ECDIS training: The Generic course

June 13th, 2011 by JCB
Posted in Articles, Technical and Training | No Comments »

Your editor getting to grips with ECDIS!

The majority of nautical colleges are now offering generic ECDIS courses and most manufacturers run type specific courses although these latter courses don’t comply with IMO requirements.  Reports from those who have attended these courses seem to vary with some being rated poor.

My employers, the Port of London   Authority, require their pilots to hold a valid Class 1 Certificate of Competency and also consider it important that if a pilot has the conduct of a vessel they should be able to understand the           essential features of ECDIS so they are arranging for all of the pilots to undergo generic ECDIS training.

Following some less than positive feedback from those who had a attended a course run by a nautical college I, along with three of my colleagues, was sent for the full length course run by the   private company, ECDIS Ltd, at their modern facility at the Solent Business Park near Fareham in Hampshire.

Our initial thoughts upon receiving details of the course were “How on earth would we fill 5 days without getting bored?”, but we all ended up with an understanding that anything less is inadequate for most navigators.

Having written three articles on ECDIS, I already had a basic comprehension of ECDIS but it was only once I started to put the theory into practice with a fully operational ECDIS unit (Transas Navi-Sailor 4000) that I realised just how dangerous it could be if a navigator hadn’t attended a comprehensive training course. The fact is that ECDIS isn’t just another aid to navigation such as radar or AIS, rather it is the fundamental element underpinning the navigational safety of a vessel.

The paper chart has evolved over       many centuries and clearly displays all the information that a navigator requires. In contrast, ECDIS has been developed in a haphazard way over the last 15 years by technicians and manufacturers with little knowledge of the requirements of the end user. Consequently much essential information is only obtained by selecting “layers” or by “interrogating” the chart display which must be tailored to the ship’s draft and under keel clearance parameters. Unfamiliarity with any of these functions can ( and has) result in disaster.

I can recommend the ECDIS Ltd course which for me struck the right balance between classroom instruction and hands on practical experience. Although not a requirement of the IMO course, there were regular informal tests throughout the course which certainly helped me to remember the relevant facts. At the end of the course there is a more formal test incorporating all the week’s elements and although there is no pass or fail, the highest scoring student every month gets their name placed on a ship’s wheel and also receives a small prize.

By the end of the course, I had a good understanding of the ECDIS concept and am now confident enough to be able to use an ECDIS during pilotage. However, I still believe that until all navigators have received good quality training and the manufacturers have taken note of user feedback to provide an interface that reflects the needs of the navigator, there is a high risk of more ECDIS related disasters.

Photos: ECDIS Ltd

JCB

ECDIS Ltd,

Solent business Park

Fareham  PO15 7FH

www.ecdis.org

01489 611665