Monitoring of controls/Keeping the situations under control.

Monitoring of controls

1. The main valuable role of an officer of the watch during pilotage is to monitor the instructions and progress of the vessel and provide backup to the master/pilot.
2. To monitor progress it is necessary to plot the ship’s position frequently during pilotage the officer of the watch should know where the ship is and where it will be at determined intervals.
3. By monitoring the course steered the helms movements, and noticing the passing of boys or position of Conspicuous points of land, the officer of the watch will be able to assess if a mistake is made by the pilot. Buoys and floating beacons can be out of the place and the ship’s position should be verified immediately whenever possible. Monitoring is making sure that an activity is having the desired effect. for example when the pilot orders “port 15 degrees” the rudder indicators should be watched to make sure that the rudder turns “15 degrees to port”.
4. The difference between navigating in the deep sea and in pilotage water is the shortage of time in to correct a navigational error. The officer of the watch has an essential role to play in monitoring progress in such a way that any error is detected in time to prevent an accident.

Keeping the situations under control.

The principle of control can be explained as follows

1. A ship steers to a straight course. External force such as current or wind can cause the ship to deviate from the track.
2. The navigator discovers that the ship has deviated from the track on the chart by taking a fix. The navigator corrects the course to bring the ship back on the track.
3. The elements of control can be described as :-
   1. Steady state
   2. , deviation,
   3. feedback,
   4. correction & steady state.
4. The same principle exists within the steering system of the ship. Similarly, the master keeps control on board by setting a standard through his orders.