ECDIS training, familiarisation and lessons from groundings
1The lesson in plain words
A generic ECDIS course is not enough: you must also know the system on your ship. Real groundings show what happens when either is missing.
Generic training
The STCW Code requires ECDIS competence for officers in charge of a navigational watch (table A-II/1) and for masters and chief mates (table A-II/2), where it supports command decisions. IMO model course 1.27 guides generic ECDIS training. Approved training and assessment may be standalone or integrated into your certificate course. If you are certificated without ECDIS training and assessment, your endorsement excludes service on ECDIS-fitted ships.
Familiarisation
Each ECDIS make has different controls. STCW regulation I/14 and section 6.3 of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code make the company responsible for familiarising you with the ship's ECDIS, backup and sensors. Record this familiarisation in the company's safety management system, as MSC.1/Circ.1503 advises. Some flag states also require certified type-specific training: check your flag's rules.
Ovit, 2013
The tanker Ovit grounded on the Varne Bank in the Dover Strait, following an ECDIS route that crossed the bank. The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found the plan made by an unsupervised junior officer and not checked. The safety contour was left at 30 m for a 7.9 m draught. A small-scale cell was in use, the audible alarm did not work and the route check results were misread.
Muros, 2016
The bulk carrier Muros grounded on Haisborough Sand off eastern England. The route had been changed less than three hours earlier and not approved by the master. The visual check used a small-scale chart, over 3,000 route check warnings were ignored, the audible alarm had been disabled and the guard zone was not active. The MAIB linked several groundings to how ECDIS was set up and used.
Over-reliance
The common thread is people trusting the screen while the settings, checks and lookout that make ECDIS safe were missing. Ovit's watch even saw the buoys marking the bank and did not act. Keep looking out of the window, cross-check with radar and visual fixes, and treat any alarm as a question to answer.
2Key data
- OOW ECDIS competence
- STCW Code table A-II/1
- Master and chief mate
- STCW Code table A-II/2
- Familiarisation
- STCW reg. I/14 and ISM Code 6.3: company duty
- Generic course
- IMO model course 1.27
- Good-practice guidance
- MSC.1/Circ.1503/Rev.2 (2022)
3Key points
- 1
Generic ECDIS training (STCW A-II/1, A-II/2) plus type-specific familiarisation (STCW I/14, ISM 6.3).
- 2
Without approved ECDIS training and assessment, your endorsement excludes service on ECDIS-fitted ships.
- 3
Ovit and Muros: default or wrong settings, ignored route checks, disabled alarms, no approval.
- 4
ECDIS adds to the lookout and radar; it never replaces them.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: A generic ECDIS certificate covers every ship.
Right: You also need familiarisation with the make and setup on board, provided by the company and recorded.
Wrong: Groundings with ECDIS are caused by faulty software.
Right: The MAIB found settings, checks and alarms misused or disabled, and too little system knowledge, in case after case.
5Practice case & exam keys
You join a ship as chief mate. You hold generic ECDIS training, but this ship has a make you have never used, and you take over the 4–8 watch tomorrow at sea. Nobody has mentioned familiarisation. What do you do?
Show the answer
Ask the master for the ECDIS familiarisation required by the company's safety management system before you keep a watch alone. Learn how to set and check the safety settings, alarms, route check, look-ahead, sensor inputs and backup on this make. Use the maker's training material if the company provides it. Make sure the familiarisation is recorded.
Exam keys
- STCW tables A-II/1 and A-II/2 require ECDIS competence; IMO model course 1.27 guides generic training.
- STCW reg. I/14 and ISM 6.3: company provides and records type-specific familiarisation.
- MAIB: Ovit (2013, Varne Bank) and Muros (2016, Haisborough Sand): settings, route check, alarms, approval.
Finish this unit
When you've read it, match the terms, then answer three questions. Get them all right to finish the unit; opening the page alone doesn't count.
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