N vigator Inspiring professionalism in marine navigators

Situational awareness
The sense of everything

A free publication by The Nautical Institute in

association with the Royal Institute of Navigation
 David Patraiko FNI
Director of Projects, The Nautical Institute

Situational Awareness
We are always being told about the risk of overload in yourself and others and to is being aware that you might not have
importance of situational awareness, and it have a plan B such as delegating, prioritising all the facts necessary – or perhaps even
really is absolutely critical for the navigator. or calling the Master for assistance. noticing and coping with the fact that some
So much of Bridge Resource Management Good situational awareness is not of the information you have is incorrect.
is about ensuring situational awareness, just about observing something in the Chart data can be wrong, particularly if it is
and operating as a team to fill in any gaps environment, but being able to correctly old or changed by environmental factors.
in our own perception, sharing our mental identify it and how best to deal with it. GNSS systems can be interrupted or even
picture of what is going on and what This is where experience comes into play, spoofed, AIS data can be incorrect and
should happen next. and why it is important to learn from all radar data can be misinterpreted.
Maintaining good situational awareness your encounters. They will prepare you Good situational awareness should be a
can be challenging and there are many for similar situations in the future. In the shared activity. When working with a team,
things on a bridge that can cause distraction accident report on page 8 there is an share your observations. Don’t assume that
or overload. ‘Look out of the window’ unfortunate example of how inexperienced everyone has the same mental picture as
is a classic mantra – and one which officers were not able to identify a tanker you, or even that your own mental picture is
The Navigator continues to emphasise. coming off its berth as a moving object, correct. In many instances good situational
Remember, though, that human vision is leading to huge damages and a sinking. awareness is just common sense, but it is a
not perfect and needs to be complemented Navigators must be aware of everything sense that can be refined with practice and
with other tools such as radar, AIS, and even around them. Certainly, you must look benefits from experience and a good attitude.
listening to VHF radio traffic. At the same ahead – but don’t forget to look behind As always, The Navigator magazine
time, it is very possible for navigators to you for overtaking threats. Watch the sky is about sharing knowledge and starting
become overloaded with target information, for weather and be aware of what is below discussions. Please share this magazine
especially if there are also other tasks going your keel and where unseen risks might be and your thoughts with your team
on on the bridge. It is important to identify the lying. A big part of situational awareness members for the benefit of all.

03 ALL AT SEA at The Nautical how we can make it work to in the world – and the
Contributions and Institute, discusses our advantage most scared!
comments from why good situational
08 WATCH OUT 10 WAY POINT
readers of The awareness involves every
Navigator single one of our human How inexperience and poor Dr Andy Norris considers
senses situational awareness on the the significance of relative
04–05 MAKING bridge led to a collision at night positioning.
SENSE OF 06–07 REVIEWING
SITUATIONAL THE SITUATION 09 WHO’S NAVIGATING? 11 TAKE TEN
AWARENESS Captain Andrew Liebmann Third Officer Emma Carofano Ten top tips to hone your
David Patraiko, outlines what situational on why her first day at sea situational awareness skills
Director of Projects awareness really means and made her the happiest person at sea

Editorial committee: Published by

Editor Emma Ward The Nautical Institute
Design Phil McAllister The Navigator (Print) – ISSN 2058-6043
For The Nautical Institute The Navigator (Online) – ISSN 2058-6051
With support from: 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AT, UK Bridget Hogan, Lucy Budd, Printed in the UK by
Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 3134 Fax: +44 (0)20 7591 3131 David Patraiko FNI Stephens & George,
www.rin.org.uk For the RIN Dr Andy Norris FRIN FNI Merthyr Tydfil, UK

2 | The Navigator | February 2020

 Emma Ward
We welcome your news, comments and opinions on the topics covered in The Navigator

If you would like to get in touch with us,

please contact the editor, Emma Ward Working on board can be very draining. But
witnessing the wonder of this colony of birds
at navigator@nautinst.org, or look out taking shelter and flying around the ship
for the LinkedIn discussion. We look absolutely lifts the spirits!
forward to hearing from you. Gil Gerarcas
Songa Dream

On the subject of bridge navigation If one can remember that no-one

safety, I believe we are starting to turn a is infallible and that one is actually not
corner. This is partly because of bridge expected to know absolutely everything,
Get the app management styles changing and partly it will go a long way towards bringing the
because the youngsters coming up are far whole team together. For instance, I’m a
better educated on the dangers of over- keen student of celestial navigation and
reliance on electronics. A lot of the young regularly use the sextant on board to keep
Join the debate on LinkedIn deck officers are an enormous help to me fresh. However, I totally understand that
https://www.linkedin.com/ on the IT front. They know far more than it’s a dying art and never berate my junior
groups/1107227/ me about running systems of equipment officers for not always knowing too much
and are keen to help when requested. about it. That said, I encourage them to
Follow us on Twitter Being a Master on any vessel can have a go if they show an interest and I’m
https://twitter.com/NauticalInst be highly stressful and how this stress happy to say most do.
is handled can make a huge difference. Keep up the good work!
We are active on Facebook Back in the day, the ‘Old Man’ was Paul Kersey
https://www.facebook.com/ someone to be in awe of. They could do Master, P&O Maritime Logistics
no wrong, never made mistakes and,
thenauticalinstitute even when they did occasionally, to pull
Watch our videos on You Tube them up on it as a junior was a decidedly
dodgy area.
http://www.youtube.com/
Nowadays, I believe things have
TheNauticalInstitute changed a lot.
I totally encourage all my crew and
You can read a digital version of The
especially the bridge team to question
Navigator, or download it in PDF format at me at any time if they are not sure what
http://www.nautinst.org/publications I’m doing or why I’m doing it. Tool
box talks and pre-voyage briefings
are a great way of letting everyone
know what’s expected and what the
contingencies are. Just because as
Master you have overall responsibility
that does not mean you have to shut
yourself off from valuable resources,
such as a young OOW fresh out of
college with all the new innovations
and ideas still freshly imprinted.
We welcome your news, comments and opinions on the topics
covered in The Navigator. We reserve the right to edit letters for
space reasons if necessary. Views expressed by letter contributors
do not necessarily reflect those held by The Nautical Institute Find us on social media and let us know what you think #NautInst
February 2020 | The Navigator | 3
 Making sense of
situational awareness
David Patraiko, Director of Projects for The
Nautical Institute, examines what good situational
awareness looks like and why it involves every
single one of our human senses – including that
all-important sixth sense

4 | The Navigator | February 2020

G
ood situational awareness is No ‘I’ in TEAM optics and Augmented Reality (AR) to try to
about how you perceive the When things get busy, it may not be ‘improve’ mariners’ situational awareness.
environment around you, how possible for one person to maintain good The challenge for the industry will be to
you understand it and how you situational awareness alone. There are develop these systems so they are fit for
are aware of the ways in which just too many things to take account purpose, and then ensure mariners are well
that environment will change with time. Good of. Instead, the task must be shared trained in their use and understand their
situational awareness is important to humans among the team. It may be necessary to strengths and weaknesses.
at all times, but it is especially important have people focused solely on lookout,
to mariners, and navigators in particular. navigation, communication and collision Check your understanding
Critical decisions for your own safety and the avoidance. In these cases, all members It is important for navigators to focus on
safety of the ship rely on your having good of the bridge team need to communicate ensuring good situational awareness, and to
situational awareness. effectively so the officer in charge can recognise signs of its loss in themselves and
For the best situational awareness, it maintain overall situational awareness. others. One positive indicator is that team
is important to use all your senses: sight, For example, if the ship is picking up a members are cross-checking systems with
hearing, smell, touch – even taste. Some pilot or approaching a dock, is someone other systems or observations. What might
would argue that good situational awareness monitoring the other sectors to ensure this look like in practice?
also includes an elusive ‘sixth sense’, where there are no surprises? Do members of the bridge team share
a ‘gut feeling’ based on experience can offer Many accident reports cite loss of information and try to ensure that that they
real insights. Not all senses are used equally situational awareness as the root cause. have a shared ‘mental image’? For example,
but they must all be taken into account to Good situational awareness is not a state when a lookout observes a light, does the
help us recognise, organise and understand of being; it is an activity that needs to be OOW check the radar (or vice versa)?
our environment. One report suggests that focused on, discussed, and even trained for. Does everyone try to anticipate risk and
30% of our brain cortex is devoted to seeing, It has many enemies, including boredom, compare ideas about contingency plans?
8% to touch and 3% to hearing. distraction and overload. Most ships ban Do bridge officers monitor the weather
On an individual basis, all mariners personal mobile phones for this reason. against forecasts and try to anticipate
should use all their senses all the time. Situational awareness is a very how a change in the weather may affect
Observing the weather will give an human activity involving perception, other departments on board and the
indication of predicted ship movement comprehension and projection. Technology seaworthiness of the vessel?
and risks. Hearing an odd sound may give can aid us by offering additional sources of Situational awareness, and the lack of
an indication of cargo coming loose – the information. However, it can also become it, is not limited to the maritime sector.
absence of sound has certainly woken me confusing if too much emphasis is placed Most car accidents can be traced to
from sleep (ship blackout)! Smells can warn on adding more and more technology for poor situational awareness and most
of burning or leaks, while even taste can be its own sake. Today’s ship’s bridge bristles industries have some sort of guidance
used to identify a contaminated water tank. with more information sources than ever on best practice. However, good
On the bridge, situational awareness before. Automatic plotting, weather/tidal situational awareness is vitally important
is crucial for safe navigation and collision overlays, MSI and even decision support to mariners in all departments for all tasks,
avoidance. Sight is used both externally (out systems for collision avoidance all aim to even when asleep.
the window) and internally (Radar, ECDIS, help navigators improve their situational Take any opportunity to consider how
etc.) and is backed up by the sounds of awareness. Sometimes they do, but you can increase your own situational
alarms and VHF and the feel of vibrations, sometimes they can distract. awareness, how you can check your
for example when running into shallow The amount of data and information will understanding of your environment and
water. Changes in smell can indicate only increase, with some ships already using risks, compare event forecasts with reality
problems with cargo. tools like Lidar, sonar, infrared, low light and reflect on any differences you may find.

February 2020 | The Navigator | 5

 Reviewing the situation
Master and Marine Consultant Captain Andrew Liebmann AFNI asks what situational
awareness means in reality, and how can we make it work to our advantage

6 | The Navigator | February 2020

S
ituational awareness is the detract from situational awareness include immediately, instead of when we are
opposite of tunnel vision. It’s the the multitude of paper log books, nuisance already turning into danger.
difference between looking and alarms and false alarms, poor ergonomics I believe that the best way to achieve
seeing. To maintain situational or sight lines, the expectation that we good situational awareness is a team
awareness, at least one member can ‘multitask’ items of lesser importance, approach. This is partly because individuals
of the team needs to be looking away from side conversations, fatigue and have a tendency to see what they expect
the area of primary focus, and making sure uncomfortable environments. or want to see, and each of us has our
that there’s a ‘Big Picture’ observation. The good news is that there have own comfortable areas of focus – acting
For instance: when everyone else is been many procedural and technical as a team cancels out these blind spots.
looking down at the ship’s side while enhancements over the years that help That does not relieve any member of the
docking, someone should be on the us achieve and maintain good situational team from keeping the big picture in mind.
opposite side and reporting anything awareness. For example, the modern Even when seafarers operate alone, as
relevant. When planning an alteration Integrated Bridge System (IBS) puts a is increasingly the case (on the bridge,
to avoid a close quarters situation, massive amount of information where on deck or in the machinery spaces), we
checking astern and further past the we can understand it visually (primarily can employ personal techniques such as
immediate area can prevent the vessel on ECDIS and radar screens). When stopping to scan sensors and surroundings,
from altering away from one danger into properly configured and well understood, breaking tasks into smaller intermediate
another. If there is an emergency inside the this allows for excellent interpretation objectives and using appropriate checklists
ship, someone needs to keep navigating of many sensors, giving a much more for technically complex tasks. Even setting a
safely while it is addressed. complete understanding than the bad old simple kitchen timer as a reminder to check
Ideally, every individual in the team days of manual measurements and paper on a ballast transfer pump is a useful tool
should have good situational awareness, plotting. CCTV cameras allow the quick to help us break out of the tendency to get
but at minimum, team tasks should be and accurate assessment of unmanned absorbed in other tasks.
divided so that all relevant areas of focus spaces and monitoring of machines, which
are given enough attention and there are is useful for both normal operations and Say what you see
no surprises. As Master, I try to delegate emergency response. When there is no one to check your work,
as much of the detailed work (including verbalising observations and plans, as
conning, communicating, and recording) Teamwork works you do in BRM, is a good way to remain
to the lowest rank person who can handle Procedure can also help us avoid traps. conscious of what you are going to do. For
the job. This leaves the most experienced I try to get all my bridge personnel to instance, I was recently bringing a newbuild
person free to step back from the hands-on name out loud the alarm we are silencing ship on sea trials into a berth. During the
execution of any particular task. That allows or cancelling. When the annoying beep manoeuvre to get the ship lined up for
both the OOW and, if present, the Master to sounds, it is all too easy to just mash the final approach, I was looking astern and to
personally keep good situational awareness, button that makes it go away, especially starboard from one corner of the bridge, so
which can then be passed on to the team when there are repetitive, false or irrelevant I had my Chief Mate looking ahead and to
where appropriate. When I am focused on alarms. This can lead to ignoring an port from across the bridge.
a specific task (such as manoeuvring the important alarm. Naming the alarm can As I manipulated the controls and
ship onto the dock, or making complex alert us to whether there is something that monitored the way the wind was setting the
arrangements on the radio), having the needs to be checked before the alarm is ship, I reported what I was seeing, doing,
OOW look out and around is critical to my dismissed. Of course, the endless quest to and planning through long-established
peace of mind. remove nuisance alarms also needs more habit even though none of my team could
attention from our friends in the design and hear me. Noting distances, speeds, and
Focus and drive regulation parts of the industry. planned actions out loud kept me in the
As we gain more experience and Even standard Bridge Resource routine of thinking through my cycle of
proficiency, we can keep track of more Management (BRM) practices are often observation, intention, execution and back
(and more complex) tasks without losing under-appreciated aids to maintaining to observation.
situational awareness. When we start our good situational awareness. When the Losing situational awareness can be
careers, even a simple task like steering a OOW announces what he or she sees, catastrophic. I have had the experience of
compass course may require every bit of our and states his or her planned actions, being surprised by something that could
focus, and we might lose track of what else the whole team shares a mental model have been noticed earlier. By adopting good
is happening around us if we are not part that ensures we all have good situational design, policy, and practice we can develop
of an effective team. Knowing the abilities awareness. When the OOW corrects and maintain good situational awareness.
of each team member helps keep everyone my mistakes, it is because they are That should make those surprises rarer and
from being overloaded. checking what I am saying rather than less severe. Finally, to the old salts who
There are many threats to situational just accepting it. Instinctively checking the actually remember plotting positions on a
awareness, and we should do all response from a helm, engine, or thruster chart, good situational awareness is a sign
we can to combat them. Things that order means we catch a malfunction that you have not ‘lost the plot!’
February 2020 | The Navigator | 7
In this series, we take a look at maritime accident reports and the lessons that can be learned

Inexperience and poor situational

awareness led to collision
What happened? Why did it happen? What changes have been made?
A frigate was heading south through  he OOW and other bridge
T Improved training around situational
confined waters at approximately 18 officers on the frigate were young awareness, watch-standing and
knots. It was dark, but visibility was and inexperienced. Poor overall teamwork on the bridge has
otherwise clear and weather conditions communication, organisation been implemented
good. The frigate’s officers notified the and teamwork further exacerbated Career paths for officers on the frigate
local VTS that they were entering the the situation have been reconsidered to allow
area. However, the vessel’s AIS system The deck lights on the tanker officers to gain time for training and
was set in passive mode, meaning that obscured its navigational lights, experience before they are promoted
no AIS signals were being transmitted. making it harder for the frigate to The use of AIS on the frigate has been
About an hour after the frigate identify it as a moving vessel reviewed, as has the use of deck
entered the VTS area, an oil tanker was The frigate officers did not use lights on the tanker to avoid obscuring
preparing to leave a terminal in the same technical aids to inform and correct navigational lights in future
stretch of water and move northwards. their flawed situational awareness,
VTS assumed that the two vessels were relying instead on their own perceived
aware of each other and would work view of the situation
together to avoid collision. The operator The VTS operator received the report There is an excellent summary and
did not inform other nearby vessels of of the frigate entering the area, but did animation of the incident at
the tanker’s intention to depart. not monitor the area closely enough, https://www.youtube.com/
The tanker’s bridge officers spotted nor inform vessels in the area of the watch?v=HVGe6ltIxQs
the frigate moving towards them but tanker’s intention to depart. – we recommend having a look!
assumed that the OOW had seen The frigate’s AIS was in passive
them too and would change course. mode, preventing the tanker or
Unfortunately, the OOW and two other any other vessels from seeing
key members of the bridge team transmitted signals.
mistook the deck lights on the tanker
for a stationary object. They did not
make use of the technical tools at their
disposal to double check this, and
proceeded as if the tanker was not
moving. This brought them right into the
path of the vessel.
No-one on the frigate was aware of THE FRIGATE OFFICERS RELIED ON
the mistake until it was too late. The
two vessels collided, causing damage,
THEIR OWN PERCEIVED VIEW OF
water ingress and some minor injuries. THE SITUATION, iNSTEAD OF USING
TECHNICAL AIDS THAT COULD HAVE
HELPED HIGHLIGHT THE DANGER.

The Nautical Institute’s Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS) - https://www.nautinst.org/resource-library/mars.html - comprises a fully
searchable database of incident reports and lessons, updated every month. If you have witnessed an accident or seen a problem, email Captain
Paul Drouin at mars@ nautinst.org and help others learn from your experience. All reports are confidential – we will never identify you or your ship.
8 | The Navigator | February 2020
Like father, like daughter: life on
the ocean wave
Navigation officer, Anna Carofano, discusses how her father’s career inspired her to follow her sea-faring dreams, what
it’s like to work on a cruise ship and how fatigue can often be the biggest threat to effective situational awareness

What interested you in a career at sea? lead to a lack of situational awareness.

You know the saying, ‘follow in your Eliminating tiredness is impossible, but
father’s footsteps’? Well, that’s what I did! monitoring how people are coping with
My father is a bosun on board ferries and it is the best way to avoid accidents. On
I have always been fascinated by his job. our ship, fatigue levels are monitored
I think he found it hard at first to have his continuously, making sure that everyone
only daughter away from him, but I’m sure has enough hours of rest, opportunities
that now he is very proud of me! I love to spend time with other people and the
the sea and I love to travel and share my chance to go out and explore the ports
culture with different nationalities, so this is we are visiting.
the perfect job for me.
How do you personally ensure
What career path has led to your you practise good situational
current position? awareness?
I started at nautical school when I was I try to maintain high situational
13. After finishing my studies, I sailed awareness by knowing what is going on
on a chemical tanker as a deck cadet. I around me and using the three ‘levels’
remember my first day on board, when I of perception, comprehension and
was the happiest person in the world, but projection. I always ask myself: ‘What is
also the most scared! After working for a happening? What does it mean and what
while on tankers, I joined the cruise ship might happen next?’ Today’s bridges are
family, where my life changed completely, WORKING FOR A CRUISE highly advanced with lots of screens and
once again. SHIP… GIVES YOU THE information, but I always remember to
watch what’s going on outside in the ‘real
What do you like best about working CHANCE TO EXPLORE world’ as well, and to share my thoughts
at sea? DIFFERENT PARTS OF with the rest of my team.
Usually on board ship we have more than
100 different nationalities and thanks
THE WORLD AND TO What do you think the wider
to this, I now know more about many SHARE SOME AMAZING maritime industry could do to help
navigators hone their situational
different cultures and mentalities. Working
for a cruise ship also gives you the chance
EXPERIENCES WITH awareness skills?
to explore different parts of the world and OTHER PEOPLE The maritime industry is doing a lot for
to share some amazing experiences with young navigators, improving our skills with
other people. What a wonderful job! all be in different watches with senior specific training and investments in our
officers. During the watches we must future. What could be improved further,
How does your current position differ focus and be able to multitask without however, is the background. We only
from your previous role? being worried to speak up and give our begin much of our main training after our
I’m currently a Third Officer, which is very opinion as necessary. time as a cadet, which doesn’t allow us a
different from being a deck cadet. When lot of time to understand what situational
you are a cadet, your goal is to learn as What do you think is the biggest awareness is like in a real-life situation. It
much as you can because, once you are threat to good situational awareness would be much better to learn more about
in my current position, there is far less on board? situational awareness during nautical
time to ask questions! We usually have When an officer is affected by fatigue college, even before joining a ship for the
three Third Officers on board, who must or an overdose of information, this can very first time.

February 2020 | The Navigator | 9

 Dr Andy Norris FRIN FNI

Critical positioning
Dr Andy Norris, an active Fellow of The Nautical Institute and the Royal Institute of Navigation, examines
the significance of relative position-based sensors for improving situational awareness

Information based on absolute check on the integrity of displayed

position – knowing where you are absolute position data, including
on the surface of the earth – is most charted features. However,
highly important to safe navigation. you should also bear in mind the
So, too, is relative position – where NEVER PUT 100% RELIANCE particular weaknesses of such aids
you are in relation to everything else in ON THE POSITIONAL when assessing the complete scene.
the area, including other vessels, ACCURACY OF CHARTED Not least, the further away the target is,
navigational aids and any hazards to the more their performance degrades,
FEATURES. THE SITUATION
navigation. Good situational awareness declining steadily to zero. It is possible to
should make use of both. MIGHT HAVE CHANGED jam or spoof most relative position sensors
The concept of absolute position was SINCE THE LAST SURVEY available today, but in reality this is rarely
developed some centuries ago, with the encountered outside of war zones.
realisation that the Earth was near-spherical,
and that astronomical objects, such as the Into the future
Sun, stars and planets, could be used (when In the future, inertial sensors will increasingly
visible) to determine the unique position of contribute to the safety of maritime
the observer on the Earth’s surface. Some transmissions could even be spoofs. navigation, including enhancing the
GNSS is based on a very similar basic Even when this information is accurate, AIS accuracy of transmitted AIS data. They are
concept to astronavigation but, of course, does not tell the whole story. Numerous relative position based aids that determine
gives massively higher accuracy and navigational hazards do not transmit AIS the actual movement of the vessel from
availability. Not least, AIS allows vessels information, including many small craft any known position and are achieving ever
and navigational marks to transmit their and navigational marks – and, not least, greater accuracy. This enables an estimate
own determined absolute position to all floating or submerged wreckage. Never put of the vessel’s current absolute position
vessels in the vicinity, greatly aiding safe 100% reliance on the positional accuracy of to be independently and automatically
navigation for everyone. charted features, either. The situation might determined, potentially over hours or even
However, we should never rely too much have changed since the last survey. days. Importantly, they are totally immune to
on the integrity of any information that is Real-time hazard avoidance is jamming and spoofing.
solely referenced to absolute position. fundamentally based on relative position: Unfortunately, they will not prevent
Even when using multiple satellite services, how far away are any potential hazards spoof data being transmitted from other
there are many possibilities for significant in the area, and what is their bearing and vessels. Therefore, the optical, radar and
inaccuracies when estimating our own relative speed? Key navigational aids, such sonar scenes will remain just as important
absolute position. These include failure as the human eye, radar and sonar, all give as they are today.
to receive signals from satellites in certain independent estimates of the presence and GNSS, when sensibly used, makes
areas and the ever-growing menace of relative motion of potential hazards, with a valuable contribution to the safety of
GNSS jamming and spoofing. no fundamental dependency on GNSS navigation, but we must always bear in
and/or knowing their absolute position. mind its weaknesses and the fact that
Proceed with caution Neither do they need any additional collision avoidance is fundamentally based
Positional information received by AIS information from the target, although on the concept of relative navigation. The
should always be treated with caution. detecting the target can be greatly aided importance of always using information
We have no knowledge of whether the by lights and radar reflectors, etc. from relative position based sensors when
equipment on the vessel sending the signal Navigation aids based on relative making real-time navigational decisions
has been properly set up and maintained. position provide a totally independent must never be overlooked.

Contact RIN at: www.rin.org.uk | 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AT | Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 3134
10 | The Navigator | February 2020
 10
take 5
Overburdening
It is easy to become distracted and lose situational awareness
on the bridge of a ship. Know how to spot it in yourself and
others and have a plan to deal with it.

6
Under burdening
It is possible to lose situational awareness when things become
quiet. Find ways to keep yourself focused and alert. Unforeseen
events at sea can be devastating!
Ten top tips for improving and enhancing
your situational awareness on board
7
Fake news
Not all information is correct. Chart data can be inaccurate,
AIS data can be wrong and, in this cyber age, misinformation

1
can be given.

Most important
Situational awareness is absolutely critical to navigators. You
need to be aware of your environment at all times, understand it
8
Be aware on board
and then act correctly. Situational awareness is just as important off the bridge. A good
mariner is always alert to unexpected smells, vibrations, noises,

2
and ship movements. Learn to trust your sixth sense and don’t
ignore the sense that something just isn't right.

9
All available means
Use all available means, all your senses (eyes, ears, touch, nose
etc…) and all available tools (Radar, AIS, GNSS, radio, etc…)
Learn from others

3
Poor situational awareness is often cited in accident
investigation reports. Learn from these reports, whether they
are from The Nautical Institute in MARS, other industry schemes
Always question such as Maritime CHIRP, or national reports such as the UK
Always seek to test your understanding of the environment by MAIB, US NTSB or Australia’s ATSB.
cross checking. Try never to trust just one sense or tool.

4 10
Mentoring
Share with others Situational awareness can be continually improved and
Share your observations and interpretations with others in your taught to others. Work with your team to improve your skills.
team, never assume that they have seen something as well, or Experience is key to making sense of your environment and
that your interpretation is the best. making good decisions.

#NavInspire

February 2020 | The Navigator | 11

 W I N A N i PA D at or on Tw itt er, in clu ding the hashtag #N
AVsnap,
you with your Navig o attached (www.fa
cebook.com/
Just post a picture of ok wi th yo ur ph ot have one. Let us
ge on Facebo your college, if you
or send us a messa m e of yo ur sh ip or
in the draw,
and tell us the na ryone gets entered
thenauticalinstitute) l In st itu te , to o (e ve
ber of The Nautica e information in an
email!
know if you’re a mem no t!) Or se nd us th
ember or
whether you are a m

AND the winner

this issue is…
Our Navsnap winner
for this issue is Geor
from the bridge of LN ge. He sends us this
G tanker LNG Akwa photo
Ibom.

@coolgeorge8
4
N vi gator CHAM
PION