RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.

Unlike road vehicles a ship does not turn sharply. With lesser friction in water
and under the influence of momentum a vessel continues on her initial course
for some time, beginning to turn slowly and then rapidly later. Vessel thus
traverses a curved track which can be treated as an arc of a circle.

For small ships such arcs are small and can be executed without much problem.
But for large sized merchant vessels these arcs assume greater radii and need to
be treated differently. This becomes all the more important when vessel is
altering courses in restricted waters or in close proximity to navigational
hazards.

For same reasons roundabouts are charted in traffic separation schemes.

Under navigation watch keeping principles, vessel is required to do berth to
berth passage planning. It is also required to lay courses in curved segments as
well, where required and to mark the wheel over positions.

In view of the above, vessels having 50,000 GT and above are mandatorily
required to be fitted with ROTI (Rate Of Turn Indicator) as per Chapter V,
SOLAS. ROTI assists OOW in planning, executing and monitoring vessel’s
progress along curved segment of charted course.

The purpose of ROTI is to provide rate of turn to port and to starboard side of
ship. The indicator is usually in the form of a circular dial with zero at top. Port
turn is indicated on left of zero and starboard turn on right of zero. Graduations
are provided to indicate ROT up to at least 30 degrees/minute on either side.
ROTI can be self-contained, or it may derive information from other equipment
or it may form a part of the other equipment. However, the design is such as to
preclude degradation of other equipment to which ROTI is connected,
irrespective of weather ROTI is in operation or not.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

DERIVATION OF FORMULA FOR RATE OF TURN:

ROT (Ø/t) is expressed in degrees per minute.

Consider following diagram:

PB = Initial course
BN = Final course
AC = Curved segment of charted course;
A is commencement of turn and C is completion of turn.
Length of the curved segment = d
Ø = Amount of alteration in degrees (Angle MBN or Angle AOC)
ØC = Ø in radians
R = Radius of the circle of which arc forms the part
t = Time

Now, we know that, by definition, radian is the angle subtended at the center of
a circle by an arc equal in length to the radius of the circle. Thus, we have:
ØC = d/R = (V x t)/R
Or, Ø/57.3° = (V x t)/R (Note: Ø is in degrees)
Or, Ø/t = (V x 57.3)/R in degrees /hour
Or, Ø/t = (V x 57.3)/60R in degrees /minute
Using approximation and cancelling 60 and 57.3 with each other, we have:
Ø/t = V/R in degrees /minute
Thus, we have ROT (Ø/t) given by:

ROT (Ø/t) = V / R

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

EXAMPLE: Let us assume that a vessel’s initial course is 000 (T) and final
course is 060 (T). She is steaming at 15 knots and intends to negotiate a turn
about an islet keeping a distance of 1.5 miles. What will be the ROT and how
long will she take to complete the turn?

(ROT) Ø = V (degrees per minute)

t R

So, ROT = V/R = 15 / 1.5 = 10 degrees.

Thus vessel will turn at the rate 10 degrees per minute, while maintaining a
distance of 1.5 miles from the islet.
Now amount of alteration = 60 degrees
Thus vessel will take 60/10 = 6 minutes to complete the turn

CONSTANT RADIUS TURN:

In this method radius R is kept constant.

We have seen that rate of turn (ROT) is given by (Ø/t) = V/R
Or, R = V/ (Ø/t)

If radius R is to be kept constant, the expression on the RHS will have to be kept
constant. But as vessel turns, velocity V reduces. Thus ROT (Ø /t) will have to be
varied proportionately so as keep R as constant. Thus in constant radius turn,
ROT does not remain same and changes as the vessel negotiates the turn.

Constant radius turn is negotiated in the following two ways, depending on

weather the object ‘O’ is visible or imaginary.

 Object ‘O’ available as visually or radar conspicuous feature:

1. With O as center and R as radius draw an arc. (The value of R will be decided
by OOW/Master and will depend on vessel’s size, draft, weather conditions,
proximity to other dangers etc,).
2. Draw AB and BC as tangents to the arc, representing initial and final courses.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

 Object ‘O’ not available as visually or radar conspicuous feature:

1. Draw initial and final courses first.

2. Choose suitable value of R depending on size, loading condition of vessel,
weather conditions etc.
3. Calculate AB = BC = R tan Ø/2
4. Draw small arcs, with radius R, from A and C to cut at O.
5. Now O as center and R as radius, draw arc AC. This is the curved segment of
the planned course.

MONITORING THE TRACK ALONG CURVED SEGMENT:

 Object O is visually conspicuous:

We know that any radius to the point of contact of a tangent is perpendicular to

the tangent. This means that for vessel to remain on the curved track, the object
O must remain abeam or very nearly abeam. If the object is falling abaft the
beam, it means that vessel is going outside the arc (or she is turning slowly) and
ROT needs to be increased by giving greater helm.
Conversely, if object is moving ahead of beam, vessel is going inside the arc (or
she is turning too fast) and ROT needs to reduced by easing the helm.
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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

 Object O is radar conspicuous:

In this case VRM along with parallel indexing techniques is utilized for keeping
the vessel on the curved segment of the track. Both RM and TM modes are
equally suitable for the procedure.

 Object O is imaginary:
In this case vessel’s position has to be closely monitored at more frequent
intervals to ensure that the vessel stays at the curved segment of the track.

 With ECDIS onboard:

ECDIS has brought a revolutionary change in the way ships are navigated. As
per IMO performance standards for “route planning and monitoring” on ECDIS, it
should be possible to draw both straight and curved segments of planned
courses.
Thus, executing and monitoring ship’s progress along any curved segment is
very easy. The fact that the courses drawn can be seen against the background
of chart on the screen itself, makes the procedure a very simple task. ECDIS
provides real time fixing. Hence, the OOW knows the position of the vessel at
any given moment.

CONSTANT RATE TURN:

In this method ROT (Ø/t) is kept constant.
We know that rate of turn (ROT) is given by (Ø/t) = V/R
If ROT is required to be kept constant, the expression on the RHS will have to be
kept constant.

But as vessel turns, velocity V reduces. Thus radius R will have to be varied
proportionately so as to keep ROT as constant. Thus in constant rate turn
radius R does not remain same and changes as vessel negotiates the turn.

Practically ROT is calculated for a mean value of vessel’s speed (mean of speed
at the start of curved segment and speed at the end of curved segment). This
value corresponds nearly to vessel’s position midway on the arc. At other
locations on arc value of radius will differ from R. But these variations are small
and within practical and tolerable limits.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

WHEEL OVER POINT (WOP):

It is the point on initial course at which wheel is put over to initiate the turning
of the vessel. It is obtained by intersection of initial course by wheel over line.

The distance between the WOP and the ship commencing its turn is denoted by F
and depends on:
 Size of vessel
 Loaded/ballast condition
 Trim
 Type of vessel etc.

WHEEL OVER LINE:

It is a line drawn parallel to the final course. The point at which it cuts the initial
course line is the wheel over point. The distance at which wheel over line is to be
drawn parallel to the final course is given by following formula:
F SinØ + R (1 - CosØ)
F= distance between WOP and the point when vessel begins to turn.
R= radius of turn
Ø = difference between initial and final course

PROCEDURE:
1. Take F as 0.1, 0.15 or 0.2 miles depending on weather vessel is small,
medium or large in size.
2. Take R as radius of turn, depending on your vessel’s size, draft and external
factors.
3. Calculate the distance between WOL and final course by the formula given
above.
4. Take any arbitrary point on final course and draw on arc, towards initial
course, at the distance calculated.
5. Draw a tangent to the arc parallel to the final course, cutting the initial
course.
6. The point of intersection is the wheel over point.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

ADVANTAGES

(i) The turn can be pre planned and the required rate of turn can be pre-
calculated. Hence the execution of the turn becomes simple.

(ii) The turn can be easily monitored while it is being executed.

(iii) Since the turn is pre planned, the use of helm is minimised and
thereby loss of speed during the turn is also reduced.

(iv) Even if the ship has drifted to port or starboard, the turn can be easily
amended so that on completion of the turn the ship is on the new
course.

PRECAUTIONS WHILE USING THE ROTI

(i) The speed to be used for calculating the rate of turn is speed over
ground and not speed over water.

(ii) Initially a large helm is required to achieve the calculated rate of turn.
The helm must be immediately eased as soon the rate of turn is
achieved, to the bare minimum required to maintain the rate of turn.

(iii) In the case of constant radius turn the careful watch on the ground
speed must be maintained, so that as the speed drops the rate of turn
can be correspondingly reduced.

It is always safe to over estimate the rate of turn marginally rather than under
estimating it, since if the ship turns faster it is easier to reduce the ROT rather
than trying to increase the ROT at a later stage if she is turning slowly at the
initial stage.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

EXAMPLE 1:

A medium size vessel on an initial course of 010° (T) is to alter to her

next course of 082° (T), Speed 12 knots and radius of turn 2 nm.
Determine the WOP at which the helm is to be turned over assuming
(i) there is no current
(ii) the current is 340°, 2 knts.

SOLUTION:

(i) Distance between final course and WOL is given by:

T = F SinØ + R (1 - CosØ)
Since the vessel is medium sized, the value of ‘F’ is taken as 0.15nm.
Substituting the values, we have:
0.15Sin72° + 2 (1- Cos72°)
Therefore T = 1.525 miles.

Now, take any arbitrary point on final course and draw an arc at a distance of
1.525 miles. (Refer to daigram above).
Draw a tangent to the arc parallel to the final course to cut the initial course at
W. Now, the parallel line drawn is the wheel over line and W is the wheel
over point.

(ii) ROT is given by the formula V/R

Thus, rate of turn = 12/2 = 6 degrees/minute
Time taken to complete the turn = 72/6 = 12 minutes.

F (advance) is given as .15nm.

Time taken to traverse the distance of 0.15 nm at 12 kts would be
60÷12 x 0.15 = 0.75 minutes

Thus the current will be acting for a total period of 12.75 minutes.
At 2 kts, this corresponds to 0.425 nm.

From wheel over point W, mark off 0.425 nm (point M) in the direction of 160°
(i.e in the opposite direction of the current).

Now transfer the final course 082° to pass through the point M to intersect the
initial course at W1. This is the new wheel over point taking current into
account.

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 RATE OF TURN INDICATOR (R.O.T.I.)

C
Ø Final course 082°
B
1.525 nm

Wheel over line

W
M Wheel over line with current
W1
160°

Initial course 010°

A

Compiled by : Capt. Naveen C Tewari, ARI Saket, New Delhi. (5/14) 9