Owners gear up for ECDIS deadline

Under new regulations from the International Maritime Organization, all ships are required to have at least one ECDIS installed by 2018, many from as early as 2012.

ECDIS sales are increasing, according to Russell Gould the CEO of marine navigation company Kelvin Hughes, primarily because owners realised that cost savings can be achieved and because newbuilding orders are being delivered with modern integrated bridges with ECDIS installed.

There has been some industry concern that many ship owners would not install ECDIS in time and, given the number of ships that need systems, this would lead to a potential rush for both installation and mandatory crew training.

Crew training is an area where more effort still needs to be made, Mr Gould said, adding that training is not about teaching a navigating offer how to use a specific system, but about learning how to navigate with electronic aids.

IMO requires that every vessel should have at least one ECDIS on board.

Two systems would allowing a vessel to dispense with paper charts altogether: one system can be used for navigation, while the other can be used for  passage planning and it would also be a back-up.