Viewing forecasts

When you have provided a voyage plan, we normally schedule forecasts and route optimisations every six hours. When you log in, we take you straight to the latest forecast for your ship, shown on the forecast map.

Forecast map

The forecast map shows your latest forecast, with a panel in the top-left corner.

Current position

Your ship’s current location is shown by a red circle. Click on it to see how recent it is and the reported position.

Recommended route

The route we recommend you take over the next 24–36 hours is highlighted in orange. This will include any deviations worth making to save fuel or time.

Note

If we’re recommending deviations, you may also see a second marker in faded grey. This represents a “counterfactual”: where we expect you would be at the same time if you were simply returning to your provided voyage plan. It may not be on the voyage plan if you have previously been following route recommendations.

Voyage plan

Beneath it is the voyage plan you provided in grey. Waypoints from that voyage plan are shown as grey triangles ▲, connected with a dotted grey line. You can click on the waypoints to confirm their ordering or location.

Map layers

You can overlay different environmental conditions on the map using the layer button on the right-hand edge of the screen. The button shows either a label (on desktop) or an icon (on mobile) for the layer currently displayed:

Tap it to switch between:

• Currents — ocean currents
• Sea surface temperature
• Significant wave height and average wave direction
• Wind

Map layers are shown as both map shading and animated particles to show both strength and direction.

Note

Waves are an exception: when waves are selected, all particles animate at the same speed, showing only direction. Map shading indicates significant wave height.

Forecast toolbar

The row of buttons in the top-left corner lets you:

• Zoom — quickly zoom to the entire voyage plan, or in to the recommended route (next 24–36 hours)
• Download the recommended route in a number of file formats
• Email the recommended route directly to the captain’s registered email address
• Forecast details — open a panel with technical details about the forecast (timings, identifiers, and diagnostic links). We may ask for this information when assisting with an issue.
• The Actions menu contains other actions, including:
  • Add voyage plan — upload your next voyage plan if your current one is concluded or out of date. After it’s uploaded, we’ll automatically schedule a forecast and notify you on-page when it’s ready.
  • Enter position — manually log a ship position, in the unlikely event that both sensors and AIS positioning systems are unavailable.
  • Schedule forecast — schedule a new forecast early. We typically schedule a forecast every six hours, unless you upload a new voyage plan.
  • Manual forecast — if you would like a forecast to “look ahead” to a later part of your voyage plan, you can manually request one from a selected waypoint at a future date.

The time the forecast was issued is shown at the top of the screen, in the title bar, alongside your ship’s name.

Viewing older forecasts

To see earlier forecasts, open the Previous forecasts page (from the navigation rail on the left edge of the page). It shows scheduled and completed forecasts for your voyage plan:

When a forecast is ready, press View to open it on the map, or Download to grab our recommended route straight away.

Note

If you view a previous forecast, the map page will not tell you about newly scheduled forecasts. Visit the Latest forecast page from the navigation rail to ensure you’re always looking at the latest available forecast and route recommendation.

Manual forecasts

Sometimes you may need to request a forecast from a specific point on your voyage plan. In this case, you can use the Manual forecast button on the Actions menu.

The manual forecast popup will ask you a few things:

• From which waypoint do you want to start the forecast? (Required)
• Optionally, from which waypoint do you want to end the forecast? (defaults to the end of the voyage plan)
• When do you expect to arrive at the starting waypoint?
• Optionally, do you intend to travel at a specific speed? (left blank, defaults to the speed we have set for your ship)

The route preview map will highlight the waypoints you have selected. You can also hover over waypoints in the voyage plan preview to confirm their ordering.

When you’re ready, press Run manual forecast and a forecast will be immediately scheduled. Refresh the page a few minutes later and it will be in the forecast list.