Passage Planning

Passage planning is the STCW deck-officer competence of preparing a voyage berth to berth in four stages: appraisal, planning, execution, and monitoring. SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 34 makes the plan mandatory, drawing on charts, sailing directions, tide and current data, and the ship’s draught and manoeuvring characteristics. The second officer usually drafts the plan and the master approves it; it is then the working reference for every officer of the watch.