 The present publication belongs to the popular Master's Guide series by The Standard Club. Any ship handler shall have a clear understanding of what is actually happening with the ship under his command - not only that but also, and maybe more important - what will happen with the ship in a short time.
The proper knowledge of the theoretical basics will make it easier to identify the maneuvering characteristics of the ship and quickly evaluate the skills required to control the ship. Such knowledge is considered critically important in a harbor environment when the vessel encounters narrow channels, cross-winds, currents and close quarters situations. In fact, berthing shall be treated as the culmination moment of any voyage - this is the very moment when the ship is mating with a stationary and solid berth.
That is why it requires gentle and precise control which is demonstrated by the ship handlers in harbors all over the world every day. Most of the vessels dock safely most of the time, however the final outcome of the maneuver chosen and conducted by the ship handler is not always fully successful - this may eventually result in a ship demolishing jetties, hitting berths running aground and even colliding with other ships - and this actually happens at a really alarming frequency...
 If you want to get a clear understanding of all possibilities of the big oil tankers as well as of all limitations imposed on them, you should definitely have a chance to try them out with no risk. And the Shiphandling Training Center located at Port Reve, in France will provide you with such a brilliant opportunity.
This is a place where a whole fleet of model tankers scaled 1:25 is being operated on a lake. It should be noted, however, that not only do vessel models offer this chance of handling scale replicas of the huge tankers under various conditions; the center also offers quite instructive overall view on the different maneuvers in a protracted time.
As a result, there is a lot of shiphandling operations conducted in this miniature world in a relatively short time, is five times faster than they would be in real life conditions. While the author of this book was observing the maneuvers on the lake analyzing them, it became quite clear to him that the positions of the pivot point plays a critically important role in explaining the vessel's behavior.
 This great collection of lectures on the subject of marine navigation was compiled with the ultimate intention of the authors to explain, in the simplest possible manner, the essential provisions of the navigation as outlined in the pages of the Bowditch’s American Practical Navigator, available at our website.
For the easier reference, the content of this volume was arranged in eight parts, and it is recommended to go for one part per week. The first week the trainees shall be acquainted to the piloting, including the associated equipment, publications and techniques involved. The second week is the one they will work on dead reckoning, including but not limited to the Mercator sailing, latitude and longitude and all other commonly related topics.
The third part of the volume and the associated week of training will be given to the subject of celestial navigation, still considered a fundamental one for the mariners… In short, going week by week, the trainees will eventually cover all areas of the navigation that the author considered important enough to include in the collection, and they will be equipped with enough knowledge and understanding of the maritime navigation to proceed further to their studies.
 It goes without saying that no one would like to be reminded about their accidents, however we shall all understand and accept the importance of learning from mistakes. Nowadays, the maritime navigation is aided by the various technically sophisticated integrated systems of e-navigation installed on board most of the vast majority of modern ships to provide precise positioning of the vessel, as well as detecting and heading functions, all making the navigation much easier than it used to be decades and centuries ago.
But still all ship masters and owners shall possess due knowledge of the risks of collision and/or stranding that remain present and shall be accounted for at all times, since failure to do so can eventually result in the severe and even tragic consequences, although the stranding and collision cases are relatively rare today.
The idea of the author of this brilliant title was to remind readers that it is critically important to effectively manage the above mentioned risks, enabling the ship officers to apply the associated rules in a consistent manner, contributing to the safety of the ship, people on board, and environment. It is a great one for those having enough prescience and determination to go through this collection of selected incidents, and analyze the associated situations and root causes.
 The main idea and intention of the authors of this brilliant title was to set out all necessary knowledge as well as the established methods and most workable techniques to be applied by the mariners willing to avoid getting in the risky situations with their anchor handling tug ships, or AHTS for short, when performing their day to day activities.
The forces acting on the ship hull during the routine operations have been analyzed, and capabilities of the vessels discussed in detail together with the relevant shipboard equipment. There are worked real life case studies included by the author in order to better illustrate the hazards experienced in the course of the anchor handling and towing operations.
Mainly aimed at the masters of the AHTS vessels and their crew members, the volume will be equally useful for the rig movers, tow masters and other specialists, including even the shore support personnel. The information is presented in a professional way, very understandable and concise, and the contents will be easily understandable for the mariners at all levels of skill and experience. It is definitely a must read book for all those intending to participate in the anchor handling and/or towing activities.
 This manual is expected to provide the ship designer, shipbuilders and all personnel involved in ship operation with the technical knowledge and guidance required to properly determine the design practices for the safe mooring of their vessel at the wharves and fixed piers in sea ports and harbors.
The huge and technically complex vessels of today featuring significant wind exposure and deep drafts are posing serious mooring challenges to the masters, ship designers and pilots. the mooring incidents, should they occur, are commonly very costly - such incidents have already emphasized the demand for much better understanding of the fundamental mooring design principles.
It should be noted that none of the existing standards or construction codes specifically address the design of the mooring/berthing facilities. The present manual is aimed to give the required background in order to make sure that the designed mooring structures are technically sound and reliable, i.e. to assure that they will provide a safe berth for the ships.
The content of the Manual covers such important topics as the basic design requirements, various operational considerations, mooring principles, fender systems, hardware and fittings, equipment, maintenance issues, forces acting on the vessel and many other important aspects.
 In fact, the present title is a very first of the sailing books to follow the ideal learning curve that would be greatly appreciated by any sailor in any country of the world, and of any age and, skill and education. The author does not tell readers about the different aspects of sailing, such as anchoring of sail trim, in one chapter. Instead, the readers will get to know what they should have the understanding of, exactly when they want to do that.
The materials of the volume is presented in ta remarkable accessible manner, making it a perfect choice even for the newcomers to the world of sailing. The author starts from the very essentials, slowly proceeding to the relatively complex techniques. The text part is full of the perfectly worked and clear explanation, supplemented with more than a thousand color images, included to make the understanding even easier.
Note that there are also sidebar features in this volume that will provide you with the alternative options, terminology used throughout the text, and differences between types of boats. In short and according to the huge number of the reader reviews, this is a truly best title for self-learning and we do encourage all lovers of sailing to start reading it without wasting any single minute of your time.
 The latest release of the widely acknowledged and world popular marine industry Guide to the bridge procedures issued by ICS with the intention to provide such valuable guidance to the ship Masters, officers on watch, shipping companies and various training entities. The present publication is often referenced in the footnote of many IMO conventions.
This is the revised edition of the Guide, that continues the established tradition to cover all internationally recognized industry standards as well as the recommendations that have been adopted by the IMO; moreover, this edition also addresses the 2010 amendments to the IMO STCW. This convention introduces the enhanced BRM (standing for the Bridge Resource Management) training for all ship officers who are considered to be in charge of the navigational watch. In addition, this volume contains the very useful bridge and emergency checklists that would be very helpful to the crew members, including the checklists for ECDIS familiarization.
The authors of the publication have paid particular attention to the growing importance of the voyage planning process. We would definitely recommend that one copy of the Guide is carried on the navigation bridge of every marine ship and some copies are there in the technical departments of the shore offices. For sure, this document does not need any introduction...
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