Owners and Charterers Should Liaise on Vessel Routing

Shipowners and charterers should liaise more closely with their shipboard teams when calculating vessel voyage distances as they could face increased operating costs associated with extra 'unplanned' days steaming or inadvertently entering expensive and time consuming Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA).

According to Captain Trevor Hall, Director of AtoBviaC, shipowners are not fully aware of what tools are available to them to make more effective time and money-saving vessel routeing decisions.

"While the route between two ports, appearing as a straight line on a chart, may look ideal, it may not necessarily be the realistic route for a ship to take when you consider issues such as traffic separation schemes, SECA areas and other navigational factors," he says.

AtoBviaC, which is the leading publisher of marine distance tables for the global shipping industry, was formed in 2003 by a group of Master Mariners and software developers whose unique combination of expertise - totalling more than 360 years marine experience between them - combined to produce these accurate and widely-used marine software applications.

Captain Hall adds: "To avoid protracted demurrage and deviation claims it would be best if ship operators and charterers could establish an acceptable routeing for the ship. This may ultimately include the input of weather routeing but an initial appreciation of the routeing options can be provided by using the flexibility of our distance tables."

Other distance tables are available but they do not necessarily reflect distances which can be achieved by a vessel in the present marine environment. Capt Hall stresses: "Operating costs are the main priority owners and charterers should consider when routeing their ships, but they should ensure they are getting it right because they have good information in the first place."