Bridge Equipment and Watchkeeping: ECDIS, Radar and Bridge Team Discipline
What this domain tests
This domain tests the watchkeeping framework of STCW Section A-VIII/2 and the practical use of ECDIS, radar/ARPA, AIS, gyro and autopilot, plus bridge resource management as the officer of the watch.
Core rules
- Keep a proper lookout by sight and hearing and by all available means (COLREG Rule 5); maintain the position-fixing intervals set in the passage plan and increase them in restricted waters.
- ECDIS: use a suitable ENC, set safety contour and safety depth, run a full route check before monitoring, and never silence or ignore alarms. Vector and scale must be appropriate to the area.
- Radar/ARPA: plot or acquire targets early; a steady bearing with decreasing range means risk of collision (Rule 7). Use ARPA to support, not replace, the appraisal.
- AIS is not a collision-avoidance tool; it may be absent, misconfigured or delayed.
- BNWAS, VDR, gyro error checks and the master/pilot exchange are part of the bridge routine; record their completion.
Worked example
At 1200 a target bears 090° at 9 nm; at 1206 it bears 090° at 6 nm. The bearing is steady and the range has closed 3 nm in 6 minutes, so relative speed is 30 kn along the line of approach. CPA is therefore zero and TCPA = 6 / 30 h = 12 minutes. That is a risk of collision requiring early, substantial action under Rules 7 and 8.
Traps
- Relying on AIS name and course data while the radar plot shows a different aspect.
- Navigating on an overscale ENC or with the safety contour set to a default that does not match the draught.
- Leaving the con or the bridge without a formal handover.
- Not checking gyro error after a long ocean passage.