Why the Bridge Procedures Guide Exists
The ICS Bridge Procedures Guide (BPG) is not a statutory instrument — it carries no direct legal force. Its authority derives from a different source: it codifies best practice distilled from incident investigation, class requirements, company SMS obligations, and STCW competence standards. The MCA recognises it as the definitive industry reference for bridge team management and watchkeeping procedures. For the Master of a yacht, the practical significance is this: if your bridge practices depart from BPG guidance and a casualty follows, that departure will be examined during any investigation. Your SMS should align with it, and your watchkeeping orders must reflect its principles.
MSN 1858 underpins the competency framework for this certificate. At command level the examiner is not checking whether you have read the BPG — they are checking whether you apply it as the basis for the standards you set and enforce on board.
What the BPG Covers — Key Areas for Command
Bridge organisation and handover. The BPG sets out what a proper watch handover must include: traffic situation, navigational hazards, course and speed, equipment status, outstanding orders, weather, and Master's standing orders. As Master you must have written standing orders that reflect these requirements, signed by each watchkeeper.
Passage planning. The four stages — appraisal, planning, execution, monitoring — are the BPG framework that underpins SOLAS V/34. Your passage plan must be documented, bridge team briefed, and deviations recorded.
Bridge team management (BTM). The BPG addresses workload management, briefing, challenge-and-response culture, and the avoidance of normalisation of deviation. On a yacht with a small crew, the Master frequently stands watches; BTM principles still apply even when the 'team' is two persons.
Use of equipment. ECDIS, radar, AIS, and autopilot use all have BPG guidance. The Master must ensure watchkeepers understand the limitations of each system, not merely its operation. Blind reliance on ECDIS without cross-checking is a recurring casualty cause.
Master's standing orders and night orders. The BPG specifies their minimum content. They must be yacht-specific, not generic, and reviewed when the operational area or crew changes.
Restricted visibility and confined waters. The BPG provides specific procedural checklists. As Master, you decide when conditions require calling additional watch support — that decision must be articulated and, where relevant, recorded.
Command Application
At oral examination you are expected to demonstrate that you would use the BPG as the benchmark when writing or auditing your SMS bridge procedures, when briefing watchkeepers, and when investigating any near-miss. Referencing the BPG in your answers to procedural questions signals command-level awareness, not just operational compliance.