Ship panel

The panel provides access to the following functions:

Cargo load/unload

Cargo vessels have three cargo load zones. Left to every load zone, is a slider where you can set the target load of the respective zone. In the lower left section of the panel you see the overall planned cargo mass.

Once the planned load levels are set, you can in addition adjust the fuel level and click on the start button, inside the cargo load section (bottom left of the screen).

Note:
In order to start an unload or load process the ship has to be at a dock and fixed with a sufficient number of mooring lines. To allow the needed movement of the ship during load/unload operations the mooring lines must not be tightened. If this is ignored it might happen that mooring lines snap and the load process will be stopped.

Ship mass overview

When doing cargo operations, you need to keep always an eye on the max allowed DWT (deadweight tonnage). The closer you will be on the max allowed mass; there more difficult it will be to control the ship. Also, the max speed will decrease.

Trim status

Based on the mass split of the three different cargo zones, the ships bow/aft trim will change. This might lead to unwanted effects, especially when sailing in heavy sea. Also ship speed and turn capabilities will be impacted.

Draft status

The ship draft is also impacted by the cargo loaded. Check your planned route careful to avoid running aground because of too much draft, caused by an overloaded ship. In areas with tidal conditions or changing depth situations, an additional safety margin should be considered. In some cases, a specific harbor can only be approached in a specific tidal condition.

Route management

Load external routes

Nautic XP supports route files in the .gpx format. This kind of files can be created with external route software like opensea map, open cpn and many more.

External .gpx file have to be placed into the following folder:

[DiskLetter]:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\NauticXP\Saved\ShipRoutes\

Once you open the ship panel, you can find the loaded routes on the Route management section

Save routes

Every route created inside the simulation, can be saved, by opening the ship panel, select add new route on the route management selection drop down field and hit the save button below.

The saved route will be automatically named with the current date. You can rename the route by navigating to the above mentioned folder and changing the file name to your choice.

Damage control

Shows the flooding and hull status of the ship, as well as the operational status of the damage control systems. Flooding area, flooding percentage, flooding rate and details about the bilge pump performance are displayed as well.

The flooding rate is calculated under steady-state conditions. However, when taking direct hits from large waves, water levels can rise instantaneously, which is not reflected in the estimated rate.

A trawler taking on water in heavy seas, beginning to ride bow-heavy. Properly secured hatches and doors might have prevented this situation.

Weather status

The latest received weather report is shown in this section. When using dynamic weather, also the forecasted weather is displayed. In case of an arriving weather front, significant weather like reduced visibility, heavy rain is noted.