BOOK REVIEW: Voyage Planning with ECDIS – Practical Guide for Navigators

Author: Ralph Becker-Heins

A comprehensive, “berth to berth” voyage plan is an IMO requirement for many voyages. The absence of one can lead to serious consequences during a port state inspection. Professional mariners need to know how to compile one. The proper use of ECDIS equipment can make that job easier.

This excellent book by a very experienced mariner/academic makes the navigator’s job much easier. Very clearly written and impressively illustrated, it is set out logically and very easy to follow. There should be a copy on every ships’ bridge.

Good and careful planning is imperative. It cannot be left to the last minute. It ensures that the master/navigator of every vessel has to think ahead about what he intends to do and where he intends to go throughout a voyage of any length. Aviators have been preparing and filing flight plans for eighty years. Voyage planning is a more recent marine navigation requirement but one that is just as necessary even given the more leisurely pace at which ships travel.

The proper use of ECDIS makes voyage planning more logical and simpler and, with the right equipment, much of the work is done for you if you know how. This book tells you that.

Available from Geomares Publishing, Lemmer, The Netherlands.

Web: www.geomares.nl