The officer in charge of the navigational watch is the master's representative and is primarily responsible at all times for the safe navigation of the vessel and for complying with the collision regulations.
| 2 | En route to or from fishing grounds |
| (a) | The composition of the navigational watch shall at all times be adequate and appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions, and shall take into account the need for maintaining a proper look-out. |
| (b) | When deciding the composition of the navigational watch, the following factors, inter alia, shall be taken into account: |
| (i) | at no time is the wheelhouse to be left unattended; |
| (ii) | weather conditions, visibility and whether there is daylight or darkness; |
| (iii) | proximity of navigational hazards that may make it necessary for the officer in charge of the watch to carry out additional navigational duties; |
| (iv) | use and operational condition of navigational aids such as radar or electronic position-indicating devices and of any other equipment affecting the safe navigation of the vessel; |
| (v) | whether the vessel is fitted with automatic steering; |
| (vi) | any unusual demands on the navigational watch that may arise as a result of special operational circumstances. |
| (a) | During the watch, course steered, position and speed shall be checked at sufficiently frequent intervals, using any available navigational aids necessary to ensure that the vessel follows the planned course. |
| (b) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall have full knowledge of the location and operation of all safety and navigational equipment on board the vessel, and shall be aware and take account of the operating limitations of such equipment. |
| (c) | The officer in charge of a navigational watch shall not be assigned or undertake any duties that would interfere with the safe navigation of the vessel. |
| (3) | Navigational equipment |
| (a) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall make the most effective use of all navigational equipment at the officer's disposal. |
| (b) | When using radar, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall bear in mind the necessity to comply at all times with the provisions on the use of radar contained in the collision regulations. |
| (c) | In cases of need, the officer of the navigational watch shall not hesitate to use the helm, engines, and sound and light signalling apparatus. |
| (4) | Navigational duties and responsibilities |
| (a) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall: |
| (i) | keep watch in the wheel house; |
| (ii) | in no circumstances leave the wheelhouse until properly relieved; |
| (iii) | continue to be responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel despite the presence of the master in the wheelhouse, until informed specifically that the master has assumed that responsibility and this is mutually understood; |
| (iv) | notify the master when in any doubt as to what action to take in the interest of safety; and |
| (v) | not hand over the watch to a relieving officer if there is reason to believe that the latter is not capable of carrying out the watchkeeping duties effectively, in which case the Master shall be notified. |
| (b) | On taking over the navigational watch, the relieving officer shall confirm and be satisfied about the vessel's estimated or true position and confirm its intended track, course and speed, and shall note any dangers to navigation expected to be encountered during the watch and any traffic in the immediate vicinity. |
| (c) | Whenever practicable, a proper record shall be kept of the movements and activities during the navigational watch relating to the navigation of the vessel. |
| (a) | A proper look-out shall be maintained in compliance with rule 5 of annex to the collision regulations. It shall serve the purpose of: |
| (i) | maintaining a continuous state of vigilance by sight and hearing as well as by all other available means, with regard to any significant changes in the operating environment; |
| (ii) | fully appraising the situation and the risk of collision, stranding and other dangers to navigation; and |
| (iii) | detecting ships or aircraft in distress, shipwrecked persons, wrecks and debris. |
| (b) | In determining that the composition of the navigational watch is adequate to ensure that a proper look-out can continuously be maintained, the master shall take into account all relevant factors, including those described under item 5.1 of this annex, as well as the following factors: |
| (i) | visibility, and state of weather and sea; |
| (ii) | traffic density, and other activities occurring in the area in which the vessel is navigating; |
| (iii) | the attention necessary when navigating in or near traffic separation schemes and other routeing measures; |
| (iv) | the additional workload caused by the nature of the vessel's functions, immediate operating requirements and anticipated manoeuvres; |
| (v) | rudder and propeller control and vessel manoeuvring characteristics; |
| (vi) | the fitness for duty of any crew members on call who may be assigned as members of the watch; |
| (vii) | knowledge of and confidence in the professional competence of the vessel's officers and crew; |
| (viii) | the experience of the officer of the navigational watch and the familiarity of that officer with the vessel's equipment, procedures, and manoeuvring capability; |
| (ix) | activities taking place on board the vessel at any particular time, and the availability of assistance to be summoned immediately to the wheelhouse when necessary; |
| (x) | the operational status of instrumentation in the wheelhouse and controls, including alarm systems; |
| (xi) | the size of the vessel and the field of vision available from the conning position; |
| (xii) | the configuration of the wheelhouse, to the extent the configuration might inhibit a member of the watch from detecting by sight or hearing any external developments; |
| (xiii) | any relevant standards, procedures and guidelines relating to watchkeeping arrangements and fitness for duty that have been specified in a marine notice. |
The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall take relevant measures and notify the master when adverse changes in weather could affect the safety of the vessel, including conditions leading to ice accretion.
| 3 | Navigation with pilot on board |
The presence of a pilot on board does not relieve the master or officer in charge of the navigational watch from their duties and obligations for the safety of the vessel. The master and the pilot shall exchange information regarding navigation procedures, local conditions and the vessel's characteristics. The master and the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall co-operate closely with the pilot and maintain an accurate check of the vessel's position and movement.
| 4 | Vessels engaged in fishing or searching for fish |
| (1) | In addition to the principles in item 5 of this annex, the following factors shall be taken into account and properly acted upon by the officer in charge of the navigational watch: |
| (a) | other vessels engaged in fishing and their gear, own vessel's manoeuvring characteristics, particularly its stopping distance and the diameter of turning circle at sailing speed and with the fishing gear overboard; |
| (b) | safety of the crew on deck; |
| (c) | adverse effects on the safety of the vessel and its crew through reduction of stability and freeboard caused by exceptional forces resulting from fishing operations, catch handling and stowage, and unusual sea and weather conditions; |
| (d) | the proximity of offshore structures, with special regard to any safety zones; |
| (e) | wrecks and other underwater obstacles that could be hazardous for fishing gear. |
| (2) | When stowing the catch, attention shall be given to the essential requirements for adequate freeboard, adequate stability and watertight integrity at all times during the voyage to the landing port, taking into account consumption of fuel and stores, risk of adverse weather conditions and, especially in winter, risk of ice accretion on or above exposed decks in areas where ice accretion is likely to occur. |
The Master shall ensure, with a view to the safety of the vessel and the crew, that a proper watch is maintained at all times from the wheelhouse or deck on fishing vessels at anchor.
| 6 | Performing the navigational watch |
| (1) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall: |
| (a) | keep the watch on the bridge; |
| (b) | in no circumstances leave the bridge until properly relieved; |
| (c) | continue to be responsible for the safe navigation of the ship, despite the presence of the Master on the bridge, until informed specifically that the Master has assumed that responsibility and this is mutually understood; and |
| (2) | During the watch, the course steered, position and speed shall be checked at sufficiently frequent intervals, using any available navigational aids necessary, to ensure that the ship follows the planned course. |
| (3) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall have full knowledge of the location and operation of all safety and navigational equipment on board the ship and shall be aware and take account of the operating limitations of the equipment. |
| (4) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall not be assigned or undertake any duties that would interfere with the safe navigation of the ship. |
| (5) | When using radar, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall bear in mind the necessity to comply at all times with the provisions on the use of radar contained in the collision regulations. |
| (6) | In cases of need, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall not hesitate to use the helm, engines and sound signalling apparatus. However, timely notice of intended variations of engine speed shall be given where possible or effective use made of UMS engine controls provided on the bridge in accordance with the applicable procedures. |
| (7) | Officers of the navigational watch shall know the handling characteristics of their ship, including its stopping distances, and should appreciate that other ships may have different handling characteristics. |
| (8) | A proper record shall be kept during the watch of the movements and activities relating to the navigation of the ship. |
| (9) | It is of special importance that at all times the officer in charge of the navigational watch ensures that a proper look-out is maintained In a ship with a separate chartroom, the officer in charge of the navigational watch may visit the chartroom, when essential, for a short period for the necessary performance of navigational duties, but shall first ensure that it is safe to do so and that proper look-out is maintained. |
| (10) | Operational tests of shipboard navigational equipment shall be carried out at sea as frequently as practicable and as circumstances permit, in particular before hazardous conditions affecting navigation are expected. Whenever appropriate, these tests shall be recorded. Tests shall also be carried out before port arrival and departure. |
| (11) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall make regular checks to ensure that: |
| (a) | the person steering the ship, or the automatic pilot, is steering the correct course; |
| (b) | the standard and gyro-compasses are frequently compared and repeaters are synchronized with their master compass; |
| (c) | the automatic pilot is tested manually at least once a watch; |
| (d) | the navigation and signal lights and other navigational equipment are functioning properly; and |
| (12) | the radio equipment available in the bridge is functioning properly in accordance with the radio regulations; and |
| (13) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall take into account that with a ship under automatic steering, it is highly dangerous to allow a situation to develop to the point where the officer in charge of the navigational watch is without assistance and has to break the continuity of the look-out in order to take emergency action. |
| (14) | Officers of the navigational watch shall be thoroughly familiar with the use of all electronic navigational aids carried, including their capabilities and limitations, and shall use each of these aids when appropriate and shall bear in mind that the echo sounder is a valuable navigational aid. |
| (15) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall use the radar whenever restricted visibility is encountered or expected, and at all times in congested waters, having due regard to its limitations. |
| (16) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall ensure that range scales employed are changed at sufficiently frequent intervals so that echoes are detected as early as possible. It shall be borne in mind that small or poor echoes may escape detection. |
| (17) | Whenever radar is in use, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall select an appropriate range scale and observe the display carefully, and shall ensure that plotting or systematic analysis begins in ample time. |
| (18) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall notify the Master immediately: |
| (a) | if restricted visibility is encountered or expected; |
| (b) | if the traffic conditions or the movements of other ships are causing concern; |
| (c) | if difficulty is experienced in maintaining course; |
| (d) | on failure to sight land, a navigation mark or to obtain soundings by the expected time; |
| (e) | if, unexpectedly, a land or a navigation mark is sighted or a change in soundings occurs; |
| (f) | on breakdown of the engines, propulsion machinery remote control, steering gear or any essential navigational equipment, alarm or indicator; |
| (g) | if the radio equipment malfunctions; |
| (h) | in heavy weather, if in any doubt about the possibility of weather damage; |
| (i) | if the ship meets any hazard to navigation, such as ice or a derelict; and |
| (j) | in any other emergency or if in any doubt. |
| (19) | Despite the requirement to notify the Master immediately in the foregoing circumstances, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall in addition not hesitate to take immediate action for the safety of the ship, where circumstances so require. |
| (20) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall give watchkeeping personnel all appropriate instructions and information that will ensure the keeping of a safe watch, including a proper look- out. |
| 7 | Watchkeeping under different conditions and in different areas |
| (a) | The officer in charge of the navigational watch shall take frequent and accurate compass bearings of approaching ships as a means of early detection of risk of collision and bear in mind that such risk may sometimes exist even when an appreciable bearing change is evident, particularly when approaching a very large ship or a tow or when approaching a ship at close range. The officer shall also take early and positive action in compliance with the applicable collision regulations, and subsequently check that the action is having the desired effect. |
| (b) | In clear weather, whenever possible, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall carry out radar practice. |
If the Master considers it necessary, a continuous navigational watch shall be maintained at anchor. While at anchor, the officer in charge of the navigational watch shall:
| (a) | determine and plot the ship's position on the appropriate chart as soon as practicable; |
| (b) | when circumstances permit, check at sufficiently frequent intervals whether the ship is remaining securely at anchor by taking bearings of fixed navigation marks or readily identifiable shore objects; |
| (c) | ensure that proper look-out is maintained; |
| (d) | ensure that inspection rounds of the ship are made periodically; |
| (e) | observe meteorological and tidal conditions and the state of the sea; |
| (f) | notify the master and undertake all necessary measures if the ship drags anchor; |
| (g) | ensure that the state of readiness of the main engines and other machinery is in accordance with the master's instructions; |
| (h) | if visibility deteriorates, notify the Master; |
| (i) | ensure that the ship exhibits the appropriate lights and shapes and that appropriate sound signals are made in accordance with all applicable regulations; |
| (j) | take measures to protect the environment from pollution by the ship and comply with applicable pollution regulations. |
