Ports need to marry onshore passage planning with the plans completed by calling ships to prevent incidents.

Is there a need for ports to meet the high standards of passage planning that are required for vessels? The question arises after a grounding incident in New Zealand which showed the pilot was following a different passage plan than the bridge crew, and that the ship’s Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) was not on settings to match those the pilot was following.

Given that a grounded ship which blocks the channel potentially stops a port from working, the assumption could be that ports ensure there is consistency in the passage planning between the ship’s officers and the pilot.