A method for configuring a marine seismic acquisition system, the method comprising: computing coverage boundaries for a current acquisition line in a seismic survey and for an already acquired adjacent acquisition line in the seismic survey; computing cross-line distances between the coverage boundary for the current acquisition line and the coverage boundary for the adjacent acquisition line based on a set of specifications for the seismic survey; determining a steering point associated with towed seismic equipment based on the computed cross-line distances; and generating at least one steering command for a steering element in the marine seismic acquisition system based on the determined steering point, the method being characterized in that the coverage boundaries are computed using both geographic and geophysical information, the geophysical information including at least one of offset and azimuth, and in that the method further comprises the steps of computing a coverage at each common midpoint , CMP, of each offset class for the seismic survey; determining a cross-line distance for each CMP offset class needed to meet coverage criteria for the seismic survey; using the determined cross-line distances, select a CMP at a fold limit associated with the seismic survey from each offset class, the fold limit corresponding to the minimal distance for each offset class in the survey specifications, and selecting, as the steering point, the CMP associated with one of the offset classes which has the largest cross-line distance. computing coverage boundaries for a current acquisition line in a seismic survey and for an already acquired adjacent acquisition line in the seismic survey; computing cross-line distances between the coverage boundary for the current acquisition line and the coverage boundary for the adjacent acquisition line based on a set of specifications for the seismic survey; determining a steering point associated with towed seismic equipment based on the computed cross-line distances; and generating at least one steering command for a steering element in the marine seismic acquisition system based on the determined steering point, the method being characterized in that the coverage boundaries are computed using both geographic and geophysical information, the geophysical information including at least one of offset and azimuth, and in that the method further comprises the steps of computing a coverage at each common midpoint , CMP, of each offset class for the seismic survey; determining a cross-line distance for each CMP offset class needed to meet coverage criteria for the seismic survey; using the determined cross-line distances, select a CMP at a fold limit associated with the seismic survey from each offset class, the fold limit corresponding to the minimal distance for each offset class in the survey specifications, and selecting, as the steering point, the CMP associated with one of the offset classes which has the largest cross-line distance. computing a coverage at each common midpoint , CMP, of each offset class for the seismic survey; determining a cross-line distance for each CMP offset class needed to meet coverage criteria for the seismic survey; using the determined cross-line distances, select a CMP at a fold limit associated with the seismic survey from each offset class, the fold limit corresponding to the minimal distance for each offset class in the survey specifications, and selecting, as the steering point, the CMP associated with one of the offset classes which has the largest cross-line distance. <EOS>