The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published a new edition of the ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, widely acknowledged as the principal shipping industry guidance on best practice for safe navigation, which is used by seafarers and training institutes worldwide.
The fifth edition has been comprehensively revised by an expert working group nominated by ICS’s member national shipowners’ associations, and replaces the previous edition published in 2007.
The new edition has been updated to address the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention with additional emphasis on Bridge Resource Management and the use of new technology such as Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) and other electronic aids to navigation.
ICS asserts that ECDIS is a good example of an area in which the introduction of new equipment and technology needs to be accompanied by appropriate guidance, in particular with respect to crew familiarisation with ship specific arrangements. The new Guide therefore includes comprehensive ECDIS familiarisation checklists.