ECDIS News

News intends to provide information regarding the requirements related to the implementation of ECDIS.

1. Applicable ships

The carriage requirements shall apply to the following ships engaged on international voyages:

  • (1)  Passenger ships of 500 GT and upwards;
  • (2)  Tanker* of 3,000 GT and upwards; and
  • (3)  Cargo ships constructed on or after 1 July 2013 other than tanker of 3,000 GT and upward, and cargo ships constructed before 1 July 2013 other than tanker of 10,000 GT and upward

* “Tanker” means a cargo ship constructed or adapted for the carriage in bulk of liquid cargoes of a flammable nature.

2. Type approval of ECDIS

  • (1)  Type of ECDIS shall be approved by the Administration or Organizations approved by the Administration.
  • (2)  ECDIS shall comply with the requirements of IMO performance standards.
    • (i) ECDIS installed on or after 1 Jan. 2009 shall comply with the IMO resolution MSC. 232(82).
    • (ii) ECDIS installed before 1 Jan. 2009 shall be complied with the A.817(19), MSC.64(67) annex 5 and MSC.86(70) annex 4, and provided IHO standard software and be able to display all information of latest ENC.
    • (ii) Latest IEC 61174 Test standards for ECDIS shall be applied.
    • (iii) ECDIS installed after 1 September 2017 shall comply with the IMO resolution MSC. 232(82) and shall have type-approval which IEC 61174 Edition 4.0 is applied.

3. Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC)

ECDIS is acceptable as meeting the chart carriage requirements and shall be complied with carriage requirements of ENC for navigation.

ENC

4. Guidance for ECDIS installation

Guidance for ECDIS Installation

5. ECDIS Training

  • (1)  In the STCW 2010 amendment and related circulars, Master and Deck Officers on board the ship equipped ECDIS are required to complete Generic Training (comply with IMO Training Course (IMO Model Course 1.27)) by 1st January 2017, as a condition to obtain or renew their certificates of competency.
  • (2)  It has been clarified by STCW.7/Circ.24 that the seafarers are not required to provide documentation of Generic and Type-specific Training in ECDIS. On the other hand, the seafarers are required to be familiarized with the ECDIS equipment installed on board. To provide a certificate and/or record certified the completion of the training is recommended as a countermeasure against PSC comments.

6. Survey for ECDIS

The following should be ensured or verified during the survey:

  • (1)  Copy of type approval certificate and performance standards applied;
  • (2)  Connection to emergency source of electrical power, gyro compass, speed log and GPS receiver;
  • (3)  Display of latest ENC on the ECDIS and possession of ENC fully provided for intended voyages;
  • (4)  Back-up arrangement complied with the requirement; and
  • (5)  When navigation charts are supplied as a backup, the charts should be updated

7. Other information

  • (1)  Flag State information

Flag States Information/Notice for ECDIS

Flag state Circular No. Title Download Issue date
Antigua and Barbuda Circular 2012-006 (Rev 2) ECDIS and Carriage of Electronic Publications Web site 23 Apr. 2021
Australia Marine notice 08/2021 Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems Web site Aug. 2021
Bahamas MARINE NOTICE 87 Ver.1.0 ECDIS, Nautical Charts and Publications Web site 5 Nov. 2021
Bulletin No.138 Rev.2 ECDIS Training Requirements Web site 16 Nov. 2015
Bermuda Shipping Notice 2011-010 Introduction of BNWAS and ECDIS Web site 26 Jan. 2011
Cayman Islands Shipping Notice 03/2015 Rev.1 ECDIS on Cayman Islands Ships and Yachts Web site 20 Aug. 2015
Guidance Note 07/2017 (Rev.1.0) ECDIS AND IHO PRESENTATION STANDARD IHO S-52 Web site 20 Sept. 2017
Cook Islands Circular 14/2010 Nautical Charts and Publications - Carriage Requirements Web site 21 Jan. 2010
Cyprus Circular No. 29/2012 STCW 78, as Amended- Issue of Seafarer’s Identification and Sea Service Record Books and Endorsements Attesting the Recognition of Non Cyprus Certificate (ECDIS Training) Web site 28 June 2012
Circular No. 17/2011 Use of Nautical Publications in a Digital Format Web site 6 May 2011
Dominica CD-PL 02-15 Rev01 Nautical Chart and Publication Carriage and ECDIS Requirements Web site 20 July 2015
Hong Kong No.13/2017 Guidance for Good Practice on Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) Web site 5 July 2017
No.2/2011 Maintenance of ECDIS Software Web site 3 Jan. 2011
No.28/2009 Application for the issue of HK Licenses and Endorsements under STCW 1978 as amended Web site 23 Oct. 2009
No.SD/S 800/1 Mandatory Carriage and Training Requirements for ECDIS Web site 14 Aug. 2012
India NT/Exam Circular NO.04 of 2017 Specific training requirements for ECDIS – reg. Web site 14 Dec 2017
Ireland Marine Notice No.23 of 2012 Important Safety Notice about the reliable operation of ECDIS Web site 3 May 2012
Isle of Man MSN 026 Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) Web site 1 Aug. 2018
Liberia Rev. 02/22 Safety of Navigation - Nautical Charts, Publications and Notices to Mariners Web site Feb. 2022
Luxembourg Circular CAM 09/2011 Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) Web site 19 Dec. 2011
Marshall Islands Marine Guideline No. 7-41-1 Rev. Jul/2022 Safety of Navigation Web site Jul. 2022
Marine Notice No.7-041-6 Rev. Apr/2023 Nautical Chart and Publication Carriage and ECDIS Requirements Web site Apr. 2023
Marine Notice No.1-000-3 Rev. Nov/2020 Requirements on Carriage of Publications on board ships Web site Nov. 2020
Palau Marine Notice 192.1 Nautical Charts And Publications Carriage And Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) Requirements Web site Jan. 2019
Panama Merchant Marine Circular MMC-218 Electronic Charts and Publications in regards to the Carriage Requirements and Crew Training on board Panama Flagged vessels. Web site May 2015
Singapore Shipping Circular No.25 of 2015 Guidance for Good Practice for Ships using ECDIS & Electronic Nautical Publications Web site 14 Oct. 2015
Shipping Circular No.6 of 2012 2012 List of Certificates, Documents and Publications required to be carried on board Singapore Flag Ships Web site 20 Feb. 2012
Sri Lanka MSN 03/2016 Carriage and use of ECDIS Web site 16 Feb. 2016
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Circular N° SOL 007 Rev. 5 Electronic Chart Display and Information and Back-up Arrangements Web site 26 Sep. 2017
Tuvalu MARINE CIRCULAR MC-6/2017/1 IMO ADVICE TO PORT STATES ON REQUIRED UPDATES OF ECDIS Web site 10/2017
United Kingdom Marine Information Note MIN 503 (M) Training for ECDIS as Primary Means of Navigation Web site Apr. 2015
U. S. A. (U.S.C.G.) MSIB Number: 009-17 Electronic Chart Display Information Systems Updates to Meet International Hydrographic Organization Standards Web site 25 Aug. 2017
  • (2)  ClassNK Technical Information
    TEC-0912, TEC-1067, TEC-1101, TEC-1106, TEC-1129