BOOK REVIEW | The Nautical Institute – Shiphandling Logbook

The Nautical Institute, the London based global association of professional mariners has a significant and very high quality publishing programme. While rather in the same vein as the institute’s more normal text and guide books, yet quite different, this logbook is both timely and very well thought out.

It is particularly timely given the spate of tragic accidents that have befallen the US Navy recently. It is well thought out in the sense that its assiduous use by the captains and officers of those warships may well have prevented those accidents.

Essentially, the logbook is a simple, logical and easy-to-follow check list to be filled in by bridge officers who will be handling ships in or near ports or in other congested waters. They were where the US Navy warships came to grief.

Shiphandling in busy or congested waters is a complex process that can be very nerve-wracking. The wider use of this excellent little book in such situations should make them much less nerve-wracking and very much safer. It is the kind of safety aid that is in wide use in the aviation industry. It should be equally widely used in shipping.

Available from The Nautical Institute, London, UK.

Web: www.nautinst.org