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These ECDIS Safety
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ECDIS has been the talk of the town. On every inspection (https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/be-
on board, compliance with ECDIS procedures has been top in-command-by-knowing-
these-ecdis-safety-settings)
agenda for the inspectors.
20 August 2016

It will not be a new thing to say that good passage planning


(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/what-is-abort-point- A step by step guide to
ordering and correcting
and-how-you-can-use-it-for-safe-navigation) is the key for
charts on ECDIS
safer navigation. ECDIS now being a part of passage (https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/a-step-
planning contributes to the safe navigation. by-step-guide-to-ordering-

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I had covered ECDIS in lengths earlier on the topic like and-correcting-charts-on-


(https://www.myseatime.com) ecdis)

ordering and correcting ENC 29 February 2016


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navigational warnings on ECDIS Construction Better
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navigational-warnings-on-ecdis-the-right-way) LOGIN
ship-construction-better)
13 October 2016
In these two posts I covered about the process of
correcting the ENCs. Can we say we are all set if ENCs are
corrected for Weekly corrections, T&P corrections,
Navigational warnings
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/how-to-deal-with-
navigational-warnings-a-complete-guide) and navtex
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/20-navtex-question-
and-answers-to-make-naxtex-your-friend-for-life) warnings ?

But what if the settings on the ECDIS


(https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/DIPWG/DIPWG4/TSMAD24-
DIPWG4-
09.9B_Setting_Safety_Depth_and_Safety_Contours_in_ECDIS.pdf)
are not what it should be. Wrong settings pose even bigger
About Capt Rajeev
Jassal
threat to the safe naviagtion than the uncorrected ENCs.
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/how-to-install-encs-on-furuno-ecdis-step-by-step-guide)
Capt. Rajeev Jassal has

In this post I will discuss about the what and how of all the sailed for over 18 years
How to Install ENCs on Furuno ECDIS- Step by Step mainly
settings on ECDIS.
Guide on crude oil, product
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/how-to-install-encs-on-furuno-
and chemical tankers. He
holds MBA in shipping &
ecdis-step-by-step-guide)
Safety Settings Logistics degree from

24 April, 2017 London. He has done


0 comment
It is all in the name. Safety settings sets the safety extensive research on
parameters according to the ship’s static as well as dynamic quantitatively measuring
particulars. That is a change ECDIS brought Safety culture onboard and
(https://www.iho.int/mtg_docs/com_wg/DIPWG/DIPWG4/TSMAD24- safety climate ashore which
he believes is the most
DIPWG4-
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/how-to-make-correct-oil-record-book-entries)
important element for safer
09.9A_Safety_Depth_Contour_and_Safety_Depth.pdf) from
shipping.
the traditional paper charts. For example see this chart and
I will ask one question.

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chart/)

Can we say that blue part on this chart is shallow water ?

It is and it is not. For a small vessel with less draft, it is not a


How
shallow to For
water. make
a bigcorrect
containeroil
shiprecord book
with deep draft, (Cargo)
entries ?
may
be. (https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/how-to-make-correct-oil-
record-book-entries)
So you see, the colors on the paper chart may not
18 April, 2017 0 comment
represent the shallow waters for all the ships. But on the
ECDIS these can be set by the user according to their draft
and other parameters.

There are 4 safety settings

Safety contour Setting

Shallow contour settings

Deep contour setting

Safety Depth setting

To enter a value for these settings on JRC ECDIS, go to

chart -> settings  and then choose “S-57/C-Map/ARCS.

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2 April, 2017 3 comments

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(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/chart-setting-on-ecdis/)

Now Let us discuss about these settings in detail and what


values we need to enter in these settings

Shallow Contour setting
A contour is a line separating a minimum depth area. For
example a 10 meter contour will be a line that separates
waters below and above 10 meters depths.

The contours are in the value of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and so on.

Shallow contour value need to be used to tell ECDIS what


is the value of shallow waters for our draft. This is the value
of depth below which it is definite for the vessel to
get aground.

The shallow contour value need to be equal to or more


than the draft of the vessel.

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Let us say the vessel’s draft is 9 meters and we enter the


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shallow contour value of 9 meter. The ECDIS will display 10
meter contour line as the shallow contour. If 10 meter
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contour is not available, it will take next contour as the
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contour for the vessel.

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The shallow contour lets the navigator know that between
0 meter depth and the shallow contour, the area is not
LOGIN
navigable at all.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/shallow-water-contour-
on-ecdis/)

Safety Contour setting


Safety contour is the contour line above which we can
navigate without any water depth concern.

So what is the depth of water required for the vessel to


navigate without any concerns ? Off course it is the depth
that complies with the company’s UKC policy.

Now again let us see it with an example. Vessel’s draft is


9 meters and at maximum speed, the expected squat
(https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/5-questions-that-
can-help-in-understanding-of-squat-effect-on-ships) is
1.1 meters. The company require the vessel to have UKC of
10% of the draft.

I assume you know the UKC calculation method and can


easily arrive to the conclusion that this vessel would need
11 meters of water depth to navigate.

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I have taken here the simplest of the case. In reality you


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need to follow your company’s UKC calculation sheet to
arrive at the depths required to comply with UKC policy.
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This may take various factor such as sea conditions,
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in draft due to rolling, sea water density and the
tide.
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But the idea is to know the minimum depth of water at


LOGIN
which you will comply with the company’s UKC policy.

This water depth becomes the safety contour setting. So if


we enter 11 meters as safety contour setting, it will show 15
meter contour as the safety contour.

Some companies may give simpler instructions for the


safety setting in the navigational manual. One form of these
instruction can be based upon the draft of the vessel.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/safety-contour-settings-
on-ecdis/)

When safety contour value is entered in the ECDIS, it gives


a safety contour line depths above which would meet the
UKC requirement.

Safety Depth setting


So far we have only been talking about contours. We have
not said anything about the actual safe depth. Safety depth
is the only depth setting on ECDIS.

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Safety depth is the depth of the water we can safely


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navigate upon. And it might sound repetitive but it is the
depth that satisfies the UKC policy of the company.
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In Companies
ECDIS we need to enter this minimum depth. It is same
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what we calculated as a simple example in safety contour
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setting. And as I said in that section, we need to follow the
UKC calculation form of the company which may account
LOGIN
for number of factors to calculate the safety depth required.

But the question is why do we need safety depth settings


when we can navigate in waters above the safety
contours ? This is because of two straight forward reasons

i) The depth above safety contour may not always be


navigable.

This is in case of a shallow depth at one point in the


navigable waters. Although we might be navigating in area
above safety contour, this isolated depth pose a danger.
Safety depth highlights this danger.

ii) The depths below safety contour may not always be


non-navigable.

We can understand this If you allow me to again go through


the safety contour value we entered. We entered the value
of 11 meters and when we enter this value the ECDIS will
take next available contour. This will be 15 meter contour.

Now the depths between 11 and 15 meters are navigable for


us but it will show below the safety contour. So in the area
between shallow contour and safety contour, safety depth
will show the depth on which we can navigate.

Let us say we set the safety depth to 16 meters. On the


ECDIS, all depths below 16 metes will be shown more
prominently (in Black compared to others in grey color).

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ecdis-1/)

Deep water contour


This is a relative term and user is free to set as per what he
believes could be deep water for him. For me deep water
could be 50 meters while for others it could be 30 meters
or 100 meters.

But there can be number of ways we can use the deep


water contour setting.

For example you can set the deep water contour to show
the maximum anchoring depths where vessel can drop
anchor. So if your vessel can anchor maximum 105 meters
depth, you can set the deep water contour to 100 meters.

Or if you are about to do ballast water exchange, you can


set the deep water contour to 200 meters. This way you
can easily see just by the color on the ECDIS if you are in
depths where ballast exchange can be done.

The deep water contour setting can be used in number


ways and navigators can use this to the way they wish to
use it.

Differentiating the safety settings on ECDIS


Now let us see how the ECDIS screen will look like with all
these settings. So let us say vessel’s draft is 9 meters and
vessel require 14 meters depth to comply with company’s
UKC policy.

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So we have these settings


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Shallow contour: 9 meters


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Safety depth:
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Safety Contour: 15 meters

LOGIN
Deep Contour: 50 meters

And when I enter all these numbers in the ECDIS, this is


how a ECDIS screen would display these settings.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/different-safety-
settings-on-ecdis/)

If you notice, for safety contour ECDIS has taken the 20


meter contour because 15 meter contour is not available.

There is another option in the ECDIS to use two colors to


show these areas. When this option is selected, following
will happen

Safety contour and deep contour will merge

Shallow contour and safety contour will merge

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(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
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setting-ecdis/)

Or we can say that light blue and blue color will merge and
become blue. Same way, grey and white color will merge
and become white.

So there will be only two colors. One to show the shallow


waters and other to show the navigable water.

Even in the two color display, it is not that we cannot


navigate in the shallow waters. This is because it is showing
the contour and not the depth.

In our example, the dividing line will be the 15 meters


contour. The area below this contour will show as shallow
waters (blue color). But as the safety depth is 11 meters
(which will be below 15 meters contour), we can navigate in
the shallow waters provided the depth is above 14 meters.

Danger detection settings

Entering the safety settings will warn us with an alarm when


vessel enters in shallow waters. But when it gives the alarm
it could be too late by then.

Danger detection settings can help in giving pre-warning of


the dangers ahead. We only need to define the area in
which we need the ECDIS to warn us.

We can define the area in two ways

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Vector area
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Sector Area
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area defines the area in length and width. Sector
area defines the area in radius and width (angle).
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knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/danger-detection-in-
ecdis/)

Vector area defines the area in length and width. Sector


area defines the area in radius and width (angle).

Let us define this area on JRC ECDIS. On JRC ECDIS go to


Menu, Settings and then choose Alarm settings.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/alarm-setting-on-jrc-
ecdis/) This will open the Alarm settings pane.

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ecdis/)

Under Vector and Sector section, you can define the area
you want the ECDIS to look ahead. Once these areas are
defined you can turn these on by going to
“Ownship/Track” and then choosing “Settings”.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/danger-detection-area-
on-jrc-ecdis/)

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You can then choose to either “Vector area” or “Sector


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area”. You can even go to alarm settings page by clicking
on “Set alarm limit” from danger detection section.
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When you choose


Companies to display “Sector area”, it will look like
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this and ECDIS will trigger alarm if it detects any danger in
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this area.

LOGIN

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/sector-area-danger-on-
ecdis/)

When you choose to display “Vector area”, it will look like


this and ECDIS will trigger alarm if it detects any danger in
this area.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/vector-area-detection-
ecdis/)

Alarm Buzzer settings

I have talked about different safety settings on ECDIS. But


these settings are of no use if do not have the alarm buzzer
volume on. If the volume of the buzzer is off, ECDIS would
not be able to alert the navigator.

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But there are times when we need to keep the buzzer off.
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Like in high traffic density area when we are constantly
monitoring the traffic. In this case frequent alarms will be of
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lesser value.
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Navigators must use their professional competence to
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decide when they need to turn on the alarm buzzer.

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On JRC ECDIS to turn on the volume of the alarm buzzer,
go to “Main”, “Setting” and then choose “buzzer volume”.

(https://www.myseatime.com/blogadm/be-in-command-by-
knowing-these-ecdis-safety-settings/alarm-buzzer-ecdis/)

This will open a pane from where you can increase or


decrease the volume of different type of alerts.

Conclusion

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Be in Command by Knowing These ECDIS Safety Settings - MySeaTime Page 15 of 21

I am a big advocate of use of ECDIS on board for


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navigation. In my opinion ECDIS is making the shipping
safer. Sure there have been number of incidents because
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of user’s interpretation of ECDIS display
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(https://www.arbitrage-
maritime.org/fr/Gazette/G35complement/ECDISHFW%
Contact (https://www.myseatime.com/contactus)
20Memo.pdf) but the increase in training and good
practices
LOGIN
(https://www.steamshipmutual.com/Downloads/Risk-
Alerts/RA49TheImportanceECDIS_TrainingGoodWatch-
keepingPractices.pdf) has helped to cover many gaps.
 Correct use of safety settings in ECDIS will definitely take it
one step ahead .

Knowledge of what these safety settings mean can help in


that.

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31 Comments

Krishnan Aug 20, 2016

Sir please elobrate abt cat zoc zones


Reply

Rajeev Jassal Aug 21, 2016

Categories of Zone of confidence (CATZOC) in a


way tells us how accurate the data on the ENCs
is. These are divided in different zones like A1 has
the depth accuracy of 1% and C has accuracy of
5%. It all reminds us to take extra safety margins. I
will try to cover in detail on future posts.
Reply

Raja Feb 1, 2017

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Be in Command by Knowing These ECDIS Safety Settings - MySeaTime Page 16 of 21

CATZOCs are increasingly important, in the


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absence of source data diagrams, to inform
mariners about the reliability of the survey data
that forms the charts. This is very important check
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during the passage plan. if you ignore ,may lead
to grounding.
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Muthukkumaran.V Aug 24, 2016


LOGIN
Sir,thanks for the post,very clearly explained abt the depth
settings,Requesting more info on Ecdis.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Aug 25, 2016

Thank you Muthukkumaran. There are couple of


posts on ECDIS. Check them out if these can be
of some help.
Reply

Sagar Aug 26, 2016

sir can u tell, technical difference between rescue boat and


lifeboat (if using lifeboat as rescue boat) except the hoisting
requirement.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Oct 16, 2016

Rescue boat has recovery stropes to recover the


lifeboat in heavy weather.
Reply

Capt. Chander Vart Aug 27, 2016

Excellent information. Explained in a very simple and easy to


understand manner. Keep it up.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Aug 27, 2016

Thanks bro.. Glad to have you as regular reader..


Reply

Abbas Sep 13, 2016

Good day sir.Thank you very much for passing important


informations .I found it very helpful.i wish u to keep writing
blogs.It touched my heart the way u are helping others with
your vast knowledge.Thank u once again sir.
Reply

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Rajeev Jassal Sep 14, 2016


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Thanks for your kind words Abbas..
Reply
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Aswini Kumar Barnwal Nov 1, 2016

Good Day Sir.. It would be very great if you could explain


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about the isolated danger symbol in shallow waters as they
are also a very handy tool for anti grounding alarm in Ecdis.
LOGIN
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Nov 27, 2016

I will try to cover in one of the future blog Aswini..


Reply

Capt. Ram Dec 15, 2016

Isolated dangers are automatically shown above


safety contour i.e. in safe waters. However, they
can also be seen below safety contours provided
you select feature ''Isolated dangers in shallow
water'' in few ECDIS
Reply

HF Zou Nov 27, 2016

Sir, I think it is the funciton of safety contour , instead of your


mentioned safety depty. and further more compared with
chart example , the safety depth setting should be 14 meters
in your example of "Differentiating the safety settings on
ECDIS " - This is in case of a shallow depth at one point in
the navigable waters. Although we might be navigating in
area above safety contour, this isolated depth pose a danger.
"Safety depth highlights this danger." tks.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Nov 27, 2016

I think that is exactly what I said in this article.. But


if you read under "Safety depth setting" I have
explained why safety depth is taken as 11 meters
in this case.
Reply

Psingh Dec 9, 2016

Good day. Found this quite informative. Just a doubt. In


general we keep the safety depth n contour values same. But
in any other case safety depth can be greater than the
contour values?
Reply

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Be in Command by Knowing These ECDIS Safety Settings - MySeaTime Page 18 of 21

Capt. Ram Bahadur Dec 15, 2016


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Yes, it can be the case where safety depth can be
more than safety contour. However, u have to
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mark the no go area manually similar paper
charts because there will be unsafe waters when
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following the above water which will be not
subjected to further alarms.
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Reply

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Capt.Igor Dec 21, 2016

Great job. Thanks. Can the post be done in downloadable


way?
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Feb 5, 2017

I will try to include that fucntionality in near future..


Reply

Rehan Jan 4, 2017

Very well explained. What about the ports where the tidal
range is high as 4-5 m? For example An aframax vessel of
12.5 m and Depth of channel is 13.6 m. Tide at the time of
transit = 4.5 m so what would be ideal setting on ECDIS???
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Feb 5, 2017

In this case you need to do the calculation basis


what charted depth is safe for you. For example if
with 12.5 m draft and with all the requirements
(Company minimum UKC and squat etc) you
require water depth of 14.5 meters. You need to
remove the height of tide from it. That means the
safety depth to be entered in ECDIS becomes 10
meters. Same method of calculation goes with
other settings.
Reply

Sarthak Vohra Mar 11, 2017

Sir, I have query regarding shallow contour


settings in tidal ports havin 4-5 mtrs of tide for a
particular window let say about 10 NM which
requires minimum 4 mtrs of tide and the channel
is about 50 NM. In this case what should be the
settings of Safety depth / contour and shallow
contour. Do i need to change ECDIS
PARAMETERS again and again for different tidal
range or same?? Let say my draft is 10.25 mtr EK
and after applying squat and minimum UKC
requirement from company my safety depth
settings for pilotage waters becomes 13.37 mtrs

https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/be-in-command-by-knowing-these-ecdis-safe... 26/04/2017
Be in Command by Knowing These ECDIS Safety Settings - MySeaTime Page 19 of 21

(Speed 10 knts - squat - 2.62) and minimum UKC


(https://www.myseatime.com)
0.5 mtrs. Here what tide to take to calculate my
settings because its a 5 hours passage and tide is
changing frequently and as i mentioned above for
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last 10 NM i need minimum 4 mtrs of tide. Can you
please clarify? ECDIS parameters settings for sfety
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depth / contour and shallow contour. Will be
highly obliged.
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Reply

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Rehan Jan 4, 2017

Sir, I would really appreciate your assistance if you please


reply to my query asked in the above comment on my email
id!
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Feb 5, 2017

Let me know if you have any other doubt..


Reply

Mukesh Mamtora Feb 25, 2017

Thank you so much for your blog on safety settings in ecdis.it


was really very useful.i had one doubt , is it ok to enter
higher values in safety settings or else we should put the
exact value which we get from calculation. can inspectors ask
us ,that why you have entered little higher values? Thanks
Reply

Rajeev Jassal Feb 25, 2017

Yes you can put higher values as long as you do


not sail on danger depths for these higher values.
For example if your safety depth is 10 meters and
you put a higher safety depth value of 20 meters.
Now if have sailed over 15 meter depth (unsafe as
per safety settings but safe in real) then it will be
considered as a matter of concern because you
will no longer be able to distinguish between safe
and unsafe depths. But if you are following those
higher value of settings, like in this case you
actually want to be in depths over 20 meters, you
can do that and no one should question these
higher safety setting values.
Reply

Mukesh Mamtora Feb 25, 2017

Tysm sir for your reply..


Reply

Sarthak Vohra Mar 11, 2017

https://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/be-in-command-by-knowing-these-ecdis-safe... 26/04/2017
Be in Command by Knowing These ECDIS Safety Settings - MySeaTime Page 20 of 21

Sarthak Vohra 2 mins ago Sir, I have query regarding shallow


contour settings(https://www.myseatime.com)
in tidal ports havin 4-5 mtrs of tide for a
particular window let say about 10 NM which requires
minimum 4 mtrs of tide and the channel is about 50 NM. In
Blog (https://www.myseatime.com/blog) SeaQA (https://www.myseatime.com/knowledgebase)
this case what should be the settings of Safety depth /
contour and shallow contour. Do i need to change ECDIS
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PARAMETERS again and again for different tidal range or
same?? Let say my draft is 10.25 mtr EK and after applying
Contact (https://www.myseatime.com/contactus)
squat and minimum UKC requirement from company my
safety depth settings for pilotage waters becomes 13.37 mtrs
(Speed 10 knts - squat - 2.62) and minimum UKC 0.5 mtrs. LOGIN
Here what tide to take to calculate my settings because its a
5 hours passage and tide is changing frequently and as i
mentioned above for last 10 NM i need minimum 4 mtrs of
tide. Can you please clarify? ECDIS parameters settings for
sfety depth / contour and shallow contour. Will be highly
obliged.
Reply

Nish Walker Mar 15, 2017

Hi sir, it's a great article. i've referred to many ECDIS Articles


before Venturing into yours, couldn't help noticing most of
those article said Deep Contour is to indicate the waters
upon which a vessel experience squat, well it doesn't make
any sense because Deep contour is twice the ship's deepest
draft and safety contour(indicates safe waters) is ship's
draft+Squat+UKC+CATZOC, which is obviously lower value
than deep contour. So when a vessel sailing in safety contour
would not squat let alone aground* but she will experience
squat in Deep contour??. To put that in perspective a vessel
could exp squat in deep contours , when she sails towards
safety contours only to experience more or much worse!! .
Maybe I've gotten it all wrong !! Pls correct me if i'm wrong.
Reply

Jun Mar 27, 2017

Gud day Captain! can you kindly give me your opinion about
these formula which I got from an NK surveyor in Brisbane.
Safety contour = (Draft + UKC) - Height of tide and, Safety
Depth = (Draft + Squat + safety (as per company)) - Height of
tide. thanks for replying, God bless.
Reply

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