Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (NZ) Ltd

VOYAGE PLANNING ‘BEST PRACTICE’

MUCH MORE THAN JUST A WAYPOINT LIST
Maritime Mutual Risk Bulletin No. 27
April 21, 2020

INTRODUCTION
Voyage planning is an essential ship, crew and cargo safety process which has long been mandated
through IMO Conventions. The critical importance of this process has been recently highlighted by an
English Court of Appeal ruling in The CMA CGM Libra. This notable decision confirms that a shipowner is
responsible for any pre-voyage negligence by their master and deck officers which results in reliance on
an inadequate and unsafe Voyage Plan. Further, that any such causative inadequacy will render their
vessel unseaworthy both in terms of her navigational equipment and in law.

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Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (NZ) Ltd

This Risk Bulletin aims to raise awareness of shipowners, their ship managers and masters of the serious
losses, inclusive of groundings and pollution, which may result from failures of Voyage Planning. By way
of solutions, the pro-active steps required to avoid such costly failures are also featured.

BACKGROUND
Voyage Planning has been in use by prudent mariners for centuries. However, the manner in which this
process must be accomplished and the high level of detail a Voyage Plan must contain is now regulated
by SOLAS, the STCW Convention and associated IMO Guidelines for use onboard vessels trading
internationally. For vessels trading domestically, Non Convention Vessel Standards (NCVS) or Rules
(NCVR) based on the SOLAS and STCW requirements will apply.

In brief, the current Voyage Planning regulations obligate the application of four interactive stages:

1. Appraising all relevant information (inclusive of updating all charts and publications).
2. Planning the intended voyage (from berth to berth, inclusive of pilotage).
3. Executing the plan, taking account of prevailing conditions
4. Monitoring the vessel’s progress against the plan continuously.

The process is complex. Its accomplishment requires the greatest possible care by a diligent and well
trained 2nd Officer/Navigator. Final and formal approval of stages 1. and 2. must then be provided by a
prudent Master prior to departure from port. Failure can result in the vessel being considered as
unseaworthy.

IMO REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES

For vessels trading internationally, the first step to ensuring IMO Voyage Planning compliance is to
identify and be aware of the applicable IMO Regulations and the associated Guidelines. These
requirements are detailed in:

SOLAS Chap 5, Safety of Navigation

Regulation 27 – requires that “Nautical charts and nautical publications… shall be

adequate and up to date.”

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Regulation 34 – requires that “Prior to proceeding to sea, the master shall ensure that the
intended voyage has been planned… taking into account the guidelines and
recommendations developed by the [IMO] Organization.”

Annex 23 – expands on and provides the detail of the obligations imposed by

Regulations 27 and 34. It refers to IMO Res A.893(21) and affirms the application of the
four interactive stages of Voyage Planning as stated above.

RESOLUTION A.893(21), GUIDELINES FOR VOYAGE PLANNING – supports the SOLAS

Chap 5 obligations by expanding on and explaining the four stages of Voyage Planning
in considerable detail.

STCW Convention, Section A-VIII/2, Part 2 (Voyage Planning) – provides an outline of the
requirements for Voyage Planning detailed in SOLAS Chap 5, Annex 23 and RES. A.893(21). Any
non-compliance will be considered as a breach of the STCW Convention.

For vessels trading domestically, the requirements for Voyage Planning will be contained in the
applicable NCVS rules and/or other flag state law. MM members should confer with their flag state
authority to obtain the applicable references to national law.

As an example, Indonesian NCVS Chapter III, Equipment, Para 5.3.4, requires the provision of adequate
and up to date charts. Further, Indonesian Regulation No. 13 of 1970, Art. 65 advises that, in relation to
Voyage Planning, vessels engaged in domestic trade should comply with “…the principles and
instructions in accordance with the STCW Code [Chap VIII, Watchkeeping].”

VOYAGE PLANNING PUBLICATIONS

The second step to ensuring compliance is to provide shipmasters and all deck officers with all of the
information and templates they require to fully understand and implement the IMO or NCVS
requirement for Voyage Planning as applicable to their vessels. Ready access to the IMO Conventions
and Guidelines referred to above is essential. Additionally, there are two user friendly publications which
have been written to further explain and support the Voyage Planning process to IMO standards.

ICS Bridge Procedures Guide, 5th Ed., which, at Chap 2. provides 10 pages devoted to explaining Voyage
Planning, as detailed in SOLAS Chap 5 Annex 23 and RESOLUTION A.893(21). It includes checklists and a
searchable CD. It may be purchased from the ICS website or from chart agents.

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Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (NZ) Ltd

Passage Planning Guidelines, 2019 Ed., published by Witherby Seamanship International, provides 150
pages explaining Voyage Planning using paper charts or ECDIS. It includes worked examples and
templates.

These two publications are recognised internationally and should be considered as setting the current
shipping industry ‘best practice’ standard.

ISM CODE AND SMS MANUAL

The third and most important step to ensuring Voyage Planning compliance is by its formal
incorporation into each vessel’s ISM Code or NCVS required SMS manual and supporting procedures.
These procedures must refer directly to the applicable IMO or NCVS Voyage Planning regulations
together with an on board copy of one or both of the Voyage Planning publications referred to above.

SMS manuals and procedures must of course be audited on a regular basis both externally by flag state
(usually by a designated Recognised Organisation or RO) and internally by the ship owner (often the
Designated Person Ashore or DPA). The Voyage Planning component of the SMS is one which is
technical and complex. In order to provide an effective safety barrier, it therefore requires auditing by a
person who is a qualified and experienced navigator and not just an administrator as many DPAs
legitimately are.

CONCLUSION AND TAKEAWAY

As a consequence of the Court of Appeal’s finding of ‘unseaworthiness due to inadequate voyage
planning’ in The CMA CGM Libra case, cargo was entitled in law to refuse to contribute to General
Average (inclusive of salvage costs). It was therefore a very expensive day for both shipowners and their
insurers.

MM would therefore like to emphasise the serious dangers and consequences of inadequate Voyage
Planning to its members. Much of the problem appears to lie in a failure of understanding by many
masters and deck officers of Voyage Planning regulatory requirements and their application. A common
example is a so-called ‘Voyage Plan’ presented for compliance assessment which is little more than a
bare waypoint list for entry to a GPS unit. If the attending surveyor is from Port State Control (PSC), this
will almost certainly result in a non-conformity notation.

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Maritime Mutual Insurance Association (NZ) Ltd

In addition to PSC problems, an inadequate Voyage Plan can place a vessel in extreme danger of
grounding with resultant crew injury, oil pollution and cargo damage followed by massive salvage
and/or wreck removal costs. Much cheaper then to invest some time and effort in re-training and a
small outlay on publications to ensure that Voyage Planning in your fleet meets full compliance. MM
therefore recommends to its members that they instruct their ship managers and masters to:

1. Review their ISM Code SMS manuals and procedures to ensure that the content fully supports
either the relevant IMO Convention or NCVS/Flag State Law Voyage Planning requirements, as
appropriate.
2. Ensure that fleet SMS procedures incorporate direct references to the governing Regulations
and Guidelines and that copies of the relevant texts are provided as annexes to the SMS
procedures.
3. Organise the purchase and provision at least one or both publications ICS Bridge Procedures
Guide or Passage Planning Guidelines to each vessel.

Arrange for external and internal audits of the SMS Voyage Planning procedures to be conducted by a
well-qualified and experienced navigator and that any observed non-conformities are dealt with
promptly and in full accordance with the ISM Code.

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