Passage Planning Guide: English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea - 2026-27 Edition

This Passage Planning Guide provides up-to-date information for the safe and controlled transit of ships through the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea. The 2026?27 edition has been fully revised and updated with input from serving Deep-Sea Pilots and industry organisations.

This Guide supports all stages of passage planning ? appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring ? and highlights aids to navigation, traffic separation schemes, reporting requirements and regional traffic patterns essential for a safe and effective transit. Recommended routes for NE-bound and SW-bound transits are illustrated on annotated, pull-out chartlets. The Guide covers passages to and from:

• MAAS/Rotterdam
• Sunk/Thames
• Wandelaar/Schelde
• Elbe/Weser/Jade.

New material in this edition reflects the evolving navigational and regulatory landscape of the region. Two additional hotspots have been included for the Jade/Weser region in response to the October 2023 collision between the ?Verity? and the ?Polesie?. Guidance for container ship operations in the Southern North Sea has been updated in line with the 2025 revisions to IMO circular SN.1/Circ.344. The sections on ferry and fishing vessel traffic have been expanded to give further information on the navigational and safety concerns involved with encountering them.

Practical advice is provided for Masters of arriving ships covering notification requirements and documentation, along with guidance for the Officer of the Watch and the bridge team tailored to the demands of the Channel, Strait and Southern North Sea environment. The Guide also examines ship reporting systems and small boat crossings, which are increasingly relevant to navigational safety.

Environmental compliance remains a core focus with updates addressing MARPOL and BWM obligations. In line with IMO Resolution A.1080(28), the Guide outlines the use of qualified and licensed Deep-Sea Pilots and provides contact details for recognised providers. Offshore renewable energy installations and associated navigational implications are also considered in detail. To support situational awareness and learning, the Guide incorporates case studies drawn from recent groundings and collisions in the region.

A companion publication, ?Useful Information for English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea?, is freely available to download and includes QR code links to useful reference PDFs, details of pilot boarding stations for Cherbourg and Brixham, a Pre-entry Bridge Team Meeting checklist and incident reporting procedures.

Explanation of Routes Shown on the Chartlets in this Guide

Glossary

PART 1 Background and Supporting Notes to the Guide

1.1 Introduction to Passage Planning in the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

1.2 Guidance for Masters of Arriving Ships (Notification and Papers)

1.3 Route Selection through the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

1.4 Deep-Sea Pilotage

1.5 Guidance for the OOW/Bridge Team in the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

1.6 Passage Planning

1.7 English Channel Small Boat Crossings

1.8 Traffic in the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

1.9 Ship Reporting Systems in the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

1.10 Environmental Compliance

1.11 Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs)

1.12 Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas

1.13 Emergency Towage Vessels (ETVs)

PART 2 Case Studies, Groundings and Collisions

PART 3 Traffic Hotspots in the English Channel, Dover Strait and Southern North Sea

3.1 Traffic Hotspots

3.1.1 SW-Bound ? After The Varne

3.1.2 SW-Bound ? South Falls

3.1.3 SW-Bound ? in the Vicinity of Foxtrot 3

3.1.4 Arriving at Wandelaar Pilot Station

3.1.5 Rounding Sunk Centre LTV from the South and/or East

3.1.6 NE-Bound ? North Hinder

3.1.7 Eastbound North Hinder ? Maas Center

3.1.8 From Maas Junction to Steenbank PBG/Schouwenbank Precautionary Area

3.1.9 NE-Bound ? Rijnveld

3.1.10 Westbound ? Out of Europoort

3.1.11 NE-Bound ? Off Vlieland TSS

3.1.12 Northbound ? Jade/Weser

3.1.13 Rounding German Bight LTV from the South

PART 4 NE-Bound ? Passage Notes

PART 5 SW-Bound ? Passage Notes

PART 6 Annexes

Annex 1 ? Pre-Entry Bridge Team Meeting

Annex 2 ? Navigation and Weather Warnings Diagrams

Annex 3 ? Routeing Between MAAS and Wandelaar

Annex 4 ? Marine Accident Investigation Agency Contacts

Annex 5 ? SAR and Telemedical Contacts Details

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