Table Of ContentCore Principles of Maritime Navigation
Core Principles of Maritime Navigation introduces the main navigation concepts
required by trainees and professionals involved in maritime operations. The book
covers a wide range of subjects from wind, waves and depths to navigational marks
and buoys, navigational techniques and equipment, passage planning, duties of the
Officer of the Watch, berthing and anchorage. It is not intended to be a technical
publication; rather, it aims to introduce core ideas and concepts in an accessible
way for general readers, university students, cadets and for the continuous profes-
sional development of experienced seafarers.
Alexander Arnfinn Olsen is a Senior Learning and Development Consultant
for a leading UK maritime consultancy, instructional designer and freelance writer.
He is the author of Introduction to Ship Operations and Onboard Safety (Routledge,
2022).
Core Principles of Maritime
Navigation
Alexander Arnfinn Olsen
Cover image: © Tom Fisk - courtesy of Pexels. Aerial shot of cargo ship,
North Jakarta, Indonesia.
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Alexander Arnfinn Olsen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Olsen, Alexander Arnfinn, author.
Title: Core principles of maritime navigation / Alexander Arnfinn Olsen.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, [2022] | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022001339 (print) |
LCCN 2022001340 (ebook) | ISBN
9781032271392 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032271385 (paperback) | ISBN
9781003291534 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Navigation--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Merchant
marine--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Seamanship--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC VK155 .O468 2022 (print) | LCC VK155 (ebook) | DDC
623.89--dc23/eng/20220121
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022001339
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022001340
ISBN: 978-1-032-27139-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-27138-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29153-4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003291534
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables ix
Image attributions x
List of abbreviations xii
Preface xvi
Acknowledgements xvii
Author’s note xviii
1 Wind, depth and waves 1
2 Navigation marks and buoys 9
3 Navigation systems and equipment 22
4 Virtual aids to navigation 36
5 Marine radar 48
6 Electronic chart and display information system 62
7 Ship handling in challenging conditions 80
8 Passage planning 101
9 Officer of the Watch 114
10 Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) 126
11 Anchorage 136
vi Contents
12 Maritime pilot 144
13 Mooring and berthing 155
Index 180
Figures
2.1 Port Hand Buoy on the Tom River, Tomsk, Russia 16
2.2 Starboard Hand Mark, Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland 17
2.3 North Cardinal Mark, Thames Estuary, England 17
2.4 East Cardinal Mark, Bremerhaven, Germany 18
2.5 South Cardinal Mark, St Mawes, England 18
2.6 West Cardinal Mark, Gigalum Rocks, Scotland 19
2.7 Safe Water Mark, Limfjord, Denmark 19
2.8 Isolated Danger Mark buoy, Hvar, Croatia 20
2.9 Special Mark, Queensland, Australia 20
3.1 Gyroscope compass, HMCS Algonquin 23
3.2 Quartermaster M.A. James using the sextant onboard USS Vella Gulf 33
3.3 Navigation lights, Rhine-Herne Canal, Germany 34
4.1 Modern ship’s bridge, Norwegian Jade 44
5.1 Typical ship’s radar arrangement, Volcan de Taburiente,
Tenerife, Spain 49
5.2 Typical radar set with multiple blips 51
5.3 Radar screen onboard the RV Thomas G. Thompson, Seattle,
Washington, USA 52
5.4 Radar screen with AIS connection to the Port of Ijmuiden,
Netherlands 58
6.1 Example of the AIS setting on ECDIS 68
6.2 ECDIS shallow water contouring (daytime and night-time) 78
7.1 Ships at anchorage, Indian Ocean 80
7.2 Heavy lift ship Bigroll Barentz navigating through drift ice 94
7.3 Winter, North Atlantic, 1958 99
8.1 Example of an Admiralty Chart 104
8.2 Example of an Admiralty Chart 104
9.1 OOW on the bridge 116
10.1 Example of a typical EPIRB 130
10.2 Example of a typical AIS-SART 132
11.1 Ship’s windlass and mooring ropes 137
12.1 Pilot boat outside Öja island (Landsort), Stockholm archipelago’s
most southern point 146
12.2 Pilot boat, Bay of Sevastopol 149
viii Figures
12.3 Dutch pilot boat, Origin, Port of Ijmuiden, Netherlands 149
12.4 Changing the pilot in the Suez Canal, Egypt 151
13.1 Ship weighing port side anchor 164
13.2 Fo’c’sle detail of a container ship passing through
the Panama Canal 165
13.3 Single Point Mooring Spm Sokol 168
13.4 Single Point Mooring Spm Sokol 169
13.5 Container Ship MSC Charleston leaving the Port of Bremerhaven 173
13.6 Tug Michel Hamburg assisting Cosco Shipping Nebula 175
13.7 CMA CGM Turquoise entering Victoria Quay, Melbourne,
Australia 177
13.8 Kota Lestari entering the Port of Christchurch, New Zealand 178
Tables
2.1 Lateral Marks, Regions A and B 10
2.2 Cardinal Marks (North, East, South and West) 11
2.3 Isolated Danger Marks 12
2.4 Safe Water Marks 12
2.5 Special Marks 13
2.6 Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy 13
3.1 Visibility of Lights as per COLREGS Rule 22 34
6.1 Description of Zones of Confidence 77
10.1 GMDSS Areas, Ranges and Equipment 126
10.2 GMDSS Frequencies 127
13.1 GMDSS Areas, Ranges and Equipment 159
