SPOS provide the master with all relevant weather forecast information and tools to optimize his voyage planning. With today’s technologies (computers, satcom) this is well possible and cheaper than routing support from a meteorologist onshore. Furthermore the master is responsible for the vessel and is best aware of operational interests and restrictions for vessel and cargo.
Therefore SPOS is a software tool that can be installed on a normal computer with e-mail access. Via SPOS the master can subscribe to a weather forecast for his ocean and/or coastal area and receive up to 2 updates per day. All that at a fixed annual subscription fee so there are no surprises for the budget of the owner/manager.
Onboard, the master receives a complete weather forecast with high quality data which includes pressure, wind, sea, swell and ocean currents. Also fronts, ice limits and tropical cyclone forecasts are available. When the master chooses an extended forecast set, also 500mb charts, weather (rain, snow, thunder, fog,…), risk of precipitation, temperatures of sea and air, visibility and risk of icing become available in SPOS.
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