本书可用作海洋导航入门课程的教科书，供航海人员学习一些航行知识。本书共分为13章：第1章介绍了船上组织和海员的职责；第2章介绍了船舶的历史、类型、形状、尺寸等；第3章介绍了船舶设备；第4章介绍了船舶的航行性能；第5章介绍了导航的基本知识；第6章介绍了如何通过航位推测、地标、电子设备和天体方法来确定船舶的位置；第7章介绍了与导航密切相关的气象学和海洋学要点；第8章讨论了导航和值班；第9章介绍了有关标志信号，闪光灯信号，声音信号和无线电通信；第10章讨论如何管理船舶；第11章介绍了如何避免碰撞；第12章介绍了运输方法和货物单据；第13章介绍了如何处理货物。

Chapter 1 Seafarer
1.1 Definitions of Seafarer
1.2 Shipboard Organizational Structure
1.3 Responsibilities of Seafarers
1.4 Registration and Qualifications of Seafarers
Chapter 2 Ships
2.1 Types of Ships
2.2 Shapes of Ships
2.3 Ship Dimensions
2.4 Volumes and Weights
2.5 Ship' s Marks
Chapter 3 Ship' s Equipment
3.1 Marine Power Plants
3.2 Manoeuvring Equipment
3.3 Cargo Handling Equipment
3.4 Safety Equipment
Chapter 4 Ship' s Navigation Performance
4.1 Buoyancy
4.2 Stability
4.3 Insubmersibility
4.4 Swiftness
4.5 Seakindliness
4.6 Manoeuvrability
Chapter 5 Basic Knowledge of Navigation
5.1 Geographical Coordinate
5.2 Directions on Earth
5.3 Distance and Speed
5.4 Time
5.5 Aids to Navigation
5.6 Nautical Charts
5.7 Tides and Tidal Streams
Chapter 6 Ship Position Fixing
6.1 Dead Reckoning
6.2 Position Fixing by Landmarks
6.3 Electronic Position Fixing
6.4 Celestial Navigation
Chapter 7 Meteorology and Oceanography
7.1 Weather Elements
7.2 Weather System
7.3 Oceanography
Chapter 8 Navigation and Watchkeeping
8.1 Passage Planning
8.2 Watchkeeping
8.3 Hazardous Navigation
Chapter 9 Communication
9.1 Flag Signaling
9.2 Flashing Light Signaling
9.3 Sound Signaling
9.4 Radio Communication
Chapter 10 Ship Handling
10.1 Basic Knowledgement
10.2 Berthing and Unberthing
10.3 Anchoring
10.4 Emergency Manoeuvring
Chapter 11 Collision Avoidance
11.1 Risk of Collision
11.2 Action to Avoid Collision
11.3 Vessels in Sight of One Another
11.4 Vessels in Restricted Visibility
Chapter 12 Shipping
12.1 Interests Involved in Shipping Business
12.2 Vessel-operating Types
12.3 Shipping Documents
Chapter 13 Cargo Stowage and Handling
13.1 Basic Knowledge
13.2 Basic Ship Theory
13.3 Cargo Operations
Bibliography