Government of Bermuda
Department of maritime Administration2011 - 010

BERMUDA SHIPPING NOTICEIntroduction of Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm Systems and ECDIS .
Summary
The installation of Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm Systems (BNWAS) and the carriage of Electronic
Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) will become mandatory over the coming years.
Many vessels are already fitted with these and this notice sets out the schedule for mandatory
carriage and the arrangements for ECDIS back-up and the requirements for a supply of paper chartsthat apply when operating in areas where there is no full coverage by vector chart data.
The legal requirements for carriage of navigational equipment in accordance with Chapter V ofSOLAS are in the Bermuda Merchant Shipping (Safety of Navigation) regulations 2010________________
Programme for mandatory installation of BNWAS
MSC .282(86) Amendments to Chapter V, SOLAS.
Regulation 19 of Chapter V which lists the navigational equipment to be carried is amended byincluding new sub-paragraphs .3 and .4 in paragraph 2.2.
A Bridge navigational watch alarm system is required to be fitted in:Every new cargo ship of over 150 GT and every new passenger ship constructed on or after
1st July 2011;

Existing passenger ships (of all sizes), and existing cargo ships of 3000 GT and overconstructed before 1st July 2011; - not later than the first survey after 1st July 2012;

Existing cargo ships of 500 GT and over but less than 3000 GT constructed before 1st July2011; - not later than the first survey after 1st July 2013; and

Existing cargo ships of 150 GT and over but less than 500 GT constructed before 1st July2011; - not later than the first survey after 1st July 2014.

These units are to be in operation whenever the vessel is at sea.
BNWAS units installed in ships before 1st July 2011 and which do not meet the IMO PerformanceStandards may still be accepted by the Bermuda Maritime Administration and owners with such
systems should contact the Department with the details of their systems. If appropriate theDepartment will issue an exemption from full compliance with the standards.
This BNWAS requirement will also apply to Bermuda yachts certified under the LY2 Code.

Issue date: 26 January 2011

Programme for Mandatory carriage of ECDIS.
MSC .282(86) Amendments to Chapter V, SOLAS.
In a similar manner, the carriage of ECDIS is to be phased in over the coming years to 2018 and is tobe fitted in;New passenger ships of 500 GT and more and on all new tankers of 3000 GT or moreconstructed on or after 1st July 2012,

New cargo ships, (other than tankers), of 10,000 GT or more; - constructed on or after 1st July2013.

New cargo ships (other than tankers), of 3000 GT and upwards; - constructed on or after 1stJuly 2014,

Existing passenger ships of 500 GT or more constructed before 1st July 2012; - not later than
the first survey on or after 1st July 2014,



Existing tankers of 3000 GT and upwards constructed before 1st July 2012; - not later than thefirst survey after 1st July 2015,



Existing cargo ships (other than tankers) of 50,000 GT and upwards constructed before 1stJuly 2013; - not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2016,



Existing cargo ships, (other than tankers) of 20,000 GT and upwards but less than 50,000 GT
constructed before 1st July 2013; - not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2017; andExisting cargo ships (other than tankers) of 10,000 GT and upwards but less than 20,000 GT
constructed before 1st July 2013; - not later than the first survey on or after 1st July 2018.

Prior to the mandatory requirement for ECDIS, Bermuda ships may meet the requirement in SOLAS
for the carriage of up to date nautical charts by providing an ECDIS and arranging for the chart data to
be regularly kept up to date. For those ships which choose to do so the installation should be inaccordance with the IMO Type Approval and the contents of this Notice.
These requirements also apply to commercial yachts certified under LY2 where they reach thetonnage limits.

Type Approval for ECDIS.
Any ECDIS fitted to a Bermuda ship as a mandatory requirement or as an alternative to the carriageof paper charts is required to be type approved to the appropriate standard, Assembly Resolution
A.817(19) if installed before 1st January 2009 and MSC.232(82) if installed on or after 1st January
2009.
Bermuda ships should carry the type approval document for the ECDIS on board and available forinspection at a Safety Equipment or Passenger Safety survey.

Issue date: 26 January 2011

Chart formats.
Electronic chart data for use in ECDIS is being developed and not all of the world is covered by datain the vector format used for the full functionality of ECDIS. Other areas are covered by raster chart
data which is an electronic representation of the existing paper chart.
A type approved ECDIS will operate with both formats and display navigational data but when using
raster chart data it will not be able to operate with the full functionality of ECDIS.
The IMO Performance Standard requires that, for navigation with ECDIS in areas where there is only
raster chart data, the ship should be provided with a back up set of paper charts.
For Bermuda ships this back up set of paper charts when required for operation in areas without
vector chart data may be a reduced set sufficient to navigate in the event of an electronic chart failure.
Operators should determine, for each ship that requires these, an appropriate set of paper charts
based on the risks involved.

Back up options.
The performance standard for ECDIS requires that there should be a back up. For Bermuda ships theAdministration will accept either:
1. Two separate and independent ECDIS units and no paper charts other than any that might beneeded to provide the minimum coverage in areas where there is only raster chart data, or
2. One ECDIS unit and an up to date suite of paper charts.
ECDIS Training.
In ships where ECDIS is the primary navigational system there is a requirement for all navigational
officers to have completed both generic ECDIS training and ship specific ECDIS training.
Port State Control Officers will expect to see evidence of this training during inspections.
Generic ECDIS training may include any ECDIS course based on IMO Model course 1.27 either as adedicated ECDIS course or as part of a broader course.
Ship specific ECDIS training and familiarisation should be based on the actual equipment fitted on
board and provided before the officer is expected to use the equipment. If the generic training course
has been undertaken on the same equipment then the course certificate should make clear theequipment that was used for the training in order to be accepted as meeting this requirement.
In general the ship specific training should be conducted on the equipment that is to be used by amanufacturer, his approved agent or someone who has received a trainer’s programme for thatequipment. A manufacturer’s computer based training package can be accepted for this purpose.
The company operating the ship should ensure that the ship specific training is carried out and clearly
documented. Given the critical nature of this training and the records of it this process should beincorporated in the ships Safety Management System__________
Issue date: 26 January 2011