RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization
concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and guidelines
concerning maritime safety,
RECALLING ALSO the provisions of regulation V/12 of the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974,
RECALLING FURTHER resolution A.422(XI), by which it adopted performance standards for
automatic radar plotting aids,
RECOGNIZING that the proper use of automatic radar plotting aids will assist the
interpretation of radar data and could reduce the risk of collision and pollution of the
marine environment,
RECOGNIZING ALSO the need to ensure that advances in technology are reflected in
performance standards, in order to improve the standard of collision avoidance at
sea,
BEARING IN MIND that automatic radar plotting aids with inadequate performance standards
or operated by insufficiently trained personnel might prejudice safety of
navigation,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime Safety Committee at its
sixty-fourth session,
1. ADOPTS the Recommendation on Performance Standards for Automatic Radar Plotting Aids
(ARPAs) set out in the annex to the present resolution;
2. RECOMMENDS Governments to ensure that:
-
(a) automatic radar plotting aids installed on or after 1 January 1997 conform to
performance standards not inferior to those specified in the annex to the present
resolution;
-
(b) automatic radar plotting aids installed before 1 January 1997 conform, at
least, to the performance standards set out in resolution A.422(XI); and
-
(c) adequate training is established in the proper use of automatic radar plotting
aids to enable masters and deck officers to understand the basic principles of the
operation of automatic radar plotting aids, including their capabilities,
limitations and possible errors;
3. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to keep these Performance Standards under
review and to adopt amendments thereto, as necessary.