IEC 60945 Explained: Maritime Computing Requirements, DNV Type Approval and IEC 61174 ECDIS

IEC 60945 is the international standard for the general requirements, test methods and required results of maritime navigation and radiocommunication equipment and systems. Published by the IEC and adopted in Europe as EN 60945, it sets the environmental, EMC, safety and ergonomic tests that a bridge computer, display or radio has to pass before it is accepted on a ship, and the performance standards for individual equipment types, such as ECDIS under IEC 61174, build on it.

Most computer buyers meet it alongside two other names. DNV, the classification society formed when DNV and GL merged in 2013 and known as DNV GL until 2021, type approves equipment for use on vessels it classes, using its own environmental test specification. IEC 61174 sets the requirements for Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, the chart displays that replaced paper charts on most SOLAS ships. A marine display or marine PC for a vessel may need one, two or all three, depending on where it is mounted and what it does.

This guide explains what IEC 60945 covers and when it applies, the equipment categories and test conditions, compass safe distance, DNV type approval and the CG-0339 location classes, IEC 61174 and IEC 62288 for ECDIS and bridge displays, and what to look for when specifying computers and displays for the bridge, the engine room and the open deck.

Equipment on a ship sits under several layers of rules: the international conventions, the performance standards for each type of equipment, the test standards they call on, and the rules of the classification society that classes the vessel. The table sets out the ones that apply to computers and displays.

The pattern is that IEC 60945 provides the tests, the performance standards say which apply to each type of equipment, and the class society or flag state decides what evidence the vessel needs. A general-purpose computer on the bridge, for example a PC running a planning station, is usually expected to meet IEC 60945 so that it does not interfere with navigation equipment, even when it carries no navigation function itself.

For navigation and radiocommunication equipment required by the SOLAS convention, in effect yes. IMO performance standards for equipment such as radar, ECDIS, AIS and GMDSS radios call on IEC 60945 for the general requirements, and in the EU the Marine Equipment Directive, with the Wheelmark it confers, requires testing to these standards. Other flag states apply equivalent rules, and the USA runs its own scheme for UK-flagged ships.

For other equipment on the bridge it is usually a contractual requirement rather than a legal one. Shipyards, integrators and class societies commonly ask for IEC 60945 EMC compliance from any electronic equipment mounted on the bridge, because a computer that radiates in the VHF marine band can interfere with radios and receivers. In the engine room or elsewhere on the ship, class rules and IEC 60533 are more often the reference.

IEC 60945 does not test everything the same way. The first step is to classify the equipment by how it is installed, because a display behind the bridge windows faces a very different environment from a radar scanner on the mast. The current edition, IEC 60945:2002, edition 4, defines four categories.

Almost every computer and display on the bridge is classed as protected. That still means a demanding test programme: the full temperature, humidity and vibration tests, and the full EMC program, which is where most commercial hardware fails. Bridge wing displays, often sunlight readable monitors, and deck terminals fall into the exposed category and need a sealed housing, typically IP66 or better, with UV-stable materials and corrosion-resistant finishes.

IEC 60945 combines environmental tests, EMC tests, safety requirements and some bridge-specific checks. The environmental tests below are the ones most often quoted on computer datasheets. The conditions are summarised from the published standard; the full test durations and pass criteria are in the standard itself, and the test laboratory will confirm which apply to your category.

The vibration profile, with its 7 m/s², or 0.7 g, plateau above 13.2 Hz, matches the general location class in DNV-CG-0339, which is why marine displays often quote both. Winmate, for example, rates the Winmate W32L100-MRA1FP ECDIS monitor at 0.7 g vibration to DNV-CG-0339 Class A and 15 G shock for 11 ms.

EMC is the part of IEC 60945 that most often decides whether a computer can go on the bridge. Bridge equipment sits close to VHF radios, GNSS receivers, radar and AIS, so the emission limits are tighter than for ordinary commercial equipment, especially in the marine VHF band. Our explainer on EMC testing covers the general method.

Displays are a particular challenge because LCD timing controllers, backlight drivers and touch controllers all radiate. A monitor that passes CE Class A for an office can still fail the IEC 60945 radiated emissions limit, so marine displays are designed and tested for it from the start. Electromagnetic interference sets out how the noise couples.

Compass safe distance is the minimum distance at which a piece of equipment can be installed from the ship’s magnetic compass without disturbing it beyond a set limit. IEC 60945 requires it to be measured for equipment intended for the bridge, both for the standard magnetic compass and for the steering compass, and marked on the equipment. Speakers, motors, transformers and steel housings all have magnetic fields that can deflect a compass needle.

Bridge layout depends on these figures. A display with a short compass safe distance can be placed in the console close to the compass; a large monitor with a steel chassis may need to sit further away. Ask for the measured distances before a console layout is fixed.

IEC 60945 also limits acoustic noise, so that fans and transformers do not mask alarms or make the bridge tiring to work on, and sets requirements for operator controls, illumination and the ability to dim indicators. Together these are why fanless designs and dimmable controls are usual on marine computers; the advantages of fanless computers go beyond silence.

DNV type approval is a certificate issued by the classification society DNV confirming that a product design has been tested and assessed against DNV rules for use on the ships and offshore installations it classes. For electrical and electronic equipment the test basis is the class guideline DNV-CG-0339, Environmental test specification for electrical, electronic and programmable equipment and systems, which follows the IACS unified requirement E10. A type approval certificate names the product, the standards and the location classes it has been approved for.

Class society approval matters wherever the equipment forms part of a system the society is checking, such as machinery control, alarm and monitoring, propulsion control or dynamic positioning. Bridge navigation equipment is approved through IEC 60945 and the performance standards; in practice many marine computer and display makers test to both, because DNV-CG-0339 and IEC 60945 share so much.

Approvals are tied to a configuration. Winmate’s marine displays and computers list DNV-CG-0339, IEC 60945 4th edition and IACS E10, and note that only the 24 V DC input is covered by the DNV approval. A display run from its AC adapter or at another DC voltage still works, but falls outside the approved configuration, which matters if the class surveyor checks the installation.

DNV is one of the twelve members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). The others include Lloyd’s Register, the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, ClassNK, the Korean Register and RINA. Because IACS UR E10 harmonises the environmental tests, a product tested for one society can often be approved by another with additional paperwork rather than a full repeat of the tests.

The Wheelmark is not a class approval. It applies to equipment that international conventions require on board, such as an ECDIS or a radar, and it is issued to the complete equipment rather than to a computer or display used inside it. A computer that forms part of a Wheelmarked ECDIS is approved as part of that system by the ECDIS manufacturer.

ECDIS, the Electronic Chart Display and Information System, is the navigation system that displays official electronic navigational charts with the ship’s position, route and sensor data, and that can replace paper charts on SOLAS ships. Carriage of ECDIS was phased in between 2012 and 2018 for most ship types. IEC 61174 sets the operational and performance requirements, test methods and required results that an ECDIS must meet, turning the IMO performance standard into testable clauses.

IEC 61174 applies to the ECDIS as a whole: the software, the computer that runs it and the display that presents it. It relies on IEC 60945 for the environmental and EMC tests, IEC 62288 for presentation, the IHO S-52 standard for chart colors and symbols, and the IHO S-57 and S-63 standards for chart data. The newer S-100 framework is being introduced through updated IMO performance standards, so check which edition an ECDIS project is being built to.

For hardware suppliers the practical point is that a display or computer is not “IEC 61174 certified” on its own. It is designed for ECDIS use and tested to the hardware parts of the standards, and the ECDIS manufacturer approves it as part of their system. Our existing summary still holds: ECDIS displays are color calibrated and switch between day, dusk and night modes.

IEC 62288 governs how navigation information is presented on the bridge. It sets color palettes, symbols, text sizes and the behavior of controls so that a watch officer can read any approved display in the same way, whatever its maker. For hardware, that translates into a short list of features that separate a marine display from an industrial monitor.

Brightness is a balance on the bridge. A display bright enough for the bridge wing at noon must also dim almost to nothing for the middle watch, so look for a wide dimming range as well as a high maximum. Winmate’s Winmate R15L100-MRC3HB pairs a 1000 nit panel with a dimming knob that runs from nearly 0% to 100%. Nits and sunlight readability are covered in our FAQs.

Bridge computers collect data from GNSS receivers, gyro compasses, echo sounders, AIS and radar, and most of it still arrives as NMEA sentences. The IEC 61162 series standardises these interfaces, so the number and type of ports is a core part of a marine computer specification.

Isolation matters on a ship, where long cable runs connect equipment with different ground potentials. Computers with built-in isolated NMEA 0183 ports, such as the Winmate I330EAC-IMT with eight NMEA 0183 ports and eight isolated DIO lines, avoid separate multiplexers in the console. Galvanic isolation explains why the barrier is needed, and our CAN bus explainer covers the bus under NMEA 2000.

Marine computers and displays share a set of design features with any rugged computer, plus some that come straight from the tests above. The table maps each one to the requirement behind it.

Lifecycle is easy to underestimate, as how long computers last shows for the electronics alone. Because approvals name a specific model and configuration, a replacement computer that is not covered by the same certificate can mean new paperwork for the vessel. Choosing a model with a long availability commitment, and agreeing a last-time buy when a change notice arrives, keeps a fleet on the same approved hardware. Condensation is the other common problem in consoles; preventing condensation covers the options.

The location of each computer or display decides the category, the class and the evidence to ask for. These are the combinations we see most often.

Uncrewed and survey craft are a growing part of the market. Our maritime surveillance case study shows IP69K GPU computers on board, and the uncrewed surface vehicle explainer covers the platform. See how we support marine computing projects more widely.

The products below list IEC 60945 or DNV in their manufacturers’ specifications. As your system integrator we configure each computer, image the operating system and application, and test it before it ships; displays are configured and tested. Approvals belong to the manufacturer, so we supply the certificates and test reports for your vessel file and keep each build inside the approved configuration.

Our marine panel PCs cover more console sizes. Where a vessel needs an approval a model does not hold, such as Lloyd’s Register or ABS type approval, or an exposed-category rating, we say so at the quotation stage rather than after delivery.