart.
Since three out of twelve questions from the CIC checklist relate to ECDIS – PSC of Germany was specifically trained regarding its relevant specifications. Combining the acquired knowledge during the training, PSC officers are able to check the general ECDIS equipment as well as the crew’s navigational skills on board.
Most important: Mariner’s navigational skills
ECDIS services are expanding and it would be difficult to find any new vessels without ECDIS equipment. Today, the safety of navigation can hardly be imagined without electronic charts. This requires sufficient expertise and training which have to be documented during Port State Control inspections. Since the electronic chart is a tool to assure the safety of navigation, it cannot replace a mariner’s navigational skills. During the training, PSC was introduced to the procedure to check the crew’s ability to navigate the ship using ECDIS. It should be noted that ship owners need to make sure that crew members are familiar with ECDIS functionalities prior to their arrival in any German port.
About Port State Control
Port State Control (PSC) is responsible for the inspections of foreign ships in national ports. The objective of PSC officers, during the inspections is to ensure that ships meet IMO requirements, improve ship’s safety and single out “substandard ships”. German ports are conducted by the Ship Division of “BG Verkehr”.
