Marine Orders - Part 21: Safety of navigation and emergency procedures, Issue 6 (Order No. 2 of 2009)
21Use of heading and/or track control systems
Start here
Get a plain-English read of 21
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Marine Orders - Part 21: Safety of navigation and emergency procedures, Issue 6 (Order No. 2 of 2009).
21 Use of heading and/or track control systems
[SOLAS V/24]
21.1 The master of a ship operating in areas of high traffic density, in conditions of restricted visibility or in any other hazardous navigational situations must ensure that where the heading and/or track control systems are in use in the ship, manual control of the ship's steering must, at all times, be able to be established immediately.
21.2 In the circumstances specified in 21.1, the officer of the watch must have available to him, at all times and without delay, the services of a qualified helmsman to take manual control of the ship’s steering.
Note: On an Australian ship, a person is considered to be a qualified helmsman if he or she is the holder of a steering certificate under Marine Orders, Part 3 (Seagoing Qualifications).
21.3 The master of a ship must ensure that a change from automatic to manual control and from manual to automatic control of a ship's steering is made by or under the supervision of the officer of the watch, or other responsible officer.
21.4 The master of a ship must ensure that the manual steering of a ship is tested after prolonged use of the heading and/or track control systems and before entering an area where navigation demands special caution.