Bridge Team Management
| Course requirement | STCW Recommended |
| Duration in days/hours | 3/30 |
| Price | on demand |
| STCW reference: | Table A-II-2 and regulation VIII/2, section A-VIII/2 and B-VIII/2 |
| Course schedule: | |
| Not scheduled |  |
Description:
The BTM is intended to help all Masters and Deck Officers refresh their skills in conducting safe and prudent navigation, and allowing them to enhance skills within the BTM concept, to ensure that risk of human error is minimized. This training course is practical and theoretical and consists of a series of exercises performed on a ship handling simulator with one or more own ship and a number of others controlled by the instructor. Attention will be given to such items as passage planning, bridge organization and procedures, use of radar/ARPA/ECDIS and the management of the human resources which make up the Bridge Team. The work of planning, executing and reviewing simulated transits is designed to heighten the awareness that will reduce the potential for human error.
The training comprises discussion and practicing the skills and knowledge which a ship's Bridge Team must possess to ensure a safe and efficient transit into or out of a port, through a traffic choke point, navigating in congested waters. The course as designated takes into account the International Conference on Standard of Training, Certification and Watch keeping, STCW 95 as amended (STCW '95 – A-II/1, A-II/2, A-VIII/2, B-I/12 and B-VIII/2).
In particular, trainees will gain:
- familiarization with use of engine and help for ship maneuvering (of the ships model),
- an understanding of the effects on the behavior of the ship of wind, current, shallow water, banks and narrow channels,
- an awareness of the importance of planning a passage or maneuver and need for an alternative plan,
- an understanding and awareness of effective bridge procedures and bridge teamwork during Watchkeeping and ship handling, in normal and in emergency situations,
- an understanding and awareness of a good interactive communication style,
- an understanding of each person’s authority level within the bridge team,
- an understanding of the correct VHF communications procedures when in restricted waters, and feedback to Master,
- benefit of building up a common shared mental model of the planned passage, to understand & respect the fact, that others sailing on smaller vessels do not necessarily understand the difficulties in maneuvering a fully laden VLCC in congested and narrow waters.