The Mariner's Blog

UKHO Launches ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD): What Mariners Need to Know
  • Jul 9, 2026
  • Charles Hays
UKHO Launches ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD): What Mariners Need to Know

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has launched ADMIRALTY Digital Sailing Directions (ADSD), converting its Sailing Directions publications into an ...

S-57 vs S-101: How the Next Generation of ENCs Will Change Navigation
  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Charles Hays
S-57 vs S-101: How the Next Generation of ENCs Will Change Navigation

Every electronic navigational chart displayed on an ECDIS today is built to a standard called S-57. That standard was adopted in 1992 and has serve...

What Is S-100? The New Maritime Data Standard Every Navigator Needs to Know
  • Jul 7, 2026
  • Charles Hays
What Is S-100? The New Maritime Data Standard Every Navigator Needs to Know

For decades, the electronic charts displayed on ECDIS have been built on a single data standard called S-57. That standard did its job, but it was ...

Difference Between GNSS and GPS Explained
  • Jul 6, 2026
  • Charles Hays
Difference Between GNSS and GPS Explained

Most mariners use the word "GPS" for any satellite position fix on the bridge. In practice, a modern receiver is often pulling signals from satelli...

What Is Dry Docking? A Complete Guide
  • Jul 3, 2026
  • Charles Hays
What Is Dry Docking? A Complete Guide

At some point, every vessel needs work done on the parts that spend their entire life underwater. The hull, the propeller, the rudder, the sea valv...

What Is a Port of Entry? Port of Entry Meaning Explained
  • Jul 2, 2026
  • Charles Hays
What Is a Port of Entry? Port of Entry Meaning Explained

Every item of cargo arriving on a vessel and every seafarer stepping ashore must pass through a single checkpoint before legally entering a country...

How to Properly Wear a Life Jacket: Step-by-Step Guide for Mariners
  • Jul 1, 2026
  • Charles Hays
How to Properly Wear a Life Jacket: Step-by-Step Guide for Mariners

A life jacket stowed in a locker cannot save anyone. According to the U.S. Coast Guard's 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics, 87% of drowning vict...

Understanding Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)
  • Jun 24, 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Understanding Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)

When a vessel sends a distress alert at the press of a button, the first thing rescuers see is a nine-digit number. That number, the MMSI, identifi...

Strait of Malacca: Why It's the World's Most Important Shipping Lane
  • Jun 23, 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Strait of Malacca: Why It's the World's Most Important Shipping Lane

A single narrow channel in Southeast Asia carries a huge share of the goods, oil, and gas that keep the global economy moving. The Strait of Malacc...

What Is Gross Tonnage vs Net Tonnage? Explained
  • Jun 22, 2026
  • Maya Deiss
What Is Gross Tonnage vs Net Tonnage? Explained

Tonnage decides how much a ship pays in port, how many crew it needs, and what it costs to transit a canal. Yet two of the most important figures, ...

Understanding Ship Draft: Measurements, Marks, and Calculations
  • Jun 18, 2026
  • Maya Deiss
Understanding Ship Draft: Measurements, Marks, and Calculations

Before a ship sails, an officer reads a set of numbers painted on the hull at the waterline. Those numbers, the vessel's draft, determine whether i...

What Is Marine Insurance? A Guide
  • Jun 17, 2026
  • Maya Deiss
What Is Marine Insurance? A Guide

Moving goods across the ocean has always carried risk. A storm, a collision, a grounding, or a fire can destroy a vessel and its cargo in hours, an...