To those within and outside the industry whose only exposure to modern navigation equipment is at trade fairs and advertising from suppliers, it may come as something of a surprise that the vast majority of ships operate not with an integrated bridge system but with a host of stand-alone devices. Only ships built since the turn of the 21st century will be likely to feature an integrated bridge system and therefore be equipped with the full range of non-mandatory modern navigation aids. Earlier vessels will carry a hotch-potch of instruments of various vintages representing the increasing demands of the evolving SOLAS regulations. Radar has been mandatory on SOLAS ships for less than 30 years, despite having been commercially available since the 1950s.
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