NAUTILUS P01 NOVEMBER 2009.qxd - Nautilus International

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20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | November 2009 SAFETY AT SEA Aiming to reduce mooring horrors c Crewing issues were pinpointed as major factors in mooring and anchoring accidents, at the launch last month of two books that it is hoped will encourage best practice on ship and ashore to prevent these incidents. The Nautical Institute published the books Mooring and Anchoring Ships, Volumes 1 and 2, with the message; ‘good practice is needed urgently to prevent deaths and injuries’. Volume 1, Principles and Practice, by master mariner Ian Clark MNI, looks at the theory behind good practice and, with the aid of clear illustrations, explores how shore and sea staff can avoid personal injury and breakaway incidents. Volume 2, Inspection and Maintenance, by Walter Vervloesem AMNI, looks at good practice with hundreds of colour photographs to illustrate the right way to carry out procedures, and includes a related CD. At the London launch seminar, hosted by the Nautical Institute with the UK Harbour Masters’ Association, horrific photographs of victims of mooring incidents were flashed up on the presentation screen by Karl Lumbers of the UK P&I Club. ‘These injuries are extremely serious: we’ve had deaths, we’ve had multiple injuries,’ he warned.. Large mooring accidents had cost the Club more than $34 million over the last 20 years, he said. These claims accounted for the seventh highest injury rate suffered by ships’ crews by both number and value, and the third highest in average value per claim. On the causes of these claims, Mr Lumbers pointed out: ‘These comments are put in by the claims handlers who are not necessarily mariners, so you have to be a little bit circumspect with the broad Ian Clark overview of where the blame lies … but clearly over a third we fear are caused by the crew themselves; 25% equipment failure; deck officer error 15% — of course the mate or second mate in charge of the mooring is going to get the blame anyway for that. We all know, most of us who’ve been to sea, the master gets the blame for everything.’ Referring to the Club’s latest ongoing research, Mr Lumbers revealed: ‘The key points we felt so far are 43% of the vessels use non-deck crew during mooring operations. What are the controls here? What is the training?’ Formally launching publication of the two volumes, Nautical Institute president Captain Richard Coates noted: ‘There are many mooring training courses out there, but there is no single mooring qualification across the industry. Ships are getting larger and those in the dry bulk and container trades, especially crews, can find themselves on vessels or in ports where mooring equipment or arrangements are completely different from those they have experienced in the past.’ The authors, Ian Clark and Walter Vervloesem, have assimilated an extensive amount of information. Consultation in the development of their respective volumes has involved masters and pilots of different classes of vessels in varying trades, rope and wire manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, classification societies, port authorities, government administrations, international bodies, shipping companies and individual specialists. Vervloesem, who assumed chairmanship of the Independent Marine Consultants and Surveyors group of companies (UK) in 2000, informed the launch seminar: ‘Over the last four years we have done about 800 ship inspections — why do we find that almost no single ship is free of mooring defects? The mooring defects are even found immediately after, or even upon completion, of class, port state or superintendant inspections. So the fact that so many defects or problems can be indentified, that means so much evidence of bad practice.’ Warned Mr Vervloesem: ‘The present situation is alarming. When we make surveys, when we make inspections, what do we see STCW95 basic training (PST, EFA, FP&FF and PS&SR) PSCRB, PFRB, GMDSS, Advanced Firefighting, First Aid, Medical Care on Board, Efficient Deck Hand, MCA Approved Engine Courses, RYA Qualifications, Ship Security Officer Courses. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Courses available from the Hall Training Centre. All Superyacht courses undertaken. Maritime Open Learning Courses: NVQ Level 3 Deck and Engineering courses leading to STCW. 95 officer of the watch certificates. Surveying courses available through the school of Marine Surveying. Distance Learning courses for Marine Surveying, Ship Management and Ship Superintendency, offered in partnership with Lloyds Maritime Academy. New books seek to reduce seventh highest cause of crew injuries Walter Vervloesem “ The present situation is alarming ” P&I club research shows many ships do not use deck crew during mooring operations Picture: Danny Cornilessen when we inspect the mooring equipment? We see lack of awareness, lack of knowledge, lack of familiarisation. We see complacency being very dangerous, poor and inadequate onboard inspection programmes, poorly maintained equipment, poorly trained crew, insufficient crew, poor communication between parties involved, poor planning of the mooring operations, dangerous practice due to time pressure, lack of emergency procedures.’ Addressing the harbourmasters at the launch, Mr Vervloesem also highlighted the issue of poor inspection of moorings when the ship is alongside in port. In many cases, these problems occurred in combination — ‘a dangerous mix’, said Mr Vervloesem: ‘They remain unidentified; they remain there until something eventually goes wrong.’ He added: ‘All these things were accidents waiting to happen. All these things have high accident potential, with serious consequences like loss of life and limb, breakaway incidents, damage to third-party property, restricted access to the port, impact on stevedores’ activities. Disruption of the berthing schedules, pollution, disruption of the mooring process, and various inquiries affect the ship’s schedule, the company’s image and also have a large cost.’ Ian Clark insisted that ships must have enough crew available to tie up. The minimum safe manning levels on many ships he described as ‘very, very iffy’. ‘I read an account in Lloyd’s Register from the Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping, where a shipmaster had complained to his owner, and the owner brought it up at a meeting, that his minimum manning level for a 200,000 tonne tanker with 10 men. And he said this was terrible, “we need a crew of 25 on the ship”.’ If shipping companies started using the minimum standards for the maximum standards, that, warned Mr Clark, would be ‘very dodgy’. ‘And I worked through the back of the book to see how you could use 10 men to tie up a ship that size. I came to the conclusion that multi-tasking comes in, so you need women, and you need superwomen because they’re going to have to leg-around very fast’. The industry could not, Mr Clark argued, just rely on regulation on the supply the number of people needed to do the job. ‘It’s up to the shipowner to know how to run their ship.’ g Mooring and Anchoring Ships Vol 1 Principles and Practice, by I. C. Clark, £75, ISBN: 978-1-870077-93-4. g Mooring and Anchoring Ships Vol 2 Inspection and Maintenance, by W. Vervloesem, £75, ISBN: 978-1-870077-94-1. g Volumes 1 and 2 together, price £130; ISBN 978-1-906915-03-2; Ref 0317. g Both books can be ordered from The Nautical Institute’s website www.nautinst.org. NW Kent College 10 x 3.indd 1 16/4/09 14:29:58
November 2009 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21 NAUTILUS AT WORK The work to defend lifeline services from political attack or potential cherry-picking has been intensified... Union calls for Scottish ferry safeguards CalMac on the airwaves to promote jobs CalMac Ferries has teamed Aup with Ayrshire radio station 3TFM and Skills Development Scotland to promote careers at sea over the airwaves. 3TFM runs a regular careers show featuring lively interviews and music, and last month the production team visited the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry Caledonian Isles to meet the crew. Presenter Eddy Gemmell was shown round the ship and interviewed crew members in a range of roles, while his colleague Joanne McAdams made some short films for broadcast on the YouTube website (pictured). All areas of the ship were explored, including the bridge, engineroom, cafeteria, galley and vehicle deck. Interviewees included the master, Captain Colin MacBain, as well as other deck officers, senior and junior engineers, motormen, the bosun, onboard services staff and catering staff. To show that careers at sea are not just for the traditional young male school-leaver, the team spoke to 42-year old deck cadet Victor Burns, and, away from the ship, to Lauren Ferguson, a female officer trainee. There was also a discussion with Captain Norman Jones, Caledonian MacBrayne’s group training manager. The show is due to air at 13.00GMT on 6 November, and can be heard around the world via the website www.3tfm.org — click on ‘Listen Now’. Nautilus International is looking into the possibility of hosting a podcast of the show on the Union’s own website; more information on this will be published in the Telegraph when available. Meanwhile, the short films shot on the Caledonian Isles can be viewed at www.youtube. com/careersshow. g Send in your song requests to Eddy Gemmell! The presenter has invited Telegraph readers to contact him with music requests and dedications for the show, so if you’re reading this before 6 November, you can get in touch with Eddy at edward.gemmell@careersscotland.org.uk Scenes from the films Pictures: Skills Development Scotland X Nautilus has stepped up its campaign to safeguard Scottish ferry services — making a submission to the Scottish Executive and a presentation to members of the Scottish parliament. Assistant general secretary Paul Moloney spoke to SNP and Labour MSPs last month at an event organised by the Scottish TUC, outlining the contents of the Union’s response to the Executive consultation on the future of Scotland’s ferry services. ‘This was a useful opportunity offered by the STUC, and there is no doubt that the message regarding safety was well received by the MSPs who attended,’ he told the Telegraph. Mr Moloney also took part in the Scottish Maritime Conference in Edinburgh, raising the issues of the ferries review with transport minister Stewart Stevenson. In its consultation submission, Nautilus says it recognises the need for a long-term strategy for Scotland’s ferries — but registers surprise that ‘there is no specific mention of safety within the aims of the policy’ outlined by the Executive’s review paper. It reminds the Executive of the publicly-owned Scottish ferry operators’ excellent safety record, preservation of which ‘must be the paramount concern of the review team’. Scotland’s safety record does not happen by chance, says Nautilus. ‘It is the result of safety being at the forefront of every decision made’. The ferry companies do not compete with each other by simply trying to undercut their rivals on wage costs, the submission notes. ‘Indeed, it is recognised that many of Scotland’s ferry routes are essential lifeline services to the communities of the islands.’ Nautilus urges the review team to develop indicators to ensure that ‘any proposal that is made can be made by enhancing, or at the very least maintaining, the excellent safety record of Scotland’s ferry services’. The Union issued its call Europort Nautilus assistant general secretary Paul Moloney with Labour’s Scottish transport spokesman Des McNulty at the Parliament meeting last month “ Scotland’s lifeline services remain in the public sector providing a safe and efficient service ” against the background of uncertainty that exists over the European Commission’s investigation into the subsidies paid to some of Scotland’s ferry services. The Union believes such subsidies are legal and that the arrangements fall within current EU cabotage policy. But should the European review prove unfavourable, the Union urges the Scottish Executive ‘to find other ways of ensuring that Scotland’s lifeline services remain in the public sector providing a safe and efficient service’. The submission highlights the type of competition that has ‘been allowed to creep in’ to the European ferry sector, such as services operating between the UK and the near continent with vessels flying flags of convenience and employing few, if any, UK/EU nationals onboard. And the Union warns against any further importation of pennypinching practices current in global shipping. ‘Nautilus takes the view that appropriate measures need to be put in place by individual governments and by the EU to assist quality companies to compete in this environment in a way that protects quality, encourages training to the highest levels and promotes safety and efficiency as the Key Performance Indicators on which companies compete, rather than simply cost.’ Nautilus International will be taking a stand at the Europort 2009 conference and exhibition being staged at the Ahoy centre in Rotterdam between 3-6 November. Officials from the Union will be running an information stand — Booth number: 8.108 — for the duration of the exhibition, and existing and potential members are urged to pay a visit. The event aims to bring together all sectors of the maritime industry, including inland navigation, deepsea and coastal shipping, dredging, offshore, construction vessels, workboats, naval specials, superyachts and fishing. The main focus of this year’s event will be advanced technology. For more information see: www.europort.nl
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