News
ICS launches
New Bridge
Procedures
Guide
Credits: wikimedia.org
T
he International Chamber of Shipping
(ICS) has published a new edition of the
ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, widely
acknowledged as the principal shipping
industry guidance on best practice for safe
navigation, which is used by seafarers and
training institutes worldwide.
The fifth edition has been comprehensively revised by
an expert working group nominated by ICS’s member
national shipowners’ associations, and replaces the
previous edition published in 2007.
The new edition has been updated to address the
2010 amendments to the STCW Convention with
additional emphasis on Bridge Resource Management
and the use of new technology such as Electronic Chart
Display Information Systems (ECDIS) and other
electronic aids to navigation.
ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, explained:
“ICS attaches the utmost importance to safe navigation.
The purpose of the Guide has always been to provide
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clear and accessible guidance on best practice for
watchkeeping on the bridge. Rapid technological
advances make this an increasingly complex task and
the need for strict adherence to procedures that follow
established best practice cannot be overstated.”
ICS asserts that ECDIS is a good example of an
area in which the introduction of new equipment and
technology needs to be accompanied by appropriate
guidance, in particular with respect to crew
familiarisation with ship specific arrangements. The
new Guide therefore includes comprehensive ECDIS
familiarisation checklists.
ICS strongly recommend s that a copy of the new
Guide is carried on board every merchant ship, and
that copies are held within shipping company technical
departments.
The ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, accompanied
by a CD version of the text with a search function, is
available from maritime booksellers worldwide or direct
from ICS. International Chamber of Shipping