Published by Nihar Herwadkar in Marine Navigation 2 years ago

Pros and Cons of

ECDIS Or Paperless
Navigation Of Ships
A mere 15 years back, navigators would have scoffed at the idea
of Paperless Navigation on big ocean going ships. After all,
since centuries, navigational paper charts had been the heart
and soul of ship navigation. Imagining that a day would come
where we’d no longer have them onboard was nothing short of
blasphemy.

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treasured Chart Correction Pen. However, the unthinkable did
happen. The transition started slowly with smaller vessels like
pleasure crafts, tug boats and yachts. But now, armed with the
IMO mandate for compulsory ECDIS carriage, the big vessels
such as the super tankers and giant container vessels are also
running smoothly without paper charts. Who’s responsible for
this change? Well it is none other than the Electronic Chart
Display and Information System aka ECDIS.

Although, a bit biased towards the old school paper chart

navigation, I cannot deny the fact that ECDIS does have an
edge over paper charts. Let’s discuss some of the pros and cons
of paperless navigation.

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The Pros:

1. Availability: One of the great advantages of ECDIS over

paper charts is the availability of electronic charts – especially
when voyage orders are received at the last minute. Gone are
the days when Second Mates huddled over the good old NP 131
(chart catalogue) to determine what charts they require for the
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voyage. This was followed by the arduous task of ordering these
which tend to get last minute voyage orders. With vessels going
chartless, all that the Second Mate needs to do now is plot a
rough course in the voyage planner and a list of all the required
paper charts is populated. The Master then emails this list to
the chart supplier, who will then send the activation codes for
those charts. A task that with skill and practice required hours
now takes a few minutes.

2. Speed and Accuracy: With ECDIS as the primary source of

navigation, the Navigating Officer can plan and summarise the
passage much faster than on Paper Charts. Most ECDIS units
have a facility where the waypoints can be imported into an
excel format which reduces the effort to manually input the
waypoints when compiling the Voyage Plan. Daily reporting
data such as Distance to Go, Distance Covered, Average Speed,
etc. can be done quickly with hardly any effort.

3. Corrections: Before the advent of paperless navigation, the

largest chunk of the Navigating Officer’s work time was
consumed in Correcting Charts. Correcting charts with speed
and accuracy was a skill that took a long time to master. Even
then there was a possibility of the occasional erroneous
correction. The Temporary and Preliminary (T&P) Notices were
especially tedious since these came without tracings and
required a thick file to be maintained. Keeping the world folio
updated was a matter of pride which came with a lot of
bragging rights. All that has changed with paperless navigation.
The Navigating Officer now receives weekly updates to the
Electronic Charts via Email which he has to download onto a
zip drive and upload them to the ECDIS. Even the dreaded T&P
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notices are now shown electronically on the ECDIS.
single biggest advantages of the ECDIS over paper charts is its
ability to enable the user to see the vessel’s position in real
time without user action. The ECDIS is interfaced with both the
vessel’s independent GPS transceivers, thereby making the
system work even if one fails. However, we all know that GPS
signals can be unreliable and are prone to errors occasionally.
This problem can be overcome by using the Radar Overlay and
Echo Referencing facility in the ECDIS and Radar. The Radars
need to be interfaced with the ECDIS for this. Once this is done,
the user will have to activate the overlay tab of the ECDIS
which will super impose the Radar Screen on the ECDIS. By
checking that the Radar Echo is matching with the ECDIS
display, one can be assured that the positions can be relied
upon.

Another feature enabling continuous position monitoring,

especially during coastal navigation is ARPA Echo Referencing.
This is done by acquiring a fixed / stationary target such as a
small island, lighthouse, rock etc. on the Radar (ARPA) and
then activating the ARPA tab on the ECDIS.  Next step is to
deselect the Secondary Position Source on the ECDIS as GPS
and select Echo Reference in its place.  Once enabled, this gives
the user visual indication of the past tracks of both the Primary
(GPS) and Secondary (Echo Reference) position fixing modes.

Finally, one can also use the Radar Range and Bearings to plot
positions on the ECDIS display, just like on paper charts. All
types of ECDIS these days come with an option of manually
plotting the position using the Range / Bearing method. One
simply has to take the range and bearing from a suitable radar
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object and plot this on the ECDIS by using the Range / Bearing
on the ECDIS screen (see figure below) with both the GPS
positions and the LOP. This serves as a ready indication of any
offset present between the GPS and Radar fixes.

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5. Anti-Grounding Alarms and Settings: Though ECDIS has

now evolved into a full-fledged primary source of navigation, it
was born as an Anti-Grounding aid to Navigation. Even to this
day, the ability of the ECDIS to warn the user of approaching
shallow waters make it one of the most useful equipment on
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the bridge. The user has complete flexibility to determine these
safety settings on the ECDIS. Most companies’ will have strict
Safety Frame (Look Ahead): This is the setting which will
sound an alarm if the vessel is within the limit specified. It
should generally be set at not lower than 10 minutes in Open
waters depending on the Speed of the Vessel. This may be
lowered in coastal waters based on the situation.

Shallow Contour: This setting indicates the non-navigable

area and marks the boundary outside of which the vessel may
safely navigate. Crossing this boundary will result in the vessel
running aground. Is usually indicated by a Deep Blue Colour
which marks the non-navigable area. Usually set to a value of
the present deepest draught of the vessel (without any squat or
ukc factored in).

Safety Depth: This marks and highlights the minimum depth

required for the vessel to remain safely afloat. As a thumb rule,
Safety Depth = Deepest Static Draught + Anticipated Squat +
Company’s Min UKC.

Safety Contour: In general, the Safety Contour may be set

equal to but not lower than the Safety Depth setting. Waters
with depths lower than the Safety Contour should be construed
as No-Go Area. The Master may set the Safety Contour to a
value higher than the Safety Depth if he determines that an
additional safety buffer would be required depending on the
prevailing circumstances and conditions. Indicated by a Grey
Coloured area on the ECDIS.

Deep Contour: This setting is very handy for vessels engaged

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in operations such as Tank Cleaning or Ballast Water Exchange
operations may set this value as deemed appropriate but in any
event this should not be lower than the Safety Contour.
Indicated by a white coloured area on the ECDIS screen.

Colour Coded Indications of the Deep Blue Shallow Contour (18

mtrs), Grey Safety Contour (20 mtrs) and the White Deep
Contour (30 mtrs).

6. User Determined Alarm Settings: While there are certain

safety critical alarms that are ON by defaults and cannot be
changed, there are a host of other alarms and warnings which
may be switched on or off by the User depending on the
situation. Prudence should be exercised when activating /
deactivating alarms and warnings. Too many alarms could
result in Alarm Deafness (more on this later) and too few
alarms might result in a false sense of Safety. It is of utmost
importance that the Navigational Watchkeeping Officer is fully
▾
familiar with all the Alarms and Warnings which have been
over the watch, it is essential to note down what warnings /
alarms are already in place.

Example of Alarms ( Image Credits Transas Navisailor ECDIS

Manual):

7. Enhances Search and Rescue Capability onboard: Modern

ECDIS units have the option of interfacing NAVTEX and EGC
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with the ECDIS display. Warnings and Alerts are automatically
and Bearings are obtained by the Electronic Range and Bearing
Line (ERBL) function. This enables the user to quickly
determine if the vessel is in a position of providing assistance
to the distressed craft.

The ECDIS unit also has a Man Overboard (MOB) function

which can be activated in the event of a person falling
overboard. This marks the position / datum which is used as a
reference for Recover and Rescue.

Eg. Of NavWarning on ECDIS

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Eg. Of Navtex SAR Message on Ecdis

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Eg. Of Man Overboard Function in ECDIS
cheap, they still have an edge over paper charts dollar for
dollar. Electronic Chart Permits are obtained electronically with
minimum data usage. Paper charts though, have to be delivered
physically which involved handling fees by the agents,
especially if ordered at the last minute. On rare occasions
vessel’s had to divert only to pick up charts if the voyage was
changed at the last minute. This involved massive costs such as
Agency fees, Boat costs etc. All this can be avoided by using
Electronic Charts.

9. Environmentally Friendly: Remember having to dispose of

all those old charts many of which were never used? Now
imagine hundreds and thousands of vessels doing the same.
Not to mention the phenomenal amount of paper that is used
to print out blocks, tracings and T&P notices. This doesn’t
happen with the ECDIS. The ECDIS does pack in a strong punch
in reducing the carbon footprint of every vessel which goes
paperless.

Now everything can’t be hunky dory, can it?

Here are some of the things that go on to prove that nothing in

this world is perfect. No, not even the ECDIS!

Cons:

1. Over-Reliance: With an equipment which is seemingly fool-

proof, there is a tendency for navigators to over rely on it. The
consequences can be disastrous. Every once in a while you see
an erring Third Mate tunnel visioned on the ECDIS. The ability
▾
and need to keep a proper visual look out cannot be over
could have switched off its AIS and hence might not be
displayed on the ECDIS. If the Radar Overlay is not turned on,
the vessel will just not be seen on the ECDIS display. Hence, it
is very critical that Navigators continue to maintain an efficient
lookout and a good radar watch. The purpose of the ECDIS is to
facilitate efficient navigation, not to substitute it. It is still
vitally important to practice essential skills such as Radar
Plotting, Sights, Compass Errors etc which will come in handy
in the event of an ECDIS breakdown. Also, it is very important
to go through the company’s procedures in the event of ECDIS
failure.

2. Garbage In Garbage Out (GIGO): ECDIS at the end of the

day, is a machine and depends solely on the type of inputs that
it receives. Erroneous position inputs from the GPS or loss of ▾
GPS signal can have grave consequences with the ECDIS going
in DR mode. If the alarm is missed out, the result can be
performance of sensors and to carry out frequent comparisons
between the primary and secondary means of position fixing.
Other inputs such as the GYRO, Anemometer, Echo Sounder,
Navtex, etc should be frequently verified independently to
ensure smooth operation.

3. Wrong Settings: Feeding in wrong parameters for safety

critical settings such as the Safety Depths, Safety Contours etc
can give a false sense of safety. It is extremely important that
the Master himself checks these settings each time they are
changed. These settings should be password protected and
every Navigator should verify them each time prior taking over
the watch. Alarms should not be deactivated without strong
reason and never just for the sake of avoiding frequent alarms.
All the alarms in use should be properly documented and their
switching on and off should be controlled by a defined
procedure.

 4. Alarm Deafness: If alarms start going off too frequently,

the navigator could end up in a dangerous situation called
Alarm Deafness. This leads to the watch keeper acknowledging
the alarm even without checking what it was. He will eventually
run out of luck and there could be an occasion where he might
miss out on a critical warning such as approaching shallow
contour. Hence, alarms should be carefully chosen which are
appropriate to the prevailing conditions. Every single alarm
should be checked and investigated prior acknowledging.

5. System Lag: Modern ECDIS software can have a lot of data

to display. And with various equipment interfaced with the
▾
ECDIS, the system can slow down very easily leading to system
graphics card is a must.

6. Different Types: Navigation on paper charts was a skill

which had to be mastered just once. It was then just routine
practice which kept one in tune with things. However, this does
not happen with ECDIS. Different vessels will have different
types of ECDIS equipment. Even if the essential features are the
same, it still takes a lot of fiddling around until one gets
comfortable with the machine. With today’s busy schedule, it is
not uncommon for navigators to take over duties at the
gangway itself. It is then left to colleagues onboard to
familiarise him with various equipment. To overcome this
problem, many flag states have made it mandatory for every
seafarer to undergo type specific ECDIS training prior joining
the vessel. Type Specific training has to be imparted by the
equipment manufacturer and cannot be substituted by onboard
training by the Master. Logistically, it is extremely difficult for
every navigator to undergo this type specific training especially
when there is a need to embark on a short notice. A work
around is that some companies have decided to select a single
Equipment manufacturer to supply the company’s fleet with
ECDIS equipment. (Eg. Maersk Tankers has chosen TRANSAS
as their supplier). This eases the training bottleneck
considerably.

7. Anomalies: Every navigator needs to be aware of the

anomalies present in that particular equipment. It could be a
simple use of the SCAMIN (Scale Minimum) function or
something serious where certain depths or symbols might not
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be visible at a particular scale or appear differently. Complete
familiarisation with the ECDIS equipment is a must.
information on the ECDIS. A lot of data which was earlier
marked on charts such as position for calling Master, notices to
Engine Room, Echo Sounder Switch on points, Port Control
VHF channels etc now have to be fed on the ECDIS. The user
needs to be aware that some of this information can be missed
out in the clutter of information already present on the ECDIS.
Larger ECDIS screens and better use of the Passage Plan Hard
Copy should be used as a workaround.

9. Resistance to Change: Although this sounds like a trivial

issue, it can be quite problematic. Most of the present day
navigators have grown up in an era where paper charts was the
only means of navigation. Not having these onboard could for
them mean not having an aid on which they have relied all their
lives. The transition cannot be easy and this could create a
mental block for many. Hence it is vital, that senior navigators
embrace this new technology with open arms and do their bit to
improve the process of change. Shipping companies, flag states
and Training Institutes need to identity this issue and
encourage senior seafarers to undergo frequent refresher
courses.

All said and done, ECDIS is here to stay. This is the future and
one cannot just wish it away. As the saying goes,” if you can’t
win them, join them”. It is in every navigator’s interest to join
in on the ECDIS bandwagon. It cannot be disputed that even
with all its follies, ECDIS is a fantastic piece of equipment and
is here to stay.

Over to you..
▾
Do let’s know if you feel we can more to this list.

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View Comments (24)

BHUVAN JHA says: December 8, 2014 at 4:27 pm

NICE ARTICLE...GOOD REFRESHMENT .

▾
IF THE RACEBOAT VESTAS WIND HAS ONE PAPER CHART OF THE
INDIAN OCEAN THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SHIPWRECKED... THEY
WERE ZOOMED OUT TOO FAR ON THE ELECTRONICS
PAPER AND ELECTRONICS AT THE SAME TIME IS MUCH SAFER

Askar says: December 25, 2014 at 12:02 pm

It is well known that technical progress never will stop. If it's clear so
let's work for better technical provision for navigators! I agree that
paper chart is old tradition, but it takes so much time and it's not less
safer than ECDIS. I want add just one point. Every navigator has to have
a good skills in both paper chart and ECDIS operating.

Capt Paul says: February 17, 2015 at 7:00 pm

Progress is progress & will happen wether we like it or not,maybe in 10

or 15.years people will ask what all the fuss was about,but in my
opinion due to some errors in the electronics we should still use paper
charts.

amiran salvaridze says: May 9, 2015 at 6:26 pm

it is very good site

Captain Don Cockrill says: July 25, 2015 at 10:47 am

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stay with paper charts being inevitably totally replaced in all areas.
However, contrary to some comments they are NOT rubbish and there
will always be areas where they should be maintained alongside
electronic charts if only for reference in close waters. There are many
parts of the world where locally produced charts still and will contain
more information than is available in IHO / IMO standard compliant
ENCs. An even more important point is situational awareness in coastal
and pilotage waters. It is clear that since the common adoption of
ECDIS and ECS's - a significant number of OOWs and even Masters
actually no longer have any idea where they are when asked for a
position - evidenced by simply reeling off GPS coordinates to three
decimal places (!?) instead of a geographically relative position (e.g. SW
of xxx lighthouse).

Ishan says: July 25, 2015 at 1:34 pm

Impressive article. Informative and thought provoking. Capt. Cockrill's

comments above sum it up for me. Its like getting caught between the
devil and the deep blue sea.

Razvan Braghesiu says: July 27, 2015 at 1:34 pm

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the dynamic navigation required from each OOW.
It was stated above in the "Pros" topic that too few alarms might result
in a false sense of safety. In my opinion also too many alarms can have
the same outcome. The Navigational Watchkeeping Officer may not be
so involved in keeping a proper navigational watch and his situational
awareness may be lost in a false mindset : "if there is something wrong,
ECDIS will warn me". As long as every OOW has the correct attitude and
keeps in mind that keeping a navigational watch is not a passive task,
there shouldn't be any problems at all.

It's absurd to be in a situation where a vessel ran aground because the

watchkeeping officer acknowledged the "shallow contour" alarm
without actually checking what it was (alarm deafness). Even if you
don't have the alarm function from the beginning, you can see if the
vessel is heading towards shallow waters. Not seeing this and waiting
for an alarm to sound, results in a lack of situational awareness and
improper attitude.

Alarms are useful, especially the ones required by IMO PS for ECDIS,
but also too many alarms may create a false sense of security. It's
useless if we try to create an equipment with tons of alarms and
functions to enhance safety of navigation without taking into account
the users of that equipment. The user's mindset and attitude have a
large role to play in order to have an effective outcome.

Jimmy Janssens says: August 17, 2015 at 4:34 am

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Sailing for 10 years with a passion for technology, let me wait for a long
time before The company finally changed to fully integrated bridge
systems and Ecdis. Without internet the updates were still quite time
consuming as all 9 CDs had to be uploaded up to 3 times a week, but
still faster than manually updating charts. During the transition we had
to keep both systems operational. Paper charts and paperless. Making
voyage plannings double time consuming but extra eagering to focus
on the digital progression and improvements. All the pros are more
then useful and technology gives a momentum of advantage in
navigation and improved safety on limitless ways.
Handy as it was,as disadvantages I have to admit that sailing on a
regular base and regular routes, was more easy when you where
updating the portfolio charts you had, and gave you insight on the
items that changed around the world.
Many times I discovered changes on areas where I sailed a lot, because
of doing the update myself. Where I would never had known if it would
be automatically pushed true the system.
This was one thing I missed, after a chart is updated, you don't know
what has changed. Maybe a visual confirmation on high sensitive areas
where as navigating officer you should know the changes happening,
would be an improvement.

- The clutter of information or added info which stays on all scales was
also a problem; or there was too much info, or too little. The 3 basic
views or I go on or off function was not user friendly to have an
uncluttered view and know the info when you wanted it.
The technology today should show the info just when scrolling over the
object without performing several actions.
- The resolution could still improve;
When we connected a bigger screen, we couldn't see more info, the ▾
pixels just increased in size, but they are software related
- The nessesary user friendliness is often the most expensive software,
 Thanks a lot for your inputs...

Vic says: October 16, 2015 at 6:41 pm

ECDIS makes good navigators better and poor navigators worse.

Unfortunately it makes all navigators helpless if it doesn't work so I
would say: Keep a couple of papercharts in the box, just in case
someone spills a drink.

Ch. Officer Onnik Merdinyan says: January 3, 2016 at 4:00 am

Very good article. Just to mention that most if not all ENCs are derived
from old paper charts and we shall consider the accuracy of ENCs very
critically.

Capt S S Shivangi says: January 31, 2016 at 3:22 pm

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valid. Ecdis is no doubt a very useful equipment and many a advantages
over the paper chart navigation.

Since I have been very actively involved with Ecdis I feel there is room
and scope for improvement. It's a rather sophisticated and complex
equipment. So the user has to be trained well if he has to use it
effectively.

The other place where there is scope of improvement is the ENC itself
wrt the display of data and information for a navigator. The size of the
monitor also requires to be larger. Another area of confusion are the
symbols. They should have not been drastically modified. Now that
they are changed, the user should have the option of using the
traditional symbols. Most OEMs offer this but most show them only in
black and white. There is only one which shows in color.

Ecdis is in transition stage. Am sure it will become better with time. At

present my advice to navigators is to be well trained and DO NOT
OVER-RELY on Ecdis. The real world is outside the Bridge port holes.
RADAR by itself still remains as a very effective equipment for
monitoring

Allan says: February 6, 2016 at 2:01 pm

Nothing is better than the operator. If you use the charts wrong paper
or electronics. Then it goes bad. I head a thousand times that "they"
wasn't zoomed in so the could see the depth. Well if you don't get the
detail charts in paper you'll miss something too. Point is 99,9 Percent of
the time it goes bad it is a human factor one way or the other. So put
the blame where it should be. Have a great day everyone.

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Hooray for Progress says: May 22, 2018 at 6:49 pm
that sooner or later the ships will be autonomous which makes this a
bit of a moot point.

Albino R Ridulfa Jr says: March 2, 2019 at 11:56 am

One of the challenge of using ECDIS is ability and acquaintance of the

user to the particular brand or Maker. Knowing the capability,
limitations and characteristics is another.
Users should never forget that automations such as ECDIS is subject to
errors and no equipment is 100 %fault free. Do not set aside your basic
navigation knowledge and skills .

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