Navigation planning

Passage planning or voyage planning

is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the en route portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, and mooring, the industry term for this is 'berth to berth'. According to international law, a vessel's captain is legally responsible for passage planning. The duty of passage planning is usually delegated to the ship's navigation officer, typically the second officer on merchant ships.

Studies show that human error is a factor in 80 percent of navigational accidents and that in many cases the human making the error had access to information that could have prevented the accident. The practice of voyage planning has evolved from penciling lines on nautical charts to a process of risk management.

Planning stages

Passage planning consists of four stages: appraisal, planning, execution, and monitoring. These stages are specified in International Maritime Organization Resolution A.893, Guidelines For Voyage Planning, which are, in turn, reflected in the local laws of IMO signatory countries. The Guidelines specify fifty elements of passage planning, some of which are only applicable in certain situations.

The Guidelines specify three key items to consider in the practice of voyage planning:

- having and using a voyage plan is "of essential importance for safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation and protection of the marine environment
- voyage planning is necessary for all types of vessels on all types of voyages
- the plan's scope should be based on all information available, should be "berth to berth, including when under pilotage, and the plan includes the execution and the monitoring of progress.