Ship Handling

The Dynamic Positioning Systems, or DPS, is the system which is designed and installed on board vessels to keep these automatically in position with the assistance of the active thrusts. The system utilizes thrusters, rudders, and propellers to withstand the external forces like the wind or waves.

Dynamic positioning was first used in the 1960-es and has since that been improved to better serve the offshore industry. This video is demonstrating the application of the DP systems. In fact, the intention was to provide trainees with some general idea of what the dynamic positioning systems are without getting into technical details related to their construction, operating principles and arrangement.

All of these you may find in the publications and videos on the website while this particular video was prepared just to give a picture of the DP system.

This short training video film was developed to provide the shipboard personnel with the detailed description of the main working principles of the AIS, standing for the Automatic Identification System and considered one of the most important pieces of navigation equipment on board.

It is quite clear to anyone in the shipping industry that in the weather conditions with poor visibility there can be many dangerous situation affecting safety of navigation. A way to avoid such dangerous situations is to present information about other ships such as position, heading and speed, and name on the display.

Fortunately, this technology has been already invented, it exists and it is called AIS. Take some time watching this film and you will significantly improve your knowledge of this system and add to your professional confidence.

Here is another short yet very interesting video. Though it is only six-minute long, this training file produced and released by KARCO company will show the fundamentals of the anchoring techniques.

We would definitely recommend to use the present animation as supplementary training material for classes as the information in it is presented in very clear and easily understandable way, and such approach will make the content of the file easy to follow even for the non-experienced people.

Anchoring is a very complicated process and people engaged in anchoring shall be very attentive as they carry responsibility for the whole operation and, consequently, for the safety of the vessel and people on board. that is why it is important to have a due understanding of the process. Watch this video and you will either get to know something new or refresh your knowledge of the anchoring.

One of the parts of Bridge Procedures series discussed voyage/passage planning and demonstrates the use of charts. This video, in turn, deals with the navigation charts and associated nautical publications. Charts are vital, both for passage or voyage planning as well as for navigation. A chart is the prime aid and even the most efficient bridge team cannot function effectively without up-to-date actual chart.

But the chart starts getting outdated the very moment it is printed, because the environment is constantly changing. The commonest changes are man-made, such as the buoys, lights, and new obstructions, they all may present a danger to the ship, together with the additional work and stress for the people on the bridge. The nautical press regularly releases the reports on the vessels which have faced problems related to charts - no charts, wrong charts, unofficial charts, or charts not kept up-to-date.

To take one example - while waiting for the berth at quay side, the master of the motor tanker Marion decided to anchor. The charts have not been corrected, and the ship put the anchor down on a new pipeline, severely damaging it. The ship owners had to pay about twenty-five million dollars to the owners of the pipeline, as a result... And this is just one example demonstrating the importance of maintaining the charts up-to-date, correct and official...

Here is the officially released video training file dedicated to the problems of the anchoring and mainly addressing larger vessels. From Hong Kong to Rotterdam, Singapore to New York, the past twenty years have seen a massive increase in world trade and, with it, the volume of world shipping.

Too frequently amended schedules and orders has been added even more time at anchor, waiting for berths to become free, demanding ever more care for masters, crews and pilots concerned for the safety of their vessels. For the past twenty years have seen over a thousand anchor related incidents, mainly among the largest vessels. Anchors have been let go in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong way... the costs, expenditures and equipment is immense and poses the awkward question - do those responsible properly understand the basic design principles and limitations of their anchoring equipment?

In addressing this question head on and since most reported incidents have been aboard the large vessels, our program looks closely at two separate anchorings aboard the same bulk carrier plying between Europe and North America. In illustrating here what is best in anchoring practice, we should also point out the pit falls for ships of all sizes...