Mariners’ Routeing Guide

Introduction

The Admiralty Mariners’ Routeing Guide is a specialist nautical document designed to support passage planning and navigation through some of the world’s busiest and most complex shipping routes. Published by the UK Hydrographic Office under the ADMIRALTY brand, these guides provide additional routeing information to be used alongside official nautical charts.

They are particularly useful in areas where maritime traffic is dense, navigable waters are restricted, depths may be limited, or where traffic separation schemes and other routeing measures require particular attention. The information provided is intended to improve situational awareness on the bridge and help navigators understand the organisation of maritime traffic before and during a passage.

The Mariners’ Routeing Guides cover major maritime areas such as the English Channel and Dover Strait, Malacca and Singapore Straits, Southern North Sea, Irish Sea, Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, Turkish Straits, Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Mexico, Panama Canal approaches and Tokyo Wan.

What is an Admiralty Mariners’ Routeing Guide?

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide is a specialist planning chart intended to provide routeing information that complements the information found on a conventional nautical chart.

It highlights specific characteristics of major shipping routes, including:

• traffic separation schemes;

• established routeing systems;

• dense maritime traffic;

• restricted or limited depths;

• navigational dangers and warnings;

• areas requiring particular attention from bridge teams;

• major shipping routes and approaches;

• routeing measures adopted by the IMO or national authorities.

The information is particularly valuable in areas where numerous commercial vessels, ferries, tankers, container ships, fishing vessels and other craft operate within relatively restricted sea room.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide should therefore not be regarded as a replacement for an official nautical chart. It is a complementary document that helps the navigator interpret the organisation of maritime traffic and anticipate areas requiring increased attention.

Mariners’ Routeing Guides and passage planning

During passage planning, the navigator must identify the geographical constraints of the route as well as the regulatory and traffic conditions that may affect the vessel.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide can be particularly useful during this preparation phase because it provides a clear overview of the organisation of shipping routes in complex areas.

For example, when planning a passage through the English Channel, the navigator may need to consider the concentration of commercial traffic between the French and English coasts, the Dover Strait, traffic separation schemes, crossing routes and restricted sea room.

Similarly, a passage through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore requires careful consideration of extremely dense maritime traffic, restricted navigable areas and the proximity of numerous commercial ports.

The guide therefore contributes to the preparation of a safer and more structured passage plan, while the official nautical chart remains essential for navigation, position fixing, depths, aids to navigation, dangers and other detailed navigational information.

English Channel and Dover Strait

The English Channel is one of the most heavily trafficked maritime areas in the world. It connects the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and provides access to major European ports.

The area around the Dover Strait, Calais, Dunkirk, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Southampton and Portsmouth combines intense commercial traffic with ferry routes, fishing activity and recreational navigation.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide for this region can help the navigator identify the organisation of shipping traffic and understand the relationship between the principal routeing systems.

It is particularly relevant to vessels navigating between the ports of northern France, southern England, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Malacca and Singapore Straits

The Malacca and Singapore Straits form one of the principal maritime corridors between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The area includes major ports and maritime centres such as Singapore, Port Klang and Malacca. Large numbers of container ships, tankers, bulk carriers and other commercial vessels use these waters.

In such a heavily trafficked environment, the understanding of routeing systems, traffic separation schemes and navigational constraints is an important component of passage planning.

ADMIRALTY Mariners’ Routeing Guides include specific coverage for the Malacca Strait and the western and eastern parts of the Singapore Strait. Recent ADMIRALTY new editions have included charts 5524, 5525 and 5527 for these areas.

Gulf of Suez and approaches to the Suez Canal

The Gulf of Suez forms the southern approach to the Suez Canal and is an important maritime corridor between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The area is used by large commercial vessels operating between Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia.

For ships transiting this region, understanding the principal shipping routes, traffic organisation and navigational constraints is an important part of passage preparation.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide can provide complementary routeing information alongside the official nautical charts used for the passage.

Panama Canal approaches

The Panama Canal provides a strategic connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is used by a wide range of commercial vessels.

The approaches to the canal require careful passage planning because of the concentration of shipping, confined navigable waters and the specific organisation of maritime traffic.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide covering the Panama Canal approaches can therefore be used during the preparation of a transit involving the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the canal itself.

Baltic Sea and Southern North Sea

The Baltic Sea and Southern North Sea contain some of Europe's most important commercial shipping routes.

Major ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Kiel, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Helsinki are connected to extensive networks of commercial shipping routes.

The combination of dense traffic, narrow passages, shallow areas and numerous routeing measures makes detailed passage planning particularly important.

The Mariners’ Routeing Guides complement official nautical charts by providing routeing information specifically intended to improve awareness of these complex maritime environments.

Turkish Straits

The Turkish Straits comprise some of the most strategically important waterways between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

The system includes the Bosphorus, or Strait of Istanbul, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, or Strait of Çanakkale.

The Bosphorus is characterised by restricted navigable waters, strong maritime traffic and the presence of a major city on both shores. Istanbul is one of the principal urban and maritime centres along the route.

ADMIRALTY publishes specific Mariners’ Routeing Guides for the Turkish Straits, including chart 5506 for the Strait of Istanbul and approaches and chart 5507 for the Strait of Çanakkale and approaches. These editions are periodically updated.

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is another important maritime area covered by the ADMIRALTY Mariners’ Routeing Guide series.

The region includes major ports and maritime centres such as Venice, Trieste, Rijeka, Split, Dubrovnik, Bari and Brindisi.

Commercial shipping, ferries, fishing vessels and recreational craft share a relatively enclosed sea with numerous islands, coastal passages and port approaches.

The routeing information provided by a Mariners’ Routeing Guide is therefore useful for understanding the principal shipping routes and traffic organisation before entering or crossing the Adriatic.

ADMIRALTY chart 5523 covers the Adriatic Sea and the Strait of Messina.

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is an important commercial maritime region linking North America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Major ports include Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Tampa and Veracruz. The area combines major commercial shipping routes with offshore activities, oil and gas infrastructure, fishing and coastal navigation.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide provides additional routeing information that can be considered during the preparation of passages between the principal ports and maritime areas of the Gulf.

Tokyo Wan

Tokyo Wan, or Tokyo Bay, is another complex maritime environment included in the ADMIRALTY Mariners’ Routeing Guide coverage.

The bay contains one of the world's major urban and industrial concentrations, with extensive commercial traffic and numerous port facilities.

For commercial vessels and professional bridge teams, routeing information can help provide a better understanding of the organisation of traffic before entering this highly developed maritime area.

Mariners’ Routeing Guide versus Admiralty Routeing Chart

The terms Mariners’ Routeing Guide and Routeing Chart refer to two different types of ADMIRALTY planning documents.

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide focuses on the organisation of maritime traffic and routeing systems in specific, often complex and heavily trafficked areas. It is particularly relevant to traffic separation schemes, shipping routes, restricted sea room, navigational warnings and routeing measures.

An ADMIRALTY Routeing Chart, by contrast, is primarily designed for broader passage planning and provides information about major shipping routes, distances between ports and seasonal oceanographic and meteorological conditions. These charts are organised by month and cover major ocean areas such as the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

The two types of documents are therefore complementary rather than interchangeable.

Mariners’ Routeing Guide and official nautical charts

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide should always be used together with the appropriate official nautical charts for the actual navigation.

The official chart provides essential navigational information such as:

• charted depths and depth contours;

• buoys and other aids to navigation;

• wrecks and obstructions;

• coastlines and topographic information;

• navigational hazards;

• channels and approaches;

• charted landmarks and other navigational references.

The Mariners’ Routeing Guide adds another level of information by focusing on the organisation of maritime traffic and routeing measures.

For a professional voyage, it can therefore form part of a broader documentation set including official nautical charts, Sailing Directions, List of Lights, List of Radio Signals, tidal publications and other relevant ADMIRALTY publications.

Who uses Mariners’ Routeing Guides?

These documents are particularly relevant to:

• merchant navy officers;

• masters and deck officers;

• commercial shipping companies;

• offshore service vessels;

• professional delivery skippers;

• shipowners and fleet operators;

• training centres and maritime schools;

• navigators preparing passages through major shipping routes;

• yachts undertaking offshore passages through heavily trafficked areas.

Although the guides are particularly valuable for commercial navigation, experienced recreational sailors may also find them useful when preparing passages through areas such as the English Channel, Dover Strait, Gibraltar approaches, the Suez Canal approaches or other heavily trafficked waterways.

Importance of keeping routeing information up to date

Maritime routeing systems can change. Traffic separation schemes may be modified, new routeing measures may be introduced and navigational information can be updated as conditions and regulations evolve.

ADMIRALTY states that Mariners’ Routeing Guides are subject to regular updates and new editions. Weekly Admiralty Notices to Mariners provide information intended to help mariners maintain their ADMIRALTY charts and publications with the latest safety-critical information.

This is particularly important for professional navigation, where the validity and currency of navigational documentation are essential elements of voyage preparation.

Mariners’ Routeing Guide for offshore and international navigation

For a long-distance voyage, the navigator may need several different types of planning documents.

An ocean passage between Europe and Asia, for example, may involve the English Channel, Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Malacca Strait and Singapore Strait.

The documentation required for such a passage is not limited to a single chart or guide. Depending on the route, it may include official nautical charts, ADMIRALTY Routeing Charts, Sailing Directions, List of Lights, tidal publications and Mariners’ Routeing Guides for particularly complex shipping areas.

The ADMIRALTY Ocean Passages for the World (NP136) provides additional information for planning ocean voyages on major routes, while Routeing Charts provide seasonal information concerning weather, currents, shipping routes and other conditions.

The Mariners’ Routeing Guide has a more specific role: it concentrates on the organisation and management of maritime traffic in designated complex areas.

Conclusion

The ADMIRALTY Mariners’ Routeing Guide is a specialist navigation document designed to improve situational awareness in some of the world's busiest and most complex maritime areas.

Its main purpose is to provide routeing information concerning traffic separation schemes, shipping routes, dense traffic, limited depths, navigational hazards and other factors that can affect passage planning.

From the English Channel and Dover Strait to the Malacca and Singapore Straits, from the Gulf of Suez to the Panama Canal approaches, and from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic and Turkish Straits, these guides provide complementary information that should be considered alongside official nautical charts.

For professional shipping, offshore operations and experienced offshore navigation, they form a useful component of a comprehensive passage-planning documentation set.

FAQ

What is an Admiralty Mariners’ Routeing Guide?

It is a specialist ADMIRALTY planning chart providing routeing information for complex and heavily trafficked maritime areas. It is designed to complement, not replace, official nautical charts.

What information does a Mariners’ Routeing Guide contain?

It may show or highlight traffic separation schemes, routeing measures, dense traffic areas, limited depths, navigational dangers and other information relevant to passage planning.

Is a Mariners’ Routeing Guide an official nautical chart?

It is an ADMIRALTY planning chart, but it does not replace the official nautical chart required for navigation. It provides complementary routeing information.

What is the difference between a Mariners’ Routeing Guide and a Routeing Chart?

A Mariners’ Routeing Guide focuses mainly on traffic organisation and routeing systems in specific complex areas. A Routeing Chart provides broader passage-planning information, including shipping routes, distances and seasonal meteorological and oceanographic conditions.

Which areas are covered by Mariners’ Routeing Guides?

ADMIRALTY coverage includes the English Channel and Dover Strait, Malacca and Singapore Straits, Southern North Sea, Irish Sea, Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, Turkish Straits, Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Mexico, Panama Canal approaches and Tokyo Wan.

Are the Turkish Straits covered?

Yes. ADMIRALTY publishes specific Mariners’ Routeing Guides for the Strait of Istanbul and its approaches and for the Strait of Çanakkale and its approaches.

Can a Mariners’ Routeing Guide be used for yacht navigation?

Yes, particularly when a yacht is navigating through heavily trafficked areas. However, it should always be used together with the appropriate official nautical charts and other required navigation publications.

Is a Mariners’ Routeing Guide useful for the English Channel?

Yes. The English Channel and Dover Strait are among the areas covered by the ADMIRALTY series and are characterised by dense maritime traffic and complex routeing arrangements.

Are Mariners’ Routeing Guides updated?

Yes. ADMIRALTY provides updates and new editions, and its Notices to Mariners provide information to help maintain ADMIRALTY navigational documentation with current safety-critical information.

Which publications can complement a Mariners’ Routeing Guide?

Depending on the voyage, complementary publications may include official nautical charts, ADMIRALTY Sailing Directions, Routeing Charts, List of Lights, List of Radio Signals, tidal publications and Ocean Passages for the World.

Is a Mariners’ Routeing Guide suitable for transoceanic passage planning?

It can form part of the documentation for a transoceanic voyage when the route passes through one of the areas covered by the series. For the oceanic part of a voyage, broader planning documents such as ADMIRALTY Routeing Charts and Ocean Passages for the World are more directly relevant.