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What is Abort Point and How You

Can Use it For Safe Navigation
Written by Capt Rajeev Jassal on July 31, 2016

Let us face it. There is a huge difference between a passage plan

and a good passage plan. The good passage plan is a work of art.
You know it when you see a good passage plan.
How can we define a good passage plan then ?

A good passage plan is the one that has all the information on the
chart and yet the chart is not cluttered. It is the passage plan
which has all the information marked at locations where it is
supposed to be. And it is the passage plan that gives the
confidence to the watch keepers about the preparedness of the
bridge team.

But sometimes we either have too less information on the chart

or so much that it hides the important information. Now how to
place all the information on the chart and yet not clutter the chart
?

It all starts with the knowledge of why something is required and

what use it can be of.

And when it comes to safely executing a passage plan, there are

certain rules of thumb. One such rule of thumb is knowing when
we can abort a passage plan.  Marking of  “Abort point” help in
doing so. In this post we will discuss everything about abort point
and also if “point of no return” is any different than that.

Let us begin.

Abort point

Abort point is not limited to maritime field only. Even the air
pilots have to consider abort point for take off and landing. For
example, for them the abort point is the point after which the
runway is too short to stop the airplane. After the abort point
they have to pull the throttle and fly even if they sense a
problem. They can anyway come back and land again if they feel
so, but they cannot stop the plane after abort point.

Air pilots calculate the abort point based upon the speed of the
airplane, stopping distance at that speed and the available
runway length.

Or if you are Mission Impossible fan like me, you would have
heard this,

“Anything goes wrong, I call ABORT. Everyone walks away”

For Ethan hunt, abort point is the maximum time at which if he
doesn’t call the mission off, it can get his team members killed.

On the ship it is no different than that. For a ship the abort point
is the point after which there is insufficient sea room to turn
back. While entering a port if we try to swing back after we have
passed the abort point, we may end up grounding the vessel. Or
we may end up hitting a danger mark.

So In simple word, abort point is the point after which there is no

sea room to turn the vessel and return back.
Where to mark abort point ?
We need to mark abort point only when approaching a port, canal
or such restricted areas. We do not need to mark abort points in
open sea just because of one patch where vessel cannot turn.
This is because even when there is no room to swing the vessel,
we can still continue with our passage to turn after passing that
patch.

For example while passing Singapore straight, we do not need to

mark abort point anywhere. If we need to turn back, we have all
the time to assess the situation while we continue towards
the general traffic flow in the TSS.

Exclusive Bonus: Download this Cheat sheet on how to mark

abort point

How to mark abort point ?

To safely swing the vessel and return back, there are two things
we need to know. If I put the rudder hard over, how much
distance the vessel will cover in forward direction and second how
much distance it will cover on the side of the turn. This area
should be clear for the vessel to turn around safely.

So we need to know the maximum “Head reach” and maximum

“side reach” of the vessel in a full turn.
Though not exactly but the forward distance covered is close to
the “advance” of the vessel and sideways distance is close to
“tactical diameter“.

You can find the highest value of advance and tactical diameter
from the manoeuvring booklet. For example below is what I
found from a 45000 DWT ship’s manoeuvring booklet.
You can also get this data from wheel house poster on the
wheelhouse. Find the maximum tactical diameter and advance of
the vessel. As the abort point will most likely be marked in lesser
depths, use the data for shallow water.
Below is the turning circles data from same vessel of 45000 DWT
and you can see the max tactical diameter is 0.45 NM in shallow
waters.
Take the value of tactical diameter or advance whichever is
greater. Here we have maximum value as 0.45 NM. Just double
this value to allow for external factors like current and wind which
can affect the head reach and side reach.
Take the additional distance that the ship would cover in 5
minutes. These 5 minutes are to allow for analysing the traffic
around before we start to turn the ship.
So say we have planned a speed of 6 knots while approaching a
port. In 5 minutes, ship would cover around 0.5 NM. So it all adds
up to be 1.4 NM distance for marking the abort point.

Now mark the abort point at such a position close to the entrance
of the port that has 1.4 NM clear distance in the forward as well
as on the sides.

Like below is the abort point marked for arrival in one of the
chinese port.

Abort point is just a reference point

So are we saying that after passing abort point vessel cannot turn
? of course we can. There are number of ways. We can use
succession of ahead and astern movement to turn the vessel
without any significant side reach. Or we can use the bow
thruster if we have and if our speed is below 5 knots. Using
astern movement and bow thruster can even turn the vessel
virtually at its position.

Another question. Are we sure that just before abort point we can
turn the vessel ? There could be lots of ships on both sides of our
vessel and we may not be able to achieve the turn.

The idea of the abort point is to have an indication as to when

vessel can or cannot turn back just by putting the rudder hard
over.

It is to be used as an information and not as a blind fact that

vessel can surely turn or cannot turn.

This is where experience of the navigator comes into play. Abort

point is an important information that along with other
informations helps the navigator take wise decisions.

Mistakes while marking Abort point

Now there are few mistakes that we make while marking abort
point. These mistakes must be avoided to have a good passage
plan.

Mistake 1: The abort point is marked too close where

there may not be sea room to swing.
In this situation, ship cannot turn even before the abort point.
Master may have wrong impression that he can swing the vessel
as vessel has not crossed abort point. If he believes in the
passage plan and try to swing, he may end up grounding the
vessel.

Mistake 2: The abort point is marked too far

Another mistake we can make is marking the abort point too far.
Even after crossing the abort point, ship would still have room to
swing and return back. This information is of no use to the person
in con as it is an inaccurate information.

Mistake 3: Marking abort line instead of abort point

Do you wonder why this is called “abort point” and not “abort
line”.

Because it is a point on the planned passage and not a line. But

sometimes we draw a line indicating position of abort point.

Can you see some problem in this ?

If the vessel’s position is off track, Can we safely turn the vessel
if we have not crossed this line ? I am sure your answer is no.

If we draw a line marking the abort point position, it can give the
wrong impression when the vessel is off track. It will look like we
are still behind the abort point and we can turn the vessel, while
it will not be the case. Not atleast on turn to one side of the
vessel.

So we need to mark abort point the way a point should be

marked. We can show this position by a very small dotted line or
by pointing to that position by an arrow.
How can abort point help in safer navigation
Have a look at below abort point marking. The abort point is
marked at the correct position. And nothing seems to be a
problem in this, except one.
The problem is that the abort point is before the pilot boarding
position. Now why this would require special attention ?

To pick up the pilot, we need to cross the abort point. What if

after we cross abort point, port control inform us that the pilot is
cancelled for today. We cannot turn around as we have already
crossed abort point.

If we ever need to cross the abort point to pick up pilot, we

should be ready for situation as mentioned above and should
have steps ready to counter that.

These steps could include

 Waiting at or before your abort point position and asking the pilot to come
to your position. or

 Proceed at a very low speed so that you can use astern movement to stop the
ship and turn around

 Have the bow thruster ready if that is fitted on board.

The whole idea is that you should assess the situation taking into account the fact
that you may need to turn around after crossing the abort point.

Point of no return

There is a whole lot of mystery around the term “point of no return”.

Some say there is no difference between “Point of no return” and “abort point”.
Others consider there is a difference but they fail to give a logical difference
between these two terms.

Let us see if “point of no return” is any different from the “abort point”.

First let me acknowledge that Yes, these are two different terms and there is a
slight difference between these two.

Here is the difference between “abort point” and “point of no return”

After you cross abort point, you still can turn around. There are number of
resources to help you with that. For example you can use astern movement, bow
thruster or even tugs if you have those made fast. But after you cross “point of no
return” you cannot return back even if you use all these resources.
One good example for this is moving in a falling tide. You may have crossed a
point after which if you wish to return, you cannot. Because the tide level has gone
down and now there is insufficient waters behind you to proceed back.

While coming from south of brazil and entering Amazon river, you will find one
such bar of around 6 meters charted depth.

Now consider this example. Your ship is going to Manaus, a port in Amazon river.
Let us say that your ship requires 10 meter depth to comply with UKC policy of
your company after giving consideration to squat and other factors. Now in this
area you got 4 metres of tide at 1000 Hrs today and then you have same tide height
after 2 days.

You cross this point at 1000 Hrs. At 1400 Hrs you are advised that you no more
need to call Manaus. Can you abort your passage to Manaus ? Yes, you can. There
is no issue with the vessel turning back as after we have crossed this bar, there is
sufficient sea room to turn around. After turning back you can find an appropriate
location to anchor. In any case you have aborted the passage.

Now can you return back ? No, you cannot. There is no depth of water to return
back. You have to wait for the tide level.

So “point of no return” is the better abbreviation for this situation.

Conclusion

There are number of elements in a passage plan. All these elements need to be
marked on the charts for the passage plan to be called complete. But if these are
marked at the wrong places, they can confuse the navigators leave alone helping
them.
Marking these elements at the right places require thorough knowledge of all these
elements. Abort point is one such important element of the passage plan. We need
to mark it at a place that can help the navigators. Marking these at incorrect
positions can be more dangerous than not marking at all.

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About Capt Rajeev Jassal

Capt. Rajeev Jassal has sailed for over 19 years mainly on crude oil,
product and chemical tankers. He holds MBA in shipping & Logistics
degree from London. He has done extensive research on quantitatively
measuring Safety culture onboard and safety climate ashore which he
believes is the most important element for safer shipping.

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28 Comments

Sanjay Waghmode 
Aug 1, 2016
Dear Sir First of all many thanks for such beautiful article. I learn lot from
them. I would definitely love to sail with you in near future.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 2, 2016
Yes sure Sanjay. Hope to have you on one of the ship.
Reply

Sagar Kumar 
Aug 3, 2016
Simply explained Nice article sir. In future please add more item required
for good passage planning.
Reply
Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 3, 2016
Glad you liked it Sagar. I will be writing on parallel indexing techniques
very soon.
Reply

Krishnan selambharasan 
Aug 3, 2016
Sir really a good article please give more article on clearing bearings and
other marking on passage plan
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 3, 2016
Glad you liked it Krishnan.. Yes I will write on all these topics..
Reply
Nitin Bharadwaj 
Aug 3, 2016
Thank you so much for spending your time on writing this article sir! It's
really helpful specially for Junior officers. Looking forward to many more
articles. If you could please do write an article regarding anchoring
procedures, swinging circle and how to calculate how many shackles to let
go with regards to the charted depth. Thank you very much in advance
sir! Please share your email address so that juniors like me could seek
advice from you.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 4, 2016
I had written an article on Anchoring procedures which you may find
useful. http://www.myseatime.com/blog/detail/the-ultimate-actionable-
guide-of-anchoring-a-ship .
Reply

Rahul Dutt 
Aug 4, 2016
Very nice and simple article Sir and moreover you are concentrating on
areas of confusion . Sir can you give me more example of point of no
return like if there is no problem of falling tide. And in Abort point - For ex
we are entering Japanese inland water and just at a single point there is
insufficient searoom to turn around after that poinr there is so what will
be the case then Kindly reply
Reply
Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 4, 2016
If it is only one point and after that you have sufficient room taking into
account the traffic density, no need to mark abort point.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 5, 2016
There are not many example of point of no return and probably that is the
reason we hear more of abort point than point of no return.
Reply

bharath Kumar 
Aug 4, 2016
Very informative in a easy manner. Described well than anyone explained
to me before. Thanks for this article sir
Reply
Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 4, 2016
Glad you found it useful Bharath..
Reply

Sailor 
Aug 16, 2016
Hi! Very well written article. Saddened to see that the present generation
at sea has to know so much of this theoretical stuff. Most of this is not
even relevant to be used on ship. It is purely for academic purpose. How
many of us have actually used the abort point on board? Anyways this is
a subjective opinion. Company has to give guidelines on this in their BMM
which will be full and final!
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Aug 16, 2016
Hi thanks for your comment Sir..As you said this is subjective opinion and
I really appreciate that. From the comment you seem to be a seasoned
sailor and I thought May be I can really learn a thing or two from you in
future but could not find your email : ). Hope to have your opinion on
other future articles too.
Reply

aninda saha 
Nov 28, 2016
Dear sir thank you very much for this article . very nicely explained .
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Dec 29, 2016
Glad you liked it Aninda..
Reply

PONY 
Dec 28, 2016
Dear sir, do you write any artical regarding deck log book need conent or
sample.
Reply
Rajeev Jassal 
Dec 29, 2016
I haven't written anything on deck log books but I will include that in my
list for future posts. If you have any particular question, don't hesitate to
post it on SEAQA section..
Reply

Pawan 
Mar 15, 2017
Good article. May I suggest addition of contingency anchorage and route
to contingency anchorage in addition to abort point.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Mar 17, 2017
Thanks Pawan.. I will include in some of the next articles..
Reply
Capt. Park 
Mar 17, 2017
Dear Capt Rajeev Jassal. Wonderful article.
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Mar 17, 2017
Glad to hear that Capt Park...
Reply

Jan 
May 15, 2017
Wonderful article! I'm just confuse if you still need an abort point marked
on your chart/electronic chart if you have sufficient sea room, example on
single point mooring. Do you still need to mark it on your chart?
Reply
Rajeev Jassal 
May 15, 2017
If there is sufficient room, there is no need to mark the Abort point.
Reply

Jan 
May 22, 2017
Thanks for this clarification. Most of the time we are loading/discharging
on SPM and somehow some inspectors are still looking for this abort
point. Again, thanks!
Reply

Pawan 
Jun 21, 2017
Very well written Capt.Rajeev. I am curious if a route to contingency
anchorage need be plotted from the abort point from a SIRE point of
view. I do understand that it might not be possible to lay it in advance bss
traffic, lack of suitable anchoring depth/ ground. Your thoughts..
Reply

Rajeev Jassal 
Jun 23, 2017
No, there is no need to plot the route to contingency anchorage from the
abort point.
Reply
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