Standby Conditions

In high traffic density areas including but not limited to the English Channel, Malacca, and Singapore
Straits (from One Fathom Bank to Horsburgh), river passages, pilotage waters and in restricted visibility,
the engines should be ready for immediate manoeuvre adequate standby machinery should be
operational, and the bridge and the engine control room (E.C.R.) should be always manned.

The vessel shall be placed on stand‐by under the following conditions, but not limited to:
a) During port approach, entry, and departure.
b) Mooring.
c) Tug handling.
d) Pilot boarding and disembarkation.
e) OPL calls.
f) Canal and river transits.
g) Anchoring operations.
h) When navigating in or near an area of Restricted Visibility.
i) Restricted waterways.
j) When navigating in ice.
k) Helicopter operations.
l) Distress assistance.
m) When vessel is on “RED” state of Alertness as required by section “Distractions at sea”.
n) At any time, the Master considers that the safety, security, or manoeuvrability of the vessel is
compromised.

During the stand‐by period the manning levels on the navigating bridge and engine control room shall
be increased in line with the requirements of ‘Bridge and Engine Room Composition’ as detailed in
section 5.3.

During stand‐by the Master should be in command on the navigating bridge and Chief Engineer should
be in the Engine Control Room / machinery space unless emergency requirements dictate their presence
elsewhere. However, under prolonged standby conditions the Master or Chief Engineer may be relieved
by the Chief Officer or Second Engineer as appropriate, with hand‐over recorded in the appropriate
logbooks.
The relevant navigation checklist shall be completed, and the engine room shall inform the bridge
verbally that the plant is ready for stand‐by. Deck and engine room logbook entries shall be made to
reflect this verbal confirmation.

For prolonged stand‐by, such as transits through straits, piracy areas or under Pilotage, where the Pilot
requests a main engine speed greater than normal manoeuvring rpm, the Master may approve such a
request if an appropriate period of notice is agreed for speed reduction and the prevailing
circumstances & conditions are appropriate to do so.

The Stand‐by position shall be clearly annotated on all relevant navigational charts / ENC’s and the time
of stand‐by recorded in the deck and engine room movement books.

The vessel shall not proceed beyond the predefined stand‐by position as defined in the passage plan
until all requirements for stand‐by conditions are satisfied.

Following is identified as some of the known congested areas where in the presence of Master on bridge
is desirable. The presence of Master may be desirable in other areas as well depending upon the traffic
density experienced.

If the Master is unable to be present due to any reason during transit through any part of these areas,
he should assess the situation, satisfy himself with watch composition and leave clear instructions
regarding navigating during his absence. If possible, in such situation, the Chief Officer should be
planned to relieve the Master.

A) SINGAPORE STRAITS
. Starting from a line connecting coordinates:
Lat: 01 25’.40 N Long: 104 26’.32 E to Lat: 01 23’.40 N Long: 104 27’.95 E
∙ Terminating at a line connecting co‐ordinates:
Lat: 01 14.’285 N Long: 103 29’.73 E to Lat: 01 09’.23 N Long: 103 26’.76 E

B) MALACCA STRAITS ‐APPROACHING ONE FATHOM BANK

. Starting from a line connecting coordinates:
Lat: 02 46’.30 N Long: 101 11’.50 E to Lat: 02 41’.20 N Long: 101 08’.80 E
∙ Terminating at a line connecting co‐ordinates:
Lat: 03 02’.70 N Long: 100 48’.80 E to Lat: 02 54’.70 N Long: 100 43’.10 E
C) DOVER STRAITS
. Starting from a line connecting co‐ordinates:
Lat: 50 32’.67 N Long: 000 03’.40 W to Lat: 50 16’.30 N Long: 000 03’.40 E
∙Terminating at a line connecting co‐ordinates:
Lat: 51 06’.90 N Long: 001 31’.00 E to Lat: 51 04’.30 N Long: 001 46’.00 E

D) STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR
∙ Starting from a North/South line drawn at Longitude: 005 20’.00 W
∙ Terminating at a North/South line drawn at Longitude: 005 50’.00 W

E) BALTIC SEA –APPROACHES TO SKAGEN

∙ Starting from a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 010 00’.00 E
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 57 30’.00 N

F) BALTIC SOUND
∙ Starting from a line connecting coordinates:
Lat:56 06’.60 N Long: 012 30’.30 E to Lat:56 08’.00 N Long: 012 32’.80 E
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 55 10’.00 N

G) TAIWAN STRAITS
∙ Starting from an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 24 00’.00 N
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 22 50’.00 N

H) STRAITS OF HORMUZ
∙ Starting from an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 26 27’.00 N
∙ Terminating at a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 056 20’.00 E

I) RED SEA ‐ Bab‐El – Mandeb

∙ Starting from a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 043 30’.00 E
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 1300’.00 N

J) RED SEA – GULF OF SUEZ

∙ Starting from an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 2730’.00 N
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 29 50’.00 N
K) BOSPORUS STRAIT / STRAIT OF ISTANBUL
∙ Starting from an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 4100’.00 N
∙ Terminating at an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 41 20’.00 N

L) DARDANELLES STRAIT / STRAIT OF CANAKKALE

∙ Starting from a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 025 57’.00 E
∙ Terminating at a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 026 45’.00 E

M) SUNDA STRAITS
∙ Starting from an East / West line drawn at Latitude: 0540’.00 S
∙ Terminating at a North / South line drawn at Longitude: 105 00’.00 E.

N) TOKYO BAY
∙ Starting/Terminating from an East/West line drawn at Latitude34 58’ N

O) TORRES STRAIT / PRINCE OF WALES CHANNEL

Master must comply with the Torres Strait compulsory pilotage requirements.

P) LOMBOK STRAITS
∙ Starting from a line connecting coordinates:
Lat: 08 16’.30 S Long: 115 45’.00 E to Lat: 08 25’.00 S Long: 116 04’.00 E
∙ Terminating at a line connecting co‐ordinates:
Lat: 08 48’.00 S Long: 115 24’.00 E to Lat: 09 00’.00 S Long: 115 50’.00 E

End of Standby
End of Standby shall only take place when one of following criteria is met:

a) The vessel is securely moored to a berth or buoy(s) to the satisfaction of the Master and Pilot and
the prevailing environmental conditions are considered acceptable.
b) The vessel has been “brought up” to anchor and the prevailing environmental conditions and the
proximity to other vessels and/or navigational hazards is considered acceptable.
c) The vessel when instructed to drift has proceeded to a position where the prevailing environmental
conditions and the proximity to other vessels and/or navigational hazards is considered acceptable.
d) When proceeding to sea and the vessel has reached a position where the Master and his bridge
team are satisfied that the vessel is clear of heavy traffic, including fishing vessels and the proximity
of other navigational hazards. Prevailing meteorological conditions including minimum visibility
must also be within acceptable limits before Full away on passage is established.

It is emphasized that the basic premise of the Stand‐by condition is to ensure the vessel is operating at
an enhanced level of readiness to respond in a timely manner to any unforeseen factors that may
impact the vessel and its safe operation. It is therefore imperative that whenever there is any doubt, the
Master errs on the side of caution and operates the vessel in the Stand‐by condition.

Contingency Planning
The most probable case of stand‐by condition being breached could be one of the following or more:
- Failure of Main propulsion.
- Failure of power source (Auxiliary Engine)
- Failure of steering
- Failure of bridge equipment
- Failure of mooring equipment

In case of failure of any of the above cases or more, the Master should exercise the following options at
his discretion and the prevailing condition.

1. Abort the berthing operation and sail to a safe zone till such time as the standby condition is
restored.
2. Or anchor the vessel if in safe waters, till such time as stand by condition is restored.
3. Or use the available tugs to keep the vessel safely positioned till such time as stand by condition is
restored.

Approaching all ports and rendezvousing with pilots should be managed carefully. However, by nature
of their location and traffic density, the approaches to some ports may require additional care.

When approaching to such ports, vessel often must adjust their ETAs for a planned pilot time. In such
cases, the following procedures should be adopted to ensure the vessel is maintained in a safe position
throughout:
In cases where, at late notice, the pilot is cancelled for any reason, the vessel should wait in an area well
clear of the shipping lanes. This contingency plan must be part of the passage plan. It is, however,
appreciated that occasionally vessels must keep in direct VHF contact with Traffic Port Control for
berthing updates and extra vigilance must be exercised in these cases. Within this contingency plan, the
designated track should be defined well clear of traffic lanes. The Master should give clear instructions
as to the control of navigation on this waiting track.