Advanced Passage Planning and Navigational Safety

Faculty of Engineering and Technology Department of Maritime and Mechanical Engineering

ASSESSMENT BRIEF

Module Title: Advanced Passage Planning and Navigational Safety

Module Code: 6502NAUSCI (Level 6)

Assessment Title: Integrated Ocean Passage Plan and Critical Risk Analysis

Assessment Weighting: 60% of final module mark

Hand-out Date: Tuesday, 30 September 2025

Submission Deadline: Friday, 5 December 2025 at 16:00 BST

Submission Method: Electronic submission via the Canvas VLE portal. The submission should consist of two separate files:

1. Passage Plan portfolio (PDF format).
2. Critical Analysis Report (Word or PDF format).

Module Leader: Professor D. Reynolds

Contact: [email protected], Byrom Street Office 3.14

1.0 Scenario

You are the Second Officer of the M/V ‘Mersey Voyager’, a 14,000 TEU Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) on a long-term charter. Your vessel is fully equipped with modern navigation systems, including a type-approved, dual-redundant ECDIS.

The vessel has completed loading in the Port of Singapore and is scheduled to undertake a laden voyage to the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Master has tasked you with preparing a comprehensive berth-to-berth passage plan and a supporting critical analysis report for this voyage.

Vessel Particulars:

• Type: Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV)
• LOA: 385m
• Beam: 59m
• Summer Draught (Laden): 16.0m
• Service Speed: 21 knots
• Propulsion: Single screw, fixed pitch propeller
• Manoeuvring: Single rudder, bow and stern thrusters

Voyage Details:

• Departure Port: Tanjong Pagar Terminal, Singapore
• Arrival Port: ECT Delta Terminal, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• ETD: 14:00 (Local Time) on 15 October 2025
• Cargo: General containerised goods, including 50 TEU of declared IMDG Class 3 (Flammable Liquids) cargo stowed on deck.

2.0 Assessment Tasks

This assessment is divided into two compulsory parts.

Part A: The Passage Plan (50% of assessment mark)

You are required to produce a detailed berth-to-berth passage plan for the voyage from Singapore to Rotterdam. The plan should follow the four recognised stages: Appraisal, Planning, Execution, and Monitoring. While you will not execute or monitor the plan in practice, you must detail how you would do so.

Your submission for this part must be a single portfolio containing, as a minimum:

1. Appraisal Section: A comprehensive summary of all information gathered, including analysis of relevant nautical publications, charts (ENCs), climatic data, maritime security threats (piracy), and regulatory requirements (e.g., Special Areas under MARPOL, Emission Control Areas).
2. Planning Section:
   • A full list of waypoints (Latitude/Longitude).
   • Leg courses (Rhumb Line and Great Circle legs where appropriate) and distances.
   • A detailed table of passage legs showing intended speed, transit times, and ETA at key points (e.g., Suez Canal, Strait of Gibraltar).
   • Evidence of route plotting on appropriate small-scale and large-scale charts (screenshots from a simulated ECDIS or marked-up chart extracts are acceptable). This must clearly show the planned track, abort points, and contingency anchorages.
   • No-go areas, safety margins, and clearing bearings/distances clearly identified.
   • A detailed plan for navigating critical areas, such as the Singapore Strait, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal, and the Dover Strait TSS.
3. Execution & Monitoring Plan:
   • A written brief detailing how the plan would be executed by the bridge team.
   • Details on the methods to be used for monitoring the vessel’s progress (e.g., parallel indexing, use of ECDIS safety corridors, visual fixing).
   • A comprehensive Master/Pilot exchange information card for both the departure and arrival ports.
4. Contingency Planning: Detailed contingency plans for at least THREE potential emergency scenarios during the voyage (e.g., engine failure in a traffic separation scheme, medical emergency, piracy attack).

Part B: Critical Analysis Report (50% of assessment mark)

You are required to write a professional report of 2,500 words (+/- 10%) that critically analyses the key challenges and risks associated with the planned voyage.

The report must be fully referenced using the Harvard referencing style and should address the following points:

1. Navigational Risk Management:
   • Critically evaluate the major navigational hazards along the chosen route (e.g., high traffic density, navigational choke points, adverse weather).
   • Justify your routeing decisions, explaining why your chosen route is safer and more efficient than potential alternatives.
2. Regulatory & Environmental Compliance:
   • Analyse the impact of international conventions on this specific voyage. You must discuss compliance with SOLAS Chapter V, MARPOL (specifically Annex I – Oil, Annex V – Garbage, and Annex VI – Air Pollution, including the transition into the North Sea ECA), and the COLREGs.
   • Critically discuss the ship’s procedures required for compliance with the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) and the management of the IMDG cargo.
3. Human Factors and Bridge Resource Management (BRM):
   • Evaluate how the principles of Bridge Resource Management (BRM) would be applied during the most challenging phases of the voyage to mitigate human error.
   • Discuss the challenges of maintaining watchkeeper vigilance and managing fatigue on a long ocean passage.

3.0 Assessment Criteria

Your work will be assessed on the following criteria:

4.0 Guidance and Support

It is expected that you will consult a wide range of sources, including:

• IMO Publications (SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, Guide to Ship Sanitation)
• OCIMF’s Passage Planning Guide for Ocean-Going Vessels
• ICS Bridge Procedures Guide
• Admiralty Sailing Directions and other nautical publications
• Industry security guidance (e.g., BMP5)
• Relevant lecture notes and materials provided on Canvas.

Tutorial support sessions will be scheduled to discuss progress and address questions. Please see the module area on Canvas for dates and times.

Academic Integrity: All work submitted must be your own. Plagiarism, collusion, or any other form of academic misconduct is a serious offence and will be dealt with according to University regulations. Your work will be checked using Turnitin similarity detection software.

Late Submissions: In accordance with University policy, penalties will be applied for unauthorised late submission. Please refer to the Student Handbook for details.