ENGINE ROOM → Control & Operations (Bridge interface included where it matters)
Position in the Plant
System Group: Control & Operations
Primary Role: Continuous safe operation + legally defensible record of decisions, conditions, and actions
Interfaces: Bridge watch · EOOW/UMS · IAS/AMS · PMS · ECDIS/VDR · Planned Maintenance · MARPOL recordkeeping
Operational Criticality: Absolute
Failure Consequence: Casualty escalation + inability to prove due diligence (detention, claims, prosecutions)
Watchkeeping is how the ship stays alive minute-to-minute.
Logs are how the ship defends itself years later.
The two are inseparable: a good watch leaves a trail that proves it was a good watch.
1. The Legal Reality of Logs
A deck logbook (and the engine room log) is not “admin”. It is an official contemporaneous record. In disputes, investigators and courts treat logs as evidence because they are:
- time-stamped,
- continuous,
- attributable (signed/initialled),
- and hard to rewrite convincingly without detection.
A routine entry today can become the deciding factor in a collision claim, cargo dispute, pollution allegation, or a pilotage incident.
1.1 Non-negotiable log principles
Bound, numbered pages (or controlled electronic system) must preserve integrity:
- Never remove pages. Missing pages destroy credibility instantly.
- Ink only for paper logs; no pencil, no erasable pens.
- No correction fluid, no erasures.
- Correct errors with one single line through the mistake so the original remains readable, then initial.
The standard you’re aiming for is simple: a stranger must be able to reconstruct what happened.
2. “Write it so it can be rebuilt”
A strong log enables reconstruction of the ship’s condition at any time:
- position (and method/source),
- course and speed,
- weather and visibility,
- engine state and manoeuvring mode,
- alarms and abnormal conditions,
- communications and key decisions,
- personnel status (pilot, master on bridge, ER manned/UMS, etc.).
If your entry doesn’t allow that reconstruction, it’s not a log — it’s a diary.
3. Approved Abbreviations and Standard Language
Use only abbreviations that are:
- internationally recognized, or
- company/vessel approved.
Personal shorthand is quick… until it’s examined by someone who wasn’t there.
| Abbrev. | Meaning | Abbrev. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| OOW | Officer of the Watch | EOOW | Engineer Officer of the Watch |
| M | Master | C/E | Chief Engineer |
| ME | Main Engine | DG | Diesel Generator |
| ER | Engine Room | ECR | Engine Control Room |
| UMS | Unattended Machinery Space | PMS | Power Management System |
| GPS | Global Positioning System | RADAR | Radar |
| GC | Gyro Compass | SC | Standard Compass |
| HDG | Heading | RPM | Revolutions Per Minute |
| COG | Course Over Ground | SOG | Speed Over Ground |
| FWD | Forward | AFT | Aft |
| STBD | Starboard | PORT | Port |
| POB | Pilot On Board | LOB | Left On Board |
| EOSP | End of Sea Passage | SOSP | Start of Sea Passage |
| FWE | Finished With Engines | S/B | Stand By |
| DSA / FA | Dead Slow / Full Ahead | DSAST | Dead Slow Astern |
| SHK | Shackle(s) | AW | Anchor Watch |
| BFT | Beaufort Scale | VIS | Visibility |
| VHF | Very High Frequency | CH | Channel |
| AIS | Automatic Identification System | ECDIS | Electronic Chart System |
| ALM | Alarm | ESD | Emergency Shutdown |
| MOB | Man Overboard | EEBD | Emergency Escape Breathing Device |
| OWS | Oily Water Separator | LO / FO | Lube Oil / Fuel Oil |
| FW | Fresh Water | B/W | Ballast Water |
| DWT | Deadweight | MT | Metric Tonnes |
If an abbreviation could be questioned by a surveyor, court, or flag state — write it in full.
4. Watchkeeping as a System (Not a Person)
Watchkeeping is a structure designed to keep the ship safe 24/7 while managing fatigue:
- Bridge watch: navigation, collision avoidance, lookout, situational awareness.
- Engineering watch: plant stability, alarms, machinery limits, pollution prevention, readiness.
- Radio watch: distress/urgency/safety comms (as applicable).
- Anchor watch: position holding, security rounds, weather drift, readiness to respond.
Fatigue is the silent killer of “good intentions”. Watch routines exist because tired brains shortcut.
5. Watch Handover: continuity, accountability, protection
The most litigated period onboard is the gap between “someone thought” and “someone acted”. Handover closes that gap.
A handover entry (bridge or engine) should establish:
- who had the watch, who took it,
- what condition the ship/plant is in,
- what is planned/ongoing,
- what hazards exist,
- what is not normal.
Example style (deck watch)
“00:00 Took over OOW… position… course… speed… ME status… ER manning… equipment tests… checklist completed…”
Notice what that does: it proves you didn’t “walk in blind”.
6. Underway Entries That Matter
6.1 Course alterations
Every alteration should be logged with:
- time,
- position,
- new course (preferably stated as true for clarity),
- any compass/gyro reference as required by the vessel’s practice.
The point is not the numbers — it’s the trace of decision-making.
6.2 Engine orders and speed changes
Speed changes must read like a rational narrative:
- why speed changed (traffic, weather, engineer’s request, manoeuvring),
- when it happened,
- what the resulting status was.
This prevents later arguments like “why were you slow?” or “why were you fast?”
7. Port and Anchorage: where logs get heavy
Anchoring and port work generates disputes because it involves:
- close quarters,
- third parties (pilots, tugs, terminals),
- and money (delay, demurrage, damage).
7.1 Anchoring sequence entries should capture:
- approach position and communications,
- anchor let go time and position,
- depth + bottom type (if known/available),
- cable out (shackles/meters),
- readiness status (ME notice),
- cross-bearings / GPS anchor circle reference for drag monitoring.
Cross-bearings at watch changes are not paperwork — they are your “anchor isn’t dragging” evidence.
8. Restricted Visibility and Heavy Weather: “prove compliance”
In fog/restricted visibility, the log must show you didn’t just “carry on”:
- visibility estimate and time it reduced,
- enhanced lookout / additional manning,
- radar in use and checked,
- sound signals commenced,
- master informed / master on bridge if applicable,
- engines ready for manoeuvre.
In heavy weather, the log must show prudence:
- forecasts received,
- securing actions (hatches, lashings, vents),
- course/speed decisions,
- motions and effects,
- communications to master / company as required.
These entries become the spine of cargo damage defenses.
9. Pilotage and Tugs: record authority correctly
Pilotage is a classic trap: advice is given, but the master retains command.
Log phrases should reflect that reality, e.g.:
- “Pilot on board… proceeding under Master’s command and pilot advice.”
For tugs:
- tug names,
- made fast / let go times,
- positions,
- any issues.
If there’s a towage dispute, your log will be one of the first documents requested.
10. Cargo Ops and Surveys: timeline is money
Cargo operations logs support:
- quantity disputes,
- delay claims,
- protest letters,
- damage allegations.
Draft surveys, bunker figures, freshwater, constants — these are not “nice to have”; they’re the technical basis of claim defense.
When you issue a protest or note anomalies, record that you did and why before signatures happen.
11. Engine Room Watchkeeping and Logs (the engineering mirror)
Everything above has an engine-room equivalent:
- machinery condition and modes (maneuvering/sea/UMS),
- key parameters and trends,
- alarms acknowledged and actions taken,
- fuel changeover and compliance notes,
- OWS operations and discharges (and related records),
- maintenance isolations / permits,
- standby readiness for manoeuvring,
- blackouts / near-misses / anomalies.
A clean engine-room log reads like:
“Plant stable, deviations noted early, actions taken correctly, communications recorded.”
12. Best practice that separates professionals from passengers
- Make entries at the time, not “end of watch memory”.
- Keep ship’s time consistent; note time zone changes clearly.
- Sign/initial properly — ownership matters.
- If space runs out, use approved continuation method (not margin chaos).
- Never “beautify” after the fact. A messy honest log beats a perfect suspicious one.
Final reality:
A logbook is a legal instrument. Treat it like one.