BRITANNIA LOSS PREVENTION TEAM The Club’s loss prevention department has a wealth of varied seagoing and shore-based experience including many years working in P&I loss prevention. The team is based in both London and Singapore and works closely with our underwriting and claims team and, most importantly, our Members. As a department we aim to provide prompt, credible and informative guidance to our Members to support their safe and efficient operations. This includes producing useful and practical publications, such as our award winning BSafecase studies and learning materials focusing on seafarer safety, health and security, as well as our new series of Loss Prevention Insight reports. We also run regular webinars addressing topical loss prevention issues. At any one time we have several research projects running, all aiming to reduce the number and frequency of claims by identifying existing and future risks. With the Loss Prevention team all being former seafarers, we understand how important and critical the provision of relevant information and training is to help ensure safe, efficient and claim-free vessel operations. INTRODUCTION A dETAILEd PASSAGE PLAN IS AN ESSENTIAL PART Of ENSuRING THE SAfE NAVIGATION Of A VESSEL ANd A dEfECTIVE PASSAGE PLAN OR fAILuRE TO ExECuTE A PLAN CORRECTLy HAVE OfTEN BEEN IdENTIfIEd AS CONTRIBuTING fACTORS LEAdING TO GROuNdINGS. With the recent court rulings in the CMA CGM LIBRA case (http://ow.ly/LjIb30sc5me)which stated that a defective passage plan can render the vessel unseaworthy, this may have significant consequences with regards to a vessel’s liability in the event of an incident, and highlights the importance of a robust and well implemented passage plan. Preparing a detailed passage plan can be a substantial task which requires a systematic approach to ensure that all relevant information is assessed and included as applicable. This report provides an overview of some of the important factors and information to be considered when preparing a safe passage plan. Firstly, there are three essential requirements under the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Convention that need to be complied with when preparing a passage plan as follows: •SOLAS V/19.2.1.4which requires all vessels (irrespective of size) to carry the applicable nautical charts and publications to plan and display the vessel’s route for the intended voyage and to plot and monitor positions throughout the voyage. An Electronic Chart display and Information System (ECDIS) 1 is also accepted as meeting this requirement. 4 BRITANNIA LOSS PREVENTION INSIGHT ISSUE NUMBER 4 // MARCH 2022 SAFE PASSAGE PLANNING AN OVERVIEW FOR THE MARITIME SECTOR © donvictorio | shutterstock.com 1 For further information on ECDIS please also seeIMO MSC.1/Circ.1503/Rev.1 ECDIS – Guidance for good practice. •SOLAS V/27which states that all nautical charts and publications necessary for the intended voyage shall be adequate and up to date. •SOLAS V/34which requires the master to ensure that the intended voyage has been planned using appropriate nautical charts and publications for the area concerned, taking into account the guidelines and recommendations developed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), before proceeding to sea. To ensure compliance with the above regulations the shipowner needs to implement robust passage planning procedures as part of their Safety Management System (SMS). These should cover the four phases of passage planning as define