Lilley & Gillie Provides a Smooth Transition to ECDIS

With the threat of ECDIS becoming a mandatory fit on SOLAS vessels and probably the next major purchase for shipowners retrofitting equipment on the bridge, Lilley & Gillie, the River Tyne based manufacturer of navigational instruments and nautical equipment, has come up with a low cost solution for Shipowners to solve the problem of training officers to use this complex equipment.
Lilley & Gillie have teamed up with PC Maritime by acquiring a 50% shareholding of this established marine software company. The company has in house products, design teams and expertise to ensure the transition from paper charts to digital occurs with the minimum possible effort for its customers.
Lilley & Gillie’s recommendation to shipowners for existing vessels is to fit an ECS that has been developed to the IMO ECDIS specification, which can then be upgraded to an ECDIS when conditions are right for shipowners and their vessels. Until ECDIS becomes a mandatory fit, the crew can use the ECS as an aid to navigation, continuing with the paper chart system to meet SOLAS requirements, whilst they become fully familiar with its usage. This will save man-hours and related costs in terms of training for personnel, and shipowners will also enjoy the benefits of the ECS to enhance safety with continuous vessel position display, efficient passage planning and documentation. Other features include the usage of official chart data with weekly updates, ENCs where available and ARCS to cover the gaps.