Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
This professional diploma gives you the tools to plan and execute commercial voyages that are both safe and profitable. You will learn passage planning under IMO guidelines, weather routing and fuel optimization, transits through the Panama and Suez canals and strategic straits, the commercial side of the voyage from charter parties to voyage estimates and just-in-time arrival, traffic services and fleet operations centers, digital route optimization and the carbon intensity rules that now shape every passage.
Prior knowledge check
These are the skills this program gives you. Tick the ones you already master and we will tell you which part of the syllabus is for you.
You are starting from scratch in this subject. The program is designed precisely for that.
What is the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation?
This professional diploma trains you to plan a commercial voyage from berth to berth and to defend every decision on safety, cost and emissions. You will study SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, COLREG and UNCLOS passage regimes, the ISM and ISPS Codes, port state control and voyage documents, the appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring stages of IMO resolution A.893(21), nautical publications, great circle and rhumb line sailing, under keel clearance and safety margins, ECAs and PSSAs, ECDIS route checking, abort points and contingencies, GRIB data and weather routing, the Polar Code, Panama and Suez canal rules and squat, voyage estimating, laytime and bunkering, VTS and traffic separation schemes, BRM and SMCP, S-100 data, AI-based ETA prediction, CII and EEXI, and navigation audits.
What sets this professional diploma apart: it combines the navigator's view and the commercial operator's view of the same voyage, so the passage plan, the weather route, the canal transit and the voyage estimate are built together rather than in separate departments; it includes the economic and contractual consequences of route and speed choices; it brings in the digital tools and carbon intensity indicators that now influence routing decisions; and it ends with a final project in which you plan, cost and stress-test an intercontinental commercial passage, complete with weather analysis and contingency plan.
Program highlights
- Regulatory framework: IMO conventions, UNCLOS passage regimes, the ISM and ISPS Codes, PSC and voyage documents.
- Passage planning: IMO A.893(21) stages, nautical publications, UKC and safety margins, ECDIS and contingencies.
- Weather routing: global climatology, GRIB models, wave dynamics, fuel optimization and the Polar Code.
- Canals and straits: chokepoints, Panama and Suez rules, pilotage, squat, transit costs and high risk areas.
- Commercial operation: charter types, voyage estimates, eco speed, bunkering, laytime and just-in-time arrival.
- Final project: a costed intercontinental passage plan with weather analysis and contingency planning.
Syllabus of the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
8 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Regulatory framework, international regulation and commercial maritime management
- 1.1. IMO conventions applicable to commercial navigation: SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW and COLREG
- 1.2. The law of the sea (UNCLOS): internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and high seas
- 1.3. The legal regime of international passages: innocent passage and transit through international straits and canals
- 1.4. Civil liability, marine insurance (P&I clubs, hull and machinery) and general average
- 1.5. The International Safety Management (ISM) Code and the ISPS Code for ship security
- 1.6. Port state control inspections and memoranda of understanding (Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU)
- 1.7. Commercial voyage documents: cargo manifest, bill of lading and notice of readiness (NOR)
- 1.8. SOLAS requirements on voyage planning
Passage planning under IMO guidelines
- 2.1. The fundamental stages of passage planning under IMO resolution A.893(21): appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring
- 2.2. Gathering nautical information: notices to mariners, sailing directions and tide tables
- 2.3. Selecting the optimum route: great circle, rhumb line and composite sailing
- 2.4. Setting safety margins: safety depth, distance off the coast, lee margins and under keel clearance (UKC)
- 2.5. Emission control areas (SECA/ECA), particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSA) and speed restrictions
- 2.6. Entering the passage plan into ECDIS and managing waypoints
- 2.7. Contingency planning: emergency anchorages, abort points and places of refuge
- 2.8. The appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring stages
Weather routing and operational efficiency
- 3.1. Global nautical climatology: wind belts, main ocean currents and seasonal storm patterns
- 3.2. Interpreting numerical weather prediction models (GFS, ECMWF) and GRIB data files
- 3.3. Wave and swell dynamics: significant wave height, period, swell direction and cross seas
- 3.4. Weather routing software on board and from shore-based routing centers
- 3.5. Optimizing fuel oil consumption through constant power or variable speed navigation
- 3.6. Navigation in ice: the Polar Code, icebreaker support and route selection in high latitudes
- 3.7. Monitoring sea state to prevent parametric rolling, violent motions and cargo loss
- 3.8. Weather routing software
Transit through interoceanic canals and strategic straits
- 4.1. Geopolitics and logistics of global chokepoints: the Strait of Malacca, Bab el-Mandeb, Hormuz and Gibraltar
- 4.2. Panama Canal transit: ACP regulations, Neopanamax dimensions, slot allocation and tropical fresh water draft (TFW) calculations
- 4.3. Suez Canal transit: SCA rules, transit convoys, navigation speed and wind restrictions
- 4.4. Pilotage regimes and towage services in canals and restricted port approaches
- 4.5. Hydrodynamics in shallow and confined waters: squat, bank effect and ship-to-ship interaction
- 4.6. Calculating transit costs, passage fees and tolls and managing waiting times (demurrage)
- 4.7. Safety and navigation procedures in high risk areas for piracy (HRA) and implementation of BMP measures
- 4.8. The Panama and Suez canals
Port operations, chartering and the economics of maritime transport
- 5.1. Charter markets: voyage charter, time charter and bareboat charter
- 5.2. Voyage estimating: fixed costs, variable costs (fuel and bunkers) and port costs
- 5.3. Commercial speed management (eco speed versus full speed) and performance clauses in charter parties
- 5.4. Bunkering logistics: quality management, ISO 8217 sampling and mass balance monitoring
- 5.5. Laytime, demurrage and despatch at the ship-port interface
- 5.6. Planning just-in-time (JIT) arrivals to reduce emissions at anchor
- 5.7. Coordination with port agents and customs, health and immigration authorities
- 5.8. Charter parties and their relationship with the route
Vessel traffic services (VTS), coordination and fleet management
- 6.1. Vessel traffic services (VTS): organization and types of service (information, navigational assistance and traffic organization)
- 6.2. Traffic separation schemes (TSS): COLREG Rule 10, inshore traffic zones and traffic lanes
- 6.3. Shore-based fleet operations centers (FOC) and real-time fleet monitoring
- 6.4. Ship-to-shore data exchange through centralized maritime protocols and cloud platforms
- 6.5. Bridge resource management (BRM) and leadership of the navigation team
- 6.6. Operational communication in standard maritime English (IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases, SMCP)
- 6.7. Mandatory ship reporting systems (SHIPREP) and long-range identification and tracking (LRIT)
- 6.8. Communications with VTS stations
Digital transformation, route optimization and artificial intelligence
- 7.1. Digitalization of the maritime supply chain and IMO e-Navigation platforms
- 7.2. Artificial intelligence algorithms for high-precision estimated time of arrival (ETA) prediction
- 7.3. Integrating the IHO S-100 standard: overlaying three-dimensional current, depth and wind models in real time
- 7.4. Multi-objective voyage optimization: balancing hydrodynamic safety, consumption, emissions (CO2, SOx) and voyage time
- 7.5. Calculation and operational impact of the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI)
- 7.6. Automating electronic logbooks and integrating them with fleet management
- 7.7. Cyber security in the transmission of route planning data and protection of onboard operational networks
- 7.8. Route optimization with AI
Crisis management, case studies and final project
- 8.1. Analysis of commercial navigation accidents and incidents: collisions, groundings, contacts and loss of maneuverability
- 8.2. Marine casualty investigation methodology under the IMO Casualty Investigation Code
- 8.3. Emergency response procedures at sea: search and rescue (SAR / IAMSAR Manual) and salvage
- 8.4. Managing crisis communication with owners, charterers, insurers and the media
- 8.5. Operational risk assessment on complex or poorly charted routes
- 8.6. Internal and external navigation audits to verify compliance with the passage plan
- 8.7. Presentation of the final project
- 8.8. Final project: complete planning, economic assessment, weather analysis and contingency plan for the commercial transit of a ship between two continents
Duration and format of the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
It is 800 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
Career opportunities after the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
Questions about the Professional Diploma in Passage Planning and Commercial Navigation
To produce a voyage that is safe for the ship, crew, cargo and environment and at the same time efficient in time, fuel and emissions, with clear contingencies if conditions change.
No. It is entirely maritime: commercial shipping routes, canals and straits, port calls and the economics of the sea voyage.
The course introduces the basics of planning a passage. The diploma covers the full commercial picture: weather routing, canal transits, chartering and voyage estimates, VTS and fleet centers, digital optimization and carbon intensity rules.
Yes. One module deals with canal and strait transits, including ACP and SCA rules, Neopanamax dimensions, slot allocation, convoys, pilotage, squat and the calculation of transit costs.
Yes. You will interpret GFS and ECMWF models and GRIB files, compare onboard and shore-based routing and evaluate fuel and safety trade-offs on real scenarios.
Yes. Operators, chartering and logistics staff and analysts take part as well; the admission interview checks that the program fits your background.
Through passage plans, weather routing exercises, voyage estimates and case analyses in each module, and through the final project on an intercontinental passage.
A Navalis Institute professional diploma and a complete, costed passage plan with contingencies from your final project.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at merchant navy officers, superintendents and fleet managers, staff of shipping and logistics companies, maritime professionals updating their knowledge of navigation technology and regulation, and graduates in related fields; a degree in nautical studies, logistics, transport, international trade or engineering, or proven experience in route planning, transport operations or shipping, is recommended, and basic knowledge of geography, charts and navigation is an advantage.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a stable internet connection, able to run route planning and weather viewing tools used in the exercises.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.