Operational guide · Operational procedure

Watchkeeping

Navigational watchkeeping brings together fit personnel, a clear handover, continuous lookout and monitoring of the situation. The officer of the watch maintains safe navigation and calls the master when circumstances require it or whenever in doubt.

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Operational Explanation

The navigational watch maintains a continuous understanding of the ship's position, movement and possible hazards. The officer in charge of the watch, commonly called the OOW (Officer of the Watch), coordinates bridge activities and applies the master's orders, the passage plan and the ship's procedures.

An effective watch begins before handover: rested and fit personnel, clear roles and enough information to understand the situation. It continues through lookout and checks on position, course, speed, traffic, environmental conditions and equipment availability. Instrument data must be interpreted with its limitations in mind.

The presence of the master or pilot does not automatically transfer the OOW's responsibility. The master's takeover of responsibility must be explicit and mutually understood; with a pilot on board, duties of checking and cooperation remain.

Regulatory Reference

STCW VIII and Code A-VIII/1–2: fitness and watch organisation; composition, lookout, handover, conduct and notification of the master. COLREG, Rule 5: continuous lookout by sight, hearing and available means appropriate to the conditions.

The principles used here are supported by the relevant paragraphs of STCW Code A-VIII/1–2 — consulted Manila 2010 text and Rule 5 — USCG NAVCEN. Rest requirements, qualifications and actual watch composition must be checked against the applicable regime and the ship's documents. IMO: rest and fitness for watchkeeping.

Pre-departure connection. SOLAS V/26 addresses a separate check: steering-gear checks and tests within 12 hours before departure; the Administration may grant a waiver for ships regularly on short voyages, with checks and tests at least weekly. Emergency steering drills are required at least every three months. Paragraph 26.6 requires dates of checks and dates and details of drills to be recorded. A short route alone grants no waiver. SOLAS V/26 — text in MSC.99(73). These checks do not replace handover and verification of the watch.

Scope of Application

This page covers the navigational watch at sea on ships to which the relevant STCW regime applies, including coastal navigation, congested waters and restricted visibility. Watch composition must respond to the circumstances and the ship's characteristics.

The master's orders and SMS specify organisation, communications, assistance to summon and recording arrangements. Watches in port, at anchor and in machinery spaces require the relevant specific provisions and are not fully developed here.

Procedure / How to Complete It

Check fitness and organisation. Check rest and the actual ability to perform duties; clarify roles, lookout, available assistance and the master's orders. A formally compliant rest record does not remove an observed sign of fatigue.
Prepare handover. The relieving officer checks position, course, speed and draught; passage plan and expected hazards; traffic, weather, visibility, tides and currents; equipment condition and limitations; steering mode and current orders. In darkness, also check adjustment of vision.
Take over clearly. Resolve doubts before the change. Do not hand over to a relieving officer believed incapable of performing the watch effectively: notify the master. If a manoeuvre or action to avoid a hazard is in progress, defer handover until it is completed.
Maintain lookout. Use sight, hearing and appropriate means without activities that interrupt attention. Adapt watch organisation when visibility, traffic or workload changes; automatic equipment and alarms support the watch.
Monitor and compare. Check position, course steered and speed often enough for the circumstances, using the necessary means. Follow the development of traffic and effects of actions taken; recognise equipment limitations or conflicting information.
Call and act. Notify the master immediately in the prescribed circumstances, including restricted visibility encountered or expected, concerning traffic, essential failures, emergency or doubt. Request the assistance needed and, when necessary, take immediate safety action without waiting for the master's arrival.
Record and pass on follow-up. Keep the ship's prescribed record of navigational movements and activities. Prepare the next handover with significant events, limitations and actions still to follow; remain on watch until properly relieved.

Practical Example

Learning scenario. At handover, near congested waters, visibility is deteriorating and the OOW is completing an action to avoid a hazard. The handover is deferred until that action is complete; the relieving officer still receives information needed to understand the situation.

The OOW immediately notifies the master of expected restricted visibility, maintains lookout and applies the necessary safety actions and the ship's procedures. After handover, the relieving officer confirms position, course, speed, traffic, steering mode and available assistance. Events and follow-up are entered in the prescribed record.

The example gives no fixed position-check interval or CPA/TCPA threshold: those details must suit the conditions and applicable instructions.

What Typically Goes Wrong

Handover becomes a list of figures without shared understanding: the relieving officer knows the set course but not the target causing concern, a sensor limitation or an order to call the master. Risk rises when each officer assumes that the other has already taken the watch.

During the watch, excessive trust in automation and distractions can separate the screen picture from the external situation. The problem must be recognised while time remains to obtain assistance and maintain an effective lookout.

Common Mistakes Mistake Library

Mistake	Consequence	How to Avoid It
Accepting an incomplete handover or treating the scheduled time as transfer of the watch.	Responsibility and hazards needing follow-up remain uncertain.	Confirm the situation and the change; defer it while action to avoid a hazard is in progress.
Assigning a fatigued person because the rest record looks compliant.	Ability to observe, interpret and react is reduced.	Check actual capability and rest; notify the master when the relief is unfit.
Using autopilot, radar or ECDIS as substitutes for lookout.	Incomplete information or an external change can go unnoticed.	Maintain lookout and monitoring; know equipment limits and compare information.
Calling the master late or waiting for arrival before taking action.	Less time remains to manage the hazard.	Apply notification requirements and take immediate safety action when necessary.
Assuming a pilot's presence transfers responsibility.	The ship's position and movement may receive less checking.	Cooperate, monitor the situation and clarify the pilot's intentions.

What the PSCO Checks

An inspection may address personnel certification and composition, actual rest and its records, officers' familiarity with equipment, steering modes and manoeuvring characteristics, and navigational records. Preparation should connect documents and explanations to the actual conduct of the watch.

Operational examination and any practical demonstration depend on the inspection and safe conditions. Steering tests and a V/26 waiver, if applicable, are separate evidence. IMO A.1206(34), appendices 7, 11 and 12.

Operational Tips

During handover, explain the hazards needing attention before the figures used to monitor them.
Make roles, available assistance, steering mode and the person keeping lookout explicit.
Organise bridge work so that updates and records do not interrupt observation and checking.
When a reading is inconsistent, seek corroboration through appropriate means and consider the instrument's limitations.
Keep the master's notification orders readily accessible; doubt is a reason to obtain assistance without delaying necessary action.

Preparation checklist

Personnel rested and fit; roles and available assistance understood.
Master's orders, passage plan and expected hazards checked.
Position, course, speed, draught and traffic situation understood.
Relevant weather, visibility, tides and currents considered.
Equipment, limitations and steering mode understood.
Continuous lookout arranged and vision adjustment checked where relevant.
Explicit handover; no change during ongoing action to avoid a hazard.
Master-notification requirements and event follow-up understood.
Navigational records updated under the ship's procedure.

FAQ

Does the master automatically take the watch on entering the bridge?

No. The OOW remains responsible until the master specifically states that responsibility has been assumed and the transfer is mutually understood. A pilot's presence also does not remove the duties of the master and OOW.

May the OOW be the sole lookout?

STCW A-VIII/2, paragraph 16, provides for this in daylight after an assessment establishing safety without doubt, taking account of weather, visibility, traffic, hazards and attention needed near traffic separation schemes. Assistance must be immediately available. This is no general permission: apply flag and ship requirements too.

When must the master be called?

In the circumstances prescribed by the Code and orders: for example restricted visibility encountered or expected, concerning traffic, difficulty maintaining course, essential failures, emergency or doubt. Notification does not replace immediate action needed for safety.

Can the watch be handed over during a manoeuvre to avoid a hazard?

STCW A-VIII/2, paragraph 23, requires handover to be deferred until the action is completed. Information can be shared, but transfer of the watch must remain clear.

Are SOLAS V/26 steering tests the watchkeeping check?

They are a separate pre-departure check. The rule provides for checks within 12 hours before departure and a possible Administration waiver for regular short voyages, with at least weekly checks. Voyage duration alone creates no waiver and does not replace fitness, handover or lookout.