Amendments to SOLAS Regulation V/19.2.10 adopted by IMO MSC.282(86) made ECDIS mandatory to be fitted on board cargo and passenger ships. The system aims to assist crew members in ship’s navigation and was first used on board naval vessels. The system includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) feature to effectively locate the navigational points and is a highly reliable system for navigation. The system may also include AIS and Radar.
For existing tankers (i.e. built before July 1, 2012) with gross tonnage greater than 3,000 and engaged in international voyages, ECDIS must be retrofitted not later than the first survey on or after July 1, 2015.
For the overall applicability of ECDIS on board cargo and passenger ships engaged in international voyages please refer to the table below.
| Ship Type | Gross Tonnage | New Ships(Keel laying date) | Existing Ships(Not New Ships) |
| Passenger Ships | Greater than 500 | July 1, 2012 | Not later than the first survey* on or after July 1, 2014 |
| Tankers | Greater than 3,000 | July 1, 2012 | Not later than the first survey* on or after July 1, 2015 |
| Others | Greater than 50,000 | July 1, 2013 | Not later than the first survey* on or after July 1, 2016 |
| Greater than 20,000 but less than 50,000 | July 1, 2013 | Not later than the first survey* on or after July 1, 2017 | |
| Greater than 10,000 but less than 20,000 | July 1, 2013 | Not later than the first survey* on or after July 1, 2018 | |
| Greater than 3,000 but less than 10,000 | July 1, 2014 | There is no necessity for retrofitting to existing ships of gross tonnage less than 10,000 | |
| *The first survey means the first annual, periodical or renewal survey, whichever comes first after the date indicated. For passenger ships, this survey is the first passenger ship safety survey. For cargo ships (i.e. tankers and others), this survey is the first cargo ship safety or cargo ship safety equipment survey. | |||