SOLAS Chapter V: Safety of Navigation Explained for Seafarers

Navigational Equipment — Regulation 19

SOLAS V/19 establishes carriage requirements for shipborne navigational systems and equipment. Applicability varies according to factors including ship type, gross tonnage, construction date and voyage.

Depending on the vessel, required equipment may include systems such as AIS, ECDIS, radar, heading information, position-fixing equipment, echo sounding equipment and BNWAS.

For example, AIS carriage requirements cover ships of 300 GT and above on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 GT and above not engaged on international voyages, and passenger ships irrespective of size. 

The important professional distinction is:

Carried ≠ correctly used.

An approved piece of equipment only contributes to safety when officers understand its settings, limitations, alarms, sensor inputs and failure modes.

Charts and Publications — Regulation 27

SOLAS V/27 requires nautical charts and publications necessary for the intended voyage to be adequate and up to date. 

Where ECDIS is used to satisfy chart-carriage requirements, officers must therefore verify more than whether an ENC appears on the display. Chart coverage, correction status, permits, appropriate scale and backup arrangements must all be controlled.

An outdated electronic chart remains outdated regardless of how sophisticated the ECDIS is.

VTS, Routeing and Reporting

Chapter V also connects the vessel with shore-based navigation infrastructure.

Regulation 12 addresses Vessel Traffic Services. VTS can contribute to navigational safety, traffic efficiency and protection of the marine environment, particularly in areas where traffic density or navigational risk warrants such services. 

Ships may also encounter IMO-adopted Traffic Separation Schemes, mandatory reporting systems and other routeing measures.

Participation in such systems does not transfer navigational responsibility ashore. Information received from VTS must still be evaluated by the Master and bridge team.

Navigational Records and Accident Evidence

SOLAS Chapter V also has an important role after an incident.

Voyage Data Recorders preserve information that may assist investigators in reconstructing events. SOLAS V/20 contains VDR carriage requirements for applicable vessels. 

Bridge logs, ECDIS tracks, radar information, AIS data, communications and passage plans may collectively establish what the bridge team knew—and what actions were taken—before an accident.

Accurate recordkeeping is therefore both an operational and professional responsibility.

A Current Example: Lost Containers

Chapter V continues to evolve.

From 1 January 2026, amendments to SOLAS V/31 and V/32 introduced mandatory reporting requirements when freight containers are lost overboard. Masters must communicate specified information to ships in the vicinity and relevant authorities because lost containers may create a serious navigational hazard. 

This illustrates an important principle: navigators must work from the current applicable SOLAS requirements, not solely from what they learned during initial certification.

Professional Takeaway

SOLAS Chapter V connects three layers of navigational safety:

Shore services → Shipboard systems → Human decisions

Compliance means more than having certified equipment. It requires an approved and monitored passage plan, current navigational information, competent watchkeeping, operational equipment, appropriate reporting and continuous professional judgement.

For the bridge team, the essential question is not simply:

“Is the ship SOLAS compliant?”

It is:

“Are the requirements of SOLAS Chapter V actually functioning as effective navigational safety controls?

References

International Maritime Organization. (1974). International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended. International Maritime Organization. 

International Maritime Organization. (1999). Guidelines for voyage planning (Resolution A.893(21)). International Maritime Organization. 

International Maritime Organization. (2021). Guidelines for vessel traffic services (Resolution A.1158(32)). International Maritime Organization.