Navigation & Seamanship

All information and advice provided in the pages of the present Guidance has been purely intended to serve as a sort of practical guidance. Nowadays, huge oil and gas reserves are there under development offshore Russian Arctic, and vast quantities of the developed oil and gas are then transported by means of the vessels from Baltic Sea and Russian Arctic areas.

Of course, the transportation of the oil and gas by sea going on year-round places very serious challenges on the vessels and crews. Some additional demands are imposed on the crew members and ship systems by the operating in cold conditions, and such demands would typically include the communications and navigation matters, lifesaving, shipboard main propulsion and auxiliary machinery, etc. The present Guidance has been specifically developed for the operators of the vessels operating in cold climates and particularly those commonly exposed to the sub-zero temperatures on a regular basis.

The main aim of the compilers of this work was to provide the shipping industry with the useful information to make all people involved better understand the hazards associated with operating in such conditions and also to facilitate the implementation of required practice and establish the procedures to meet the recognized standards of safety as well as prevention of pollution of the surrounding environment.

This book is containing literally all information that the powerboaters and sailors shall know concerning the storm preparation, associated gear and tactics, including a brilliant collection of the storm photographs and illustrations. The texts of the publication is rich of excellent and really interesting first-hand reports provided by the survivors of the real storms, worst ever on record, together with the valuable interviews with more than thirty professional seafarers revealing for the first time all their secrets of survive. This book is maybe the best available and one of its main features is taking a very active part in battling the major elements. The interested readers of this volume will have their understanding of the "heavy weather" changing as they are proceed with reading the book. The author has managed to present a long-needed examination of the storm tactics proven effective plus heavy weather gear for contemporary boats. Another strength of this volume is the very wide range of practical experiences and storm management solutions detailed. He has also taken a remarkably comprehensive professional look at both positive and negative aspects of such important subjects as running-in and heaving-to, testing of the safety gear, and many others.

An excellent modern publication containing selected tips and techniques for better marine navigation, route planning and handling of boats - both sailing boats and ones under power. All techniques and tips have been explained in a very clear manner making the seamanship and navigation really comprehensible even to the newcomers. The text of the volume is very simple and understandable.

Clear explanations provided by the author are demystifying all covered topics. The readers from all around the globe have already found this publication a must-read one for any person contemplating the blue water voyage or coastal cruising. According to their reviews, this volume deserves an important place in the library of any offshore yachter. The book is well-prepared, it engages the readers and provides lots of valuable information covering many areas of boating and yachting.

The content of it will be of equally great use for marine professional and beginner sailors since it provides them all with the easily accessed and readable reference touching every single boating skill and also some secrets of the effective seamanship. It is very practical and gives numerous instructions and informative hints to help all beginners gain the required boating skills very quickly plus gives some new information for the experienced sailors.

Though the electronic systems of marine navigation are commonly considered extremely reliable, it shall always be taken into account that, should they fail while the vessel is at sea, their repair on board will most probably be not possible at all. In addition, they require constant supply of electricity. What if it fails as well, leaving the vessel with no means of finding the position and chart plotting?

Having no means of route planning, how will modern navigators continue their voyage in a safe manner? The present publication has been written in a very reader-friendly manner, providing interested readers, and in the first turn navigators, with a clear and practical yet quite simple to understand description of the navigation techniques which can be utilized in case the electronic navigation systems installed on their yachts fail.

The book will demonstrate how to understand the core principles standing behind the techniques they are using, see those techniques explained with no complicated math required, employ these techniques and put them into practice, i.e. use every opportunity to make the passage safe and seamanlike. The content is pretty well-illustrated presenting a variety of classic marine navigational methods the sailors can use and showing how some simple devices can be made by the voyagers.

The pilots are considered the critically important resources possessed by the marine navigators in the harbor approaches - they are professional ship handlers with a truly encyclopedic theoretical and practical knowledge of the local ports and harbor areas. Their presence is in many cases officially required by the local law or regulations.

However, they are not formally treated as members of the bridge team; however, again, it shall be understood that they are extremely important specialists. In most cases they remain the advisors to the ship master, who, in turn, are retaining the full responsibility for the safety of the vessel. Note that they have been given full navigational responsibility in Panama Canal and Suez Canal. Pilots are professional navigators and deserve respect and require management. Maintaining the due balance of the above mentioned elements is Captain's responsibility, managing the MPX, standing for the master-pilot exchange.

The main objective of the subject exchange is to inform the pilot about the main dimensions of the vessel, condition of the shipboard machinery and navigational equipment, and provide the pilot with all other relevant information that may be important for the safe planning. This publication will provide the readers with some basic aspects of navigating the vessel with a pilot...

Icebergs and floes are obstructing the shipping lanes; they are delaying the ship transit and creating serious hazards for the vessels and people on board. The above mentioned environmental conditions have already caused several famous maritime disasters, such as the sinking of the Titanic. Sea ice is always dangerous and treacherous.

Even though nowadays rescue operations and less risky that they used to be in the past, the wise mariners always treat ice with respect and observe the basic principles of operation in a safe manner in the areas where sea ice is expected in Winter months. This publication aims to raise the overall awareness and also improve the safety procedures associated with the ice navigation.

The authors of the book have managed to cover a broad range of issues relating to the ice navigation, including different ice and iceberg types, capabilities of your vessel, preparation to the voyage, working with the icebreakers and ensuring safe passage through the ice. This training package is expected to be of some help to the crew members making them aware of the potential dangers that may be met; it will also inform them about the relevant safety measures to be implemented and followed. The content of this volume will be helpful to all crew members of all vessels sailing into the ice-prone zones. Highly recommended to the Masters as well as to the deck and engineering officers of such ships.

Nearly every person who sails a lot possesses a very clear image in mind of the cold and warm fronts and lows and highs and roughly what to expect as they arch majestically across the daily weather maps in newspapers and the TV-screen. It all seems quite easy to understand and forecasts are at least somewhat more often than not, correct. But it's the times that forecasts are not correct which most concern us when we're at sea.

There are so many variables which all together must be accounted for in order to arrive at an accurate weather forecast that we may as well forget about reaching that ideal in our lifetimes. One scientist pointed out years ago that a butterfly flapping its wings over a parking lot on a hot day in Dallas may be the cause of a thunderstorm in Boston three days later. It was meteorologists who led the way to the new science named, appropriately, CHAOS...

This publication provides readers with a complete guide to the marine weather analytics plus tactics and avoidance of storms; the authors of this volume, Linda and Steve Dashew, are teaching the traditional forecasting techniques that are basing on the current observed weather conditions, together with the latest instruments including internet. Their efforts has resulted in an excellent tool for the sailors and power boaters, and in fact anyone with an interest in weather.

The content is arranged in seven big sections; first one deals mainly with weather routing and major meteorological aspects, including the tropical cyclones, Baltic navigation in iced sea conditions, Polish sea ports and storm-surges indicator for the Baltic coast of Poland, analysis performed of the hydro-meteorological characteristics of the Montenegrin coast and in Port of Kulevi zone.

The second one focuses on the ice navigation, covering the navigational safety in the unsurveyed regions of Arctic, ice management and different methods used for the iceberg towing. The third section covers the ship construction aspects, namely investigations of the improvements to the marine safety by means of the HMS, i.e. health monitoring systems, replacement of the x-ray test of the welding with the ultrasonic testing, diagnostic evaluation of the ship, determination of the dynamic heel angle of the vessel on the basis of the model tests, propulsive/stopping performance analysis applied to the cellular container carriers etc.

The next part addresses the vessel propulsion and fuel efficiency matters, including hybrid propulsion systems and their optimization, PMS, i.e. power management systems plus their modeling with Petri Nets, plus data transmission modules, and so many other important aspects...