Navigation of ships is often given the term Navigation at Sea (NTS), which implies a ship's position when it is sailing along its chosen course. Navigation at sea refers to the act or process of computing with reference to bearings, positions and speeds and all of these are determined either nautical charts or by use of some kind of navigation system. The latter form of navigation is commonly referred to as Ship's navigation systems.

All large ships have a number of navigation desks or navigation systems that have been devised as a collective system to enable the operation of a ship during its voyage. These navigation desks or navigation systems are usually connected to the central steering engine room and have been designed and placed there for the convenience of the captain, the senior officers, the officers who have a great deal of responsibility for the running of the ship, and the crew. The most important feature of a navigation system is the navigation desk, which is responsible for providing navigation instructions to the rest of the crew.

Navigation System Installation

Most ships have a large variety of navigation system installed including those incorporating global positioning systems (GPS), radar, electronic course-planning software and others. In essence all these navigation systems work together in providing information about where the ship is and how it is approaching its destination. A ship navigation system is also considered to be a ship's brain and it uses complex algorithms to provide this information.

Ship navigation systems are programmed to generate reports whenever there is a change in the current location or course of the ship. The reports are usually sent to the bridge of the ship or directly to the operations manager. This is the reason why a navigation system must be maintained and updated at regular intervals.

Have a navigation console requirement for your shipping project? Take a look at our navigation consoles page and get in touch to find out how the Van Der Leun China team can help.