Advanced Scenario Check: Release the Route

At 2015 a fictional yacht is preparing to cross a charted traffic separation scheme and pass a firing-practice area before entering a harbour. The relevant chart is current only after its outstanding notices are resolved; a current warning may alter firing activity; Sailing Directions and the harbour's local notice describe the entrance; and the digital route shares one chart service and GNSS path across two displays.

The nominal harbour entrance ETA is 2145. A credible twenty-five-minute delay for traffic and tide produces 2210. The local direction in this fictional scenario closes the entrance at 2200. The optimistic ETA passes the gate, but the monitored case does not. The route therefore cannot be released on the nominal time alone.

Do not solve this by choosing the newest-looking source. The chart establishes routeing, dangers, notes and cautions; current NMs and T&P information update maintained products; navigational warnings may carry urgent activity; Sailing Directions and local notices add operational detail; tides and weather change timing and margin. Each has a different function, coverage and update path.

At 2015, preserve the hold or diversion while it remains straightforward. Assign one person to vessel and traffic control and another to resolve the information gaps and recalculate the gate. Reopen the route only if the chart/publication set is current, the warning and local-direction conditions are satisfied and a realistic monitored ETA retains the chosen margin.

This written scenario is not a live TSS, firing-range or harbour instruction. Real decisions require the applicable COLREGs, charted routeing, warnings, harbour directions, vessel, traffic, tide, weather, visibility, crew and skipper judgement.