Watchkeeping and Bridge Navigational Safety | 5 ways to prevent collision

The latest MCA Safety Spotlight (July 2025) shines a harsh but necessary light on the ongoing risks linked to poor bridge watchkeeping practices. Despite advances in technology and regulation, collisions, groundings, and serious accidents are still occurring due to preventable human errors.

Numerous factors can impact the safety of bridge operations, including fatigue, distraction and misuse of equipment. In accordance with the MCA safety spotlight, vigilance, leadership, and discipline are the makings of good seamanship.

1. Fatigue Is More Common Than We Think

Fatigue is one of the most underestimated risks at sea. It creeps in quietly, reducing concentration and reaction times without the watchkeeper realising. Many recent accidents—highlighted in the MCA’s case studies—can be traced back to an overworked or poorly rested crew, sometimes due to commercial pressures or insufficient manning levels.

What can help:

Ensure accurate records of working and rest hours are maintained, in compliance with STCW and ILO conventions.
Masters should have the authority and company backing to refuse unsafe watch schedules.
Implement practical fatigue management strategies, including rotating watches to allow proper rest.
Promote open reporting of fatigue without fear of blame.

Key takeaway: A well-rested watchkeeper is sharper, safer, and far more effective than a tired one.

2. Keep Distractions to a Minimum

The MCA warns that mobile phones, personal tablets, and non-navigation tasks are increasingly cited as factors in collisions and groundings. In Case 1 of their recent investigation, a fatal collision occurred due to a watchkeeper being distracted by a personal tablet and having consumed alcohol hours before the watch.

Watchkeeper on bridge talking on walki talki

What can help:

Enforce “no personal device” policies during bridge duty.
Establish clear bridge discipline—navigation comes first, always.
Conduct regular briefings on the risks of distractions and complacency.
Make use of bridge resource management (BRM) techniques to keep focus on tasks.

Key takeaway: Navigation requires 100% attention. Staying focused on the task at hand makes all the difference.

3. Watchkeeping Technology Is a Tool, Not a Replacement

Bridge technology—radar, ECDIS, and BNWAS—has significantly improved maritime safety, but it cannot replace a lookout. The MCA has found that navigational aids are sometimes muted, set incorrectly, or relied upon without cross-checking with other methods.

What can help:

Ensure radar and ECDIS alarms (CPA, zones) are set appropriately for the vessel’s environment and traffic conditions.
Train officers not just on how to use these systems, but why settings matter.
Cross-verify electronic data with visual lookout and manual plotting.
Test BNWAS and other alarms to ensure they’re functioning correctly.

Key takeaway: Technology supports safe navigation—but only when used as part of a layered safety approach.

4. Continuous Training Is Essential

The STCW convention sets the standards for watchkeepers and their qualifications. However, to achieve a high level of competency and safety, watchkeepers should participate in ongoing training, practice and refresher courses. With complacency and outdated knowledge continuing to play a huge role in navigational errors.

Watchkeepers training on bridge simulator

What can help:

Refresher training on COLREGs, Bridge Resource Management (BRM), and radar/ARPA systems.
Simulator-based exercises to rehearse collision avoidance and emergency scenarios.
Peer-to-peer learning onboard to ensure everyone understands procedures.
Make training a regular conversation, not a box-ticking exercise.

Key takeaway: Ongoing professional development is the difference between knowing the rules andapplying them instinctively under pressure.

5. Leadership and Culture Make the Difference

As figures of authority and an example for the rest of the crew, Masters, officers, and company leaders must promote a safety-first culture where proper watchkeeping is maintained. The MCA’s case studies show that weaker leadership and commercial pressures often result in best practices being overlooked.

Watchkeeper and engineer on bridge looking out the window

What can help:

Embed watchkeeping standards into your Safety Management System (SMS).
Provide Masters with clear backing from shore management to enforce proper manning and rest periods.
Invest in leadership training to reinforce standards onboard.
Encourage open reporting of near-misses without fear of blame—this builds a culture of learning.
Demonstrate leadership by walking the talk—prioritising safety over speed or cost.

Key takeaway: A strong safety culture, supported by leadership, prevents the erosion of standards.

At The Maritime Skills Academy, we see these lessons as a positive opportunity to keep improving how we train and support watchkeepers. By blending technology, good habits, and strong teamwork, we can create safer, more efficient bridges. What may seem like a small step in developing a skillset will have a much larger impact on the industry, resulting in less incidents and casualties, globally.

If you’d like to learn more about how our training programmes—including Bridge Resource Management and COLREGs refreshers—can help your team, get in touch with us.

What is STCW Basic Safety Training? | Train at MSA

Maritime Skills Academy delegate Thomas Bishop is soon joining Windstar Cruises as a third engineer after completing his cadetship a few months ago. In order to work on board, Tom had to complete his STCW Basic Safety Training. But what does that mean?

STCW Basic Safety Training for delegate Thomas Bishop | Image of Tom in full fire protective gear, holding his thumbs up to the camera

As a legal requirement, before you work at sea, you must complete four training courses that make up the 4-Part Basic STCW certificate. This includes Fire Prevention and Firefighting (FPFF), Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR), Personal Survival Techniques (PST), and Elementary First Aid (EFA).

After having completed his week of training, we caught up with Thom to find out how it went and how he feels it has prepared him for the next step in his career.

Day 1 – Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting

As someone who doesn’t play with fire, FPFF was a really good way to feel comfortable around fire by learning to use the equipment safely and being shown the proper methods of extinction, with explanations as to why we were doing it.

In the first practical, we demonstrated how to use a fire blanket to put out a grease pan fire effectively. I think many of the delegates, who were experiencing firefighting for the first time, were amazed at how little effort it takes to put out a fire, but still the whole point of the course is not to underestimate dealing with fire, especially on board.

With the fire extinguishers it was essential to practice using the equipment, such as testing them to ensure they work. So, when we’re doing he exercises, with the doors were open, and the fire raging, the instructors demonstrate how to make the most effective use of the fire extinguisher. You get to see how the fire behaves when it’s being actively attacked, and how it can reignite, and when it’s likely to reignite.

Tom demonstrating how to safely put out a grease pan fire using a fire blanket | STCW Basic Safety Training

Tom using a fire extinguisher to put out a larger fire | STCW Basic Safety Training

Day 2 – Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting

On the fire training ground, we had a cold walkthrough, so we suited up and had a practice run with no fire, spotting early dangers, as it was still quite dark in the containers. Then, the instructors would break down the manoeuvres we would need to use, so we had the chance to practice and build some teamwork before going into the real thing: making sure you’ve got contact with the wall and the person at the front at all times, how to sweep properly, entry checks, remembering to check your pressure gauge before going in, complete the on-scene commander’s request, whether a search and rescue or fighting a fire.

Tom and fellow delegates demonstrating how to safely enter a room with a fire, holding on to each other's shoulders | STCW Basic Safety Training

Afterwards, we were given feedback from the instructors before heading back in with a real fire. This is when it gets more interesting as it is hot in there, and nobody wants to be in there for too long! You’re exerting yourself, and the hotter you are, the harder you’re breathing, and the faster you’re getting through your oxygen.

It was an excellent exercise to see it all in action when the fire was going. Unless you’ve been in a fire emergency before, this is the next best thing. The instructors are there with you, so if there are any issues, you’ve got an expert who will immediately be able to assist as needed, and you feel like you’re in safe hands.

Tom and other delegates stood on a balcony all smiling and holding thumbs up to the camera

Day 3 – Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities

Anyone who’s ever completed PSSR will know it’s not the most riveting course– yet the instructors here are quite a funny bunch and always find a way to tell you a funny or silly story – that is always relevant to keep you interested. There’s nothing worse than a ‘death by PowerPoint’. However, these instructors have successfully delivered an engaging class on PSSR.

Day 4 – Personal Survival Techniques

PST was also excellent. We were shown how to don a life jacket correctly —and had a challenge in which we had to put them on in under a minute (this is the standard time expectancy for donning a life jacket). We then tried donning the immersion suits, for which I now hold the record for the fastest time to put one on, at 1 minute and 5 seconds.

Tom in the survival pool, showing how to right a life raft that has capsized, with the life raft stood vertically on the water as tom prepares to right it | STCW Basic Safety Training

To begin the course we each had to complete a one metre jump into the water. The instructors were there to encourage us throughout and check our safety, one poolside and one in the water. We then completed a range of group exercises, swimming with an unconscious person, helping each other into the life raft, and righting a life raft.

The essence here is teamwork; if you ask anyone who has been to sea, it will always be teamwork. The more of you that survive, the greater your chances are of being found.

To put all our training into one final exercise, I was selected as party leader, and we were given the general emergency alarm, which is seven short blasts followed by one long one. After being given our abandon ship command by our Captain over the speakers, we had to perform all of the exercises we had practiced earlier in the day.

Day 5 – Elementary First Aid

I’ve received first aid training since I was about 13. Having been part of the army cadets and then working with Pegasus (a charity that provides support and services for children with a variety of severe and complex disabilities), this session was more of a refresher than a learning experience for me.

We were fortunate to have had a delegate who had previously worked as an ambulance driver on the course, so he was keen to share some of his anecdotes, helping to build an understanding of how others react in emergency medical situations.

We also used AEDs (defibrillators) and were able to remain cool, calm, and collected during the emergency scenarios. Even when practising in training scenarios, people become jittery because it’s quite realistic. It’s only a torso, but still, for some, it can put you on edge, especially in a classroom of peers.

Tom performing CPR on an Annie Manikin | STCW Basic Safety Training

Which element of the week did you enjoy the most?

My favourite part, that’s a tough question. For me, it comes down to these two: either FPFF with all the gear on and using the hoses, or during PST, as we enjoyed the fact that we were getting comfortable moving in the water with life jackets on, familiar with each other and what was being asked of us, such as locking arms and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to keep morale up in an emergency – despite it not being anyone’s birthday!

Has your training prepared you adequately for returning to sea?

Absolutely. You learn everything that is set out for you to achieve. There is also a hidden curriculum that you become aware of with the trainers, with anecdotes on what not to do to encourage that you’re following the training you have been taught.

Would you recommend the MSA to others, and if so, why?

I would definitely. Being situated here in the southeast, you’ve got the option to complete many training courses quite close to home. Otherwise, the next closest training centre is at least a three- to six-hour drive away.

The instructors are dedicated to staying up-to-date with the course content and ensuring they are effective teachers. The MSA is constantly pushing to deliver more unique courses to cater for everyone’s needs, so you’d be doing yourself and your career service by getting in touch with the team here.

We’re glad to hear that Tom enjoyed his STCW Basic Safety Training, and hope to see him back at the MSA in five years’ time for his STCW refresher training, or possibly even before that, for one of our other maritime training courses.

If you’ve recently trained at the Maritime Skills Academy, and would like to share your story, then please get in touch with our marketing team here.

4-Part STCW Basic Safety Training At MSA Dover – Careers At Sea

The Maritime Skills Academy (MSA) recently welcomed Finley Reeves to complete his 4-Part STCW Basic Safety Training. Finley, who turned 18 during his training week, is currently studying on a Football Scholarship and travelled from Tamworth to our centre in Dover to complete his training as he was exploring options for a potential career at sea.

We followed his week at our state-of-the-art centre and interviewed him after five days of training to see how he’d gotten on.

Finn stood in full fire fighting PPE with a helmet and breathing apparatus with his thumbs up to the camera as part of his 4-part STCW Basic Safety Training

What inspired you to book training courses at the MSA?

I’ve always been in love with football, but sometimes you do have to move on. This course will open up opportunities for me to travel and explore. I think it’s important to look at what else is out there, and when there are opportunities to do things like this, you have to do them.

Which element of the week did you enjoy the most?

My favourite element was the second day of Fire Prevention and Firefighting. I’d never done anything like that before, and although you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ve got people around you who will make sure that you do know what you’re doing.

We were fully fitted in PPE with a breathing apparatus set and oxygen cylinder that we carried on our backs while we worked together as a team to identify a casualty and safely carry them out of the container. That was my favourite day.

The staff and instructors’ help made the experience enjoyable because it didn’t seem like a training course. I looked forward to each day as they were each a proper experience.

Finn is using a fire extinguisher as part of his Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting course which makes up the 4-Part STCW Basic Safety Training Week

Has your experience at the MSA been different from what you expected?

I wasn’t expecting the fire procedures and classes to be as detailed as they were; I thought they [the courses] would be more theoretical than practical—experiencing real situations. All the practices in themselves were very detailed and realistic. Although you’re not at sea and in real firefighting situations, you are putting out actual fires in real-life scenarios.

Which skills have you gained from the 4-Part STCW Basic Safety Training?

I’ve learnt skills for life, such as CPR, what to do if you go overboard, and how to treat a casualty choking or with an injury that needs bandaging.

If I hadn’t completed this course, I wouldn’t have had a clue how to help someone effectively. It’s nice to know that I can try to help [someone] if something were to happen.

CPR performed on a first aid manikin - 4-Part STCW Basic Safety Training

Have the instructors helped make the training engaging and useful?

The mix of [the instructors’] personalities and how some of them used humour or their wisdom from experience to teach the course is engaging, as it’s not just reading course material off the board.

They’re demonstrating and explaining at the same time, going into exact detail about why you need to do this and why that happens. It’s good to say, “You need to do this to keep someone alive”, but the trainers explained why you need to do that to keep someone alive. As a result, you’re more engaged with it [the lessons] because you’re curious and want to learn more.

Can you share a specific moment where you felt you learned something valuable?

On day five (Elementary First Aid), learning CPR and how to use an AED (automated external defibrillator), you can use that in any scenario; it doesn’t just have to be on board.

I now feel more confident about performing CPR instead of just winging it. I would try and help, whereas I probably wouldn’t have before.

What’s been the most challenging part of your training? How did you overcome it?

It’s not to say everything this week was easy, but the workload in the practicals was a challenge. When you’re firefighting, it’s hot, and you’ve got a heavy cylinder on your back, but if I had gone in there without training, it would have been even more challenging.

During the Personal Survival Techniques training course (PST), the physical side was more challenging, but we were taught how to do the exercises in the most effective way.

What role or career path are you hoping to pursue, having completed your training?

I love football, but I’ve got a big interest in this side of the world now and working at sea. I like the idea of working as a deckhand on a superyacht, and I’ve always wanted to travel — with a job like that, it’s a requirement. Although you are working, you’re also travelling the world, so you can’t really complain!

Would you recommend the MSA to others, and if so, why?

I’d definitely recommend the Maritime Skills Academy to others. A career at sea isn’t as well-known an option as it should be. I would never have known about the training needed to work at sea before six months ago, and my friends and family hadn’t considered a career at sea either, as I was explaining to them that I would be completing this course. However, I’d recommend it, and everything has been perfect. There hasn’t been anything that I thought could’ve been better. Everything went really well.

Delegate Finn Reeves stood holding his certificate after completing his STCW Basic Safety Training Week at MSA Dover — *Finn stood proudly with his certificate after completing the STCW Basic Safety Course at MSA Dover*

Maritime Safety Instructor Stuart Warters said of Finn’s experience at the MSA, “[He] took everything in and was always engaged with the courses. Finn demonstrated everything we needed him to do and by the end of the week, he had really improved in confidence.”

If you’ve completed one of our training courses, at either our Dover or Portsmouth facility and would like to leave some feedback or write about your experience, contact our team today at Marketing@vikingmaritime.co.uk