VOLUME III

CHAPTER 5
NAVAIDS

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 NAVIGATIONAL AIDS
Radar(s)
Speed Log
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Echo sounders
Voyage Data Recorder
Magnetic Compass
Gyro Compass
Automatic Identification System-AIS
Electronic chart display (ECDIS)

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 RADAR PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

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 MARINE RADARS
*Marine Radars are x-band(9GHz) or s-band(3GHz) radar to
provide bearing and distance of ships and land targets in
vicinity from own ship (radar scanner) for collision avoidance
and navigation at sea
*In port or in harbour, Vessel traffic service radar systems are
used to monitor and regulate ship movements in busy waters.
*Marine radar has performance adjustment controls for
brightness and contrast, gain, tuning, sea clutter and rain
clutter suppression, and other interference reduction..
*Radar also help in locating ships in distress in conjunction
with some transponder.

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 TYPICAL RADAR DISPLAY

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 NAVIGATION RADARS

Navigation
Marine radar systems can provide very useful
radar navigation information for navigators
onboard ships. Ship position could be fixed by
the bearing and distance information of land
target on radar screen.

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 RADAR FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Collision avoidance
As required by COLREGS, all ships shall maintain a
proper radar lookout if it is available onboard to
obtain early warning of risk of collision.
Radar plotting or ARPA should be used to get the
information of movement and the risk of collision
(bearing, distance) of other ships in vicinity.

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VHF/UHF ANTENNA,X-BAND
NAVIGATION RADAR & S- BAND
NAVIGATION RADAR

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 PRINCIPLE OF ECHO SOUNDING
Echo sounding is the technique of using sound pulses directed
from the ship, vertically down to measure the distance to the
bottom by means of sound waves.
Distance is measured by multiplying half the time from the
signal's outgoing pulse to its return by the speed of sound in
the water, which is approximately 1.5 kilometres per second.
Echo sounding is effectively a special purpose application of
sonar used to locate the bottom
Echo sounder Trans-Receiver is an underwater fitting on the
Hull and the recorder is located on the Bridge.

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CALCULATION OF ECHO SOUND

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 Echo Sounding

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 ECHO SOUNDING

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ECHO SOUNDER

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REPLACING THE ECHOSOUNDERS

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ECHO SOUND RECORDER

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 SPEED LOG
All nautical instruments designed to measure the speed of a ship through
water are known as logs.
This nomenclature dates back to days of sail when sailors tossed a log
attached to rope knotted at regular intervals off the stern of a ship. The
sailors would count the number of knots that passed through their hands in
a given period of time. Today sailors still use the unit of knots to express a
ship's speed.
The speed of the ship was needed to navigate the ship using dead reckoning,
which was standard practice in the days before modern navigation
instruments like GPS.
During World War II, pitometer logs were often interfaced directly into
warship fire control systems. This interface was necessary to allow gunnery
and torpedo fire control systems to automatically track targets.

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 TYPES OF LOGS

Logs used in yester-years

a. Chernikeefe logs
b. Pitometer logs.
Logs used in ships nowadays
a. EM logs
b. Doppler logs

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 ELECTROMAGNETIC (EM) LOG
An Electromagnetic Log, sometimes called an "EM Log", measures the
speed of a vessel through water.
It operates on the principle that:
When a conductor (such as water) passes through an electromagnetic
field, a voltage is created and the amount of voltage created increases as
the speed of the conductor increases.
The process is that the EM Log creates an electromagnetic field. a voltage
is induced in the water; the magnitude of the voltage varies depending
upon the speed of the water flow past the sensor.
the EM Log measures the voltage created and translates this into the
vessel's speed through water.
The EM transducer will be fitted as a underwater fitting on the hull and
the indicator located on the bridge.

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EM LOG BLOCK DIAGRAM

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EM log

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EM LOG OPERATION
The EM log arrangement and as you can see the flow sensor is
projected out into the sea water through the hull. The sea water acts
as the conductor and generates an emf and hence a current flows in
the coil which is transmitted to the bridge panel via a master unit
which amplifies the signal.
The signal is converted from digital to analog format for display
purposes on the speed indicator unit.
There is another generator which receives this signal and produces
pulses whose frequency increases in proportion to the magnitude of
the signal thereby giving a measurement of the distance travelled by
the ship.
The induced voltage in the coil is proportional to the relative speed
between the magnetic field and the coil and the direction of motion.

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PITOMETER LOG

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PITOMETER LOG - OPERATION

**Figure shows a schematic drawing of a pitometer log. It consists of a double-wall
tube that sticks out forward of the ships hull into water that is not disturbed by the
ships motion. In the tip of the tube is an opening (A).
**When the ship is moving, two forces or pressures are acting on this opening:
(1) the hydrostatic pressure caused by the depth of the water above the opening and
(2) a pressure caused by the push of the ship through the water. The total pressure
from these two forces transmits through the central tube (shown in white on the
figure) to the left-hand arm of a manometer.
**In the side of the tube is a second opening (B) that does not face the direction in
which the ship is moving. Opening B passes through the outer wall of the double-wall
tube, but not through the inner wall. The only pressure affecting opening B is the
hydrostatic pressure. This pressure transmits through the outer tube (shaded in the
drawing) to the right-hand arm of the manometer.
**When the ship is dead in the water, the pressure through both openings A and B is
the same, and the mercury in each arm of the manometer stands at the same level.
However, as soon as the ship begins to move, additional pressure develops at
opening A, and the mercury pushes down in the left-hand arm and up into the right-
hand arm of the tube. The faster the ship goes, the greater this additional pressure
becomes, and the greater the difference will be between the levels of the mercury in
the two arms of the manometer. You can read the speed of the ship directly from the
calibrated scale on the manometer.
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 GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
There are 24 satellites around US and at a time GPS
can be hooked on to 4-8 satellites.
GPS help in the following
a. Locating the position of the ship
b. Time
c. Speed
d. Course of the ship
Accuracy of location can be within 5 meters.
GPS is an important SOLAS requirement
GPS feeds input to many other important Navigating
Devices to aid in their performances.

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GPS SATELLITES

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GPS
The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting
the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving,
making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are
travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour.
GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup
batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse,
when there's no solar power. Small rocket boosters on each satellite
keep them flying in the correct path.
Here are some other interesting facts about the GPS satellites (also
called NAVSTAR, the official U.S. Department of Defense name for
GPS):

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GPS

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GPS

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 VOYAGE DATA RECORDER
Voyage Data Recorder, or VDR, is a data recording system designed for all
vessels required to comply with the IMO's International Convention SOLAS
Requirements in order to collect data from various sensors on board the
vessel. It then digitizes, compresses and stores this information in an
externally mounted protective storage unit.
The protective storage unit is a tamper-proof unit designed to withstand
the extreme shock, impact, pressure and heat, which could be associated
with a marine incident (fire, explosion, collision, sinking, etc).
Although the primary purpose of the VDR is for accident investigation
after the fact, there can be other uses of recorded data for preventive
maintenance, performance efficiency monitoring, heavy weather damage
analysis, accident avoidance and training purpose to improve safety and
reduce running cost.

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 INFORMATION RECORDED IN VDR
The information recorded in the unit(s), sometimes also called Black box for ship,
may include the following information:-
Position, Date, Time using GPS.
Speed log - Speed through water or speed over ground.
Gyro compass- Heading.
Radar* - As displayed or AIS data if no off-the-shelf converter available for the
Radar video.
Audio from the bridge, including bridge wings.
VHF radio communications.
Echo sounder* - Depth under keel.
Main alarms* - All IMO mandatory alarms.
Hull openings* - Status of hull doors as indicated on the bridge.
Watertight & fire doors* status as indicated on the bridge.
Hull stress* - Accelerations and hull stresses.
Rudder* - Order and feedback response.
Engine/Propeller* - Order and feedback response.
Thrusters* - Status, direction, amount of thrust % or RPM.
Anemometer and weather vane* - Wind speed and direction
Data marked with * may not be recorded in S-VDR(VDR in smaller vessels), except
Radar and Echo Sounder if data & standard interfaces available.
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 MAGNETIC COMPASS

A magnetic compass is a navigational instrument for determining

direction relative to the Earth's magnetic poles. It consists of a magnetized
pointer/bar (usually marked on the North end) free to align itself with
Earth's magnetic field

The compass functions as an indicator to "magnetic north" because the

magnetic bar at the heart of the compass aligns itself to one of the lines of
the Earth's magnetic field.

Depending on where the compass is situated on the surface of the Earth,

the variance between geographic north or "true north" will increase. It
should be noted that the geographic North Pole and the magnetic north
pole are not coincident on the surface of the Earth.

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MAGNETIC COMPASS

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MAGNETIC COMPASS

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MAGNETIC COMPASS

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 LIMITATIONS OF MAGNETIC COMPASS

The compass is very stable in areas close to the equator, which is far from
"magnetic north". As the compass is moved closer and closer to one of the
magnetic poles of the Earth, the compass becomes more sensitive to
crossing its magnetic field lines. At some point close to the magnetic pole
the compass will not indicate any particular direction but will begin to
drift. Also, the needle starts to point up or down when getting closer to
the poles, due to the so-called magnetic inclination. Cheap compasses
with bad bearings may get stuck due to this and therefore indicate a
wrong direction..
Another error of the compass is turning error. When one turns from a
heading of east or west the compass will lag behind the turn or lead ahead
of the turn.

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 GYRO COMPASS
A gyrocompass is similar to a gyroscope. It is a
compass that finds true north by using an
(electrically powered) fast-spinning wheel and
friction forces in order to exploit the rotation of the
Earth. Gyrocompasses are widely used on ships. They
have two main advantages over magnetic
compasses:
They find true north, i.e., the direction of Earth's
rotational axis, as opposed to magnetic north,
They are far less susceptible to external magnetic
fields, e.g. those created by ferrous metal in a ship's
hull.

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 GYRO COMPASS ERRORS
The gyrocompass can be subject to certain
errors. These include streaming error, where
rapid changes in course, speed and latitude
cause deviation before the gyro can adjust
itself.
On most modern ships the GPS or other
navigational aids feed into the gyrocompass
allowing a small computer to apply a
correction.

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 AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated tracking
system used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying
and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby
ships and VTS stations.
AIS information supplements marine radar, which continues to be the
primary method of collision avoidance for water transport.
Information provided by AIS equipment, such as unique identification,
position, course, and speed, can be displayed on a screen or an Electronic
Chart Display Information system (ECDIS).
AIS integrates a standardized VHF transceiver with a positioning system
such as a LORAN-C or GPS receiver, with other electronic navigation
sensors, such as a gyrocompass .
SOLAS requires AIS to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with
gross tonnage (GT) of 300 or more tons, and all passenger ships regardless
of size.

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 A TYPICAL AIS DISPLAY

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 ECDIS
An Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) is a
computer-based navigation information system that complies with
International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and can be used as
an alternative to paper nautical charts.
An ECDIS system displays the information from electronic navigational
charts (ENC) and integrates position information from the Global
Positioning System (GPS) and other navigational sensors, such as radar
and automatic identification systems(AIS).
It may also display additional navigation-related information, such as
Sailing Directions and fathometer
ECDIS provides continuous position and navigational safety information.
The system generates audible and/or visual alarms when the vessel is in
proximity to navigational hazards.

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ECDIS

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