Passage Planning

Appraisal, Planning, Execution, Monitoring. Required under SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 34 and IMO Resolution A.893(21). The plan must cover berth to berth and is subject to PSC inspection.

I would gather all charts for the route — Mediterranean, Gibraltar Strait, Atlantic — corrected to latest NtM. Check sailing directions for each phase: Med hazards, Gibraltar traffic separation scheme and VTS requirements, Atlantic ocean passage. Ocean routeing charts for the Atlantic leg — trade winds, currents, seasonal weather. Tide tables for Gibraltar and Antigua approaches. List of Lights for all three phases. NAVAREA warnings. Check for MARPOL Special Areas — Mediterranean is a Special Area under Annex I and V. ECA requirements in the Med. Weather forecast and routeing service for the Atlantic leg. Security information — any piracy advisories. Tug and berth requirements at each port. Contingency anchorages. Passage plan submitted to Master for approval before sailing.

The frequency is determined by the distance from navigational hazards and the time the ship would take to run into danger between fixes at the current speed. In open ocean water, hourly fixes may be sufficient. In coastal waters approaching a port, fixes every few minutes may be required. The principle is that the ship must be kept free from danger between fixes, and if a deviation is detected, there must be sufficient time and sea room to take avoiding action.

UKC is the vertical distance between the ship's keel and the seabed. It is not simply depth minus draught — squat increases draught at speed in shallow water; vessel rolling increases effective draught; negative tidal surge can reduce water depth below predicted levels; fresh water increases draught compared to salt; mobile bottom and silting can reduce charted depths; reliability of chart data may be limited in poorly surveyed areas. All of these must be accounted for when determining a safe UKC for the passage.

A no-go area is a zone where the vessel cannot navigate safely due to insufficient depth, obstructions, or other hazards — taking into account draught, UKC requirements, and tidal conditions. It is marked on the chart using cross-hatching in pencil only — never permanent ink — to show areas the planned track must avoid. Parallel index lines are used to confirm the vessel remains at a safe distance from the no-go area throughout the passage.