NAUTILUS P01 OCTOBER 2010.qxd - Nautilus International

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12 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | October 2010 HEALTH&SAFETY MAIB calls for big changes at MCA Union concern as report highlights ‘deep-rooted’ failings in fishing regime PNautilus has raised pointed out. Investigators also renewed concerns about found a number of serious problems on the 29-year-old vessel, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s ability to uphold including: safety standards at sea following a zpoorly maintained fishing damning report from the Marine equipment and no evidence of Accident Investigation Branch. systematic planned maintenance An investigation into a serious zthe vessel failed stability criteria for a number of structural rea- accident onboard a fishing vessel last October found that the MCA sons and was being operated in a had failed to effectively implement recommendations made as bility margins manner that further reduced sta- a result of previous incidents. znine crewmen were onboard, ‘Significant weaknesses in the despite the vessel being limited MCA’s administration of survey to a maximum of six and inspections were evident, and zcrew were working long hours, its guidance to industry had with few breaks diluted a number of safety regulations to the point they were evidence of risk assessment were zdocumentation, records and ineffective,’ the report states. missing Pointing to ‘deep-rooted’ failings in MCA procedures, the MAIB likely the trawl wire had parted The investigators said it was warned that ‘significant policy because it had become brittle and changes’ are required to improve worn through extensive use. They safety and occupational standards in the fishing sector. of poorly maintained equipment also found ‘numerous examples’ The report was prompted by onboard that could have failed, an incident last October when a resulting in death or injury. fisherman suffered chest injuries The report says the owner had after a trawl wire parted onboard disregarded the safety and welfare of the seafarers by employing the 242gt Scottish trawler Olivia Jean. ‘unqualified, sleep-deprived crew’ ‘This was the second time that with a complement in excess of a crewman onboard had been the vessel’s rescue boat exemption certificate. The MAIB also seriously injured as a result of a parting wire and the fourth time uncovered evidence that the that this vessel’s trawl wires are Olivia Jean had previously operated with up to 15 crew known to have failed,’ the MAIB onboard, New course at Tyneside is simply electric... A new high voltage training Fcourse for seafarers — said to be the only one of its kind in the world — has been launched at South Tyneside College. Aimed at engineer officers, electro-technical officers and superintendents, the Shipboard High Voltage Training Course has been approved by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and meets Merchant Navy Training Board specifications. College principal Lindsey Whiterod explained: ‘We have been running a high voltage familiarisation course for over four years but we felt like there was a need for a developed course dealing even though it was only permitted to sail with six. Some of the seven foreign crew onboard at the time of the accident had come to the UK expecting to work on merchant ships in the deepsea trades. They had also anticipated four-month contracts, but discovered they were expected to work for 18 months. There was no crew agreement onboard, and the three Ghanaian crew were unable to leave because the company held their papers and passports. The MAIB also found evidence of fatigue, as the deckhands had been working almost continuously for five to seven days at a time, with few opportunities for rest. ‘From the state of the vessel, and the way in which it was being operated, it could be construed that the owner was showing a total disregard for the safety and welfare of his employees and share fishermen onboard,’ the report added. The MAIB said the Olivia Jean’s owner appeared to have been willing to run the risk of detentions and delays as a result of failing inspections, and to carry out only the minimum remedial action required. The report said the MCA should carry out an extensive with specific maritime high voltage situations. ‘Marine engineers work in a different environment from those who work on land and must be able to safely operate and reconfigure their high voltage equipment in difficult operational circumstances.’ The new course is designed for officers who will be expected to supervise and/or implement onboard high voltage switching operations, and uses extensive practical exercises on modern high voltage equipment at the college’s recently-upgraded training facility, pictured above. The emphasis is on the safe working practices and procedures review following a serious injury accident to determine whether an owner/operator is providing a safe working environment onboard its vessels. ‘Until MCA surveyors review workplace practices onboard fishing vessels following serious accidents, it will not be effective in regulating the fishing industry,’ the report warned. Recommendations included a call for the MCA to review the effectiveness of its fishing vessel risk assessment and working time regulations and to improve its accident records so that trends can be identified and acted upon. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson said he was disturbed by the findings, and was concerned that the Agency’s resources allocated for fishing vessel safety have been drastically reduced. A spokesman for the MCA told the Telegraph: ‘We welcome this report and the MCA is reviewing its work in the light of the wideranging issues and recommendations that it makes. ‘Until we have considered fully our response to the recommendations and reviewed our work, the impact on MCA resources cannot be assessed,’ he added. ‘Improvements do not necessarily require more resources.’ which should be followed onboard vessels equipped with high voltage systems. Successful candidates will be trained in such things as safe isolation procedures, the safe use of testing equipment and switching procedures, together with the correct use of Electrical Permit to Work and Sanction to Test Systems. During the course, each candidate will design and implement switching plans based upon the college’s distribution systems and those who successfully complete the training will be able to work as ‘Authorised Persons’ within a team carrying out high voltage isolation and switching operations. Pictured above is the windfarm vessel MPI Resolution making its maiden call to the port of Harwich last month. The purpose-built 14,085gt ship picked up a replacement 55m blade for one of the 48 turbines at the Gunfleet Sands offshore windfarm — one of the largest in the North Sea Owners warn over UK windfarm sites Shipping safety is being put at Crisk as a result of the ‘absurd process’ for allocating windfarm sites around the UK coast, owners have claimed. The Chamber of Shipping is urging the government to make radical changes in the procedures used to determine the location of windfarms and to ensure that major routes used by merchant shipping and fishing vessels are protected. ‘All too often, shipping and other users of our seas are not taken into account or consulted until after the sites have been designated,’ said Saurabh Sachdeva, nautical consultant at the Chamber. The owners argue that the current process means that issues such as the safety of navigation and potential impact on trade routes are not considered at a sufficiently early stage when identifying and deciding on future windfarm sites. Firm claims new onload release hooks are safest A new range of onload release Ahooks for lifeboats, claimed to be the safest on the market, has been launched by Schat-Harding. The SeaCure hooks — available for retrofit to all the company’s lifeboats — have been designed to be fail-safe, and are supported by a computer-based training package for crews covering the operation and maintenance of lifeboats, davits and winches. Available in 3.5-tonne, 6-tonne, 9-tonne and 12-tonne versions, the hooks are fully compliant with the IMO’s new DE53 standard. The ‘userfriendly’ design ensures no wear and tear on critical hook components and no pins, fall prevention devices or additional loose equipment are required. Schat-Harding Service sales A new initiative has been Alaunched in an effort to reduce the number of seafarers killed and injured by powered watertight doors. Videotel Marine International has produced a new training package that highlights the hazards and aims to help seafarers follow the correct procedures. Loulla Mouzouris, Videotel’s head of rentals and sales, commented: ‘Our customers told us of some horrific cases involving powered watertight doors and also of instances where power cables or waterpipes for ‘The shipping industry’s major concern is that, despite the various codes of practice, maritime notices and the requirements of the Electricity Act, offshore renewable energy developments are increasingly encroaching on well-established sea lanes, strategic trade routes and the approaches to ports,’ the Chamber added. ‘Applications for developments continue to be put forward which clearly represent a danger to other sea users.’ Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson commented: ‘The employment of professional mariners will help to reduce risk and ensure high standards of safe ship operation. Masters and officers familiar with these waters, together with deepsea pilots, can make a significant difference to safety. The development of windfarms is providing significant employment for European seafarers and should be welcomed.’ director David Torres said the CBT package should help to reduce incidents involving human error and make crews more confident. Training bid to improve watertight door safety firefighting had become trapped in the doorways. ‘We responded to their concerns by producing this two-part video training package with a training workbook which is aimed at raising awareness of safe and correct operating practices and will benefit everyone onboard, as well as visitors and contractors working on ships,’ she added. The 26-minute training film is now being distributed within the industry and it will be followed soon by a computer-based training package.
October 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 13 HEALTH&SAFETY Bulk carrier crew tried to cover up ‘hit and Shortage of skilled seafarers prompts P&I alert run’ with fishing boat The shortage of skilled and Hexperienced seafarers is starting to drive a ‘vicious circle’ of declining safety standards at sea and ashore, a major P&I club has warned. Crew of UK-flagged ferry praised for ‘exemplary seamanship’ in responding to distress calls PNautilus has expressed alarm at a horrifying ‘hit and run’ incident in the Channel in which the crew of a Singapore-flagged bulk carrier tried to cover up evidence that they had been involved in a fatal collision with a fishing vessel. Concerns over the incident — which occurred in December 2009, some 15nm north of the Cherbourg peninsula — were intensified after accident investigators found that many ships in the area ignored distress flares and Mayday messages. But both Nautilus and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch have praised the crew of the UK-flagged ferry Norman Voyager for responding and rescuing the three surviving fishermen. The MAIB said the ferry’s officers and crew had demonstrated ‘exemplary seamanship and carried out a safe and efficient rescue ‘in the best traditions of the Merchant Navy’. The collision occurred as the 87,052dwt Alam Pintar, en route to Hamburg from Canada, twice struck the Weymouth-registered crabber Etoile des Ondes. Investigators said the bulker’s officer of the watch had seen Etoile des Ondes and realised there was a risk of collision, but his initial attempts to prevent a collision were rendered ineffective when the fishing vessel also changed course while heaving and shooting pots. The OOW ordered the wheel hard-a-starboard, but it was too late to prevent the collision. When the bulk carrier’s master arrived on the bridge, he was told the vessel had probably hit a fishing boat which had been seen ‘still afloat and well lit’ after the collision. The master checked the radar and saw a moving target astern of Alam Pintar, which he assumed to be the fishing vessel and so he ordered the ship’s engines to be increased to full speed. At this time distress flares were fired by the crabber’s survivors and a Mayday relay audible on the bridge indicated that a fishing vessel in the area required assistance. ‘Shortly after the initial “all ships — Mayday Relay” Jobourg MRCC contacted Alam Pintar specifically to ask the master to confirm if he had heard the broadcast or seen the red flares which were near his position,’ the MAIB report notes. ‘The master assured Jobourg MRCC that he had not.’ As Alam Pintar continued on passage to Hamburg, the ship’s documents and recordings, including those of the voyage data recorder, were altered or removed in an attempt to obscure any evidence suggesting a collision with Etoile des Ondes. The MAIB said the master’s decision to carry on after the collision and continuing on passage was ‘illegal, immoral and against all the traditions of the sea’. Alam Pintar — which was operated and managed by PACC- Ship (UK) with a Chinese master and officers — had an inexperienced bridge team on duty at the time, the report adds. The fourth officer — who had just two months in rank — and unqualified first-trip cadet did not comply with the requirement to keep EU to ‘name and shame’ The Singapore-flagged Alam Pintar, left, and above evidence of the collision with the fishing vessel Etoile des Ondes Pictures: MAIB a lookout and the actions taken by the OOW indicated a lack of appreciation of what could be expected from a vessel engaged in fishing. The MAIB said the attempts to alter or destroy evidence were illegal and foolish. ‘Accident investigators have a mass of information, both on board and elsewhere, which will rapidly identify such actions,’ the report adds. ‘Most technical recording devices will record all attempts to tamper with the evidence. Such attempts serve purely to turn an accident into a crime.’ Noting 20 other cases since 1991 where ships had failed to stop or offer assistance in similar circumstances, the MAIB has issued a safety flyer stressing the legal and moral obligation to respond to Maydays and highlighting the importance of effective bridge teams and the maintenance of proper navigational lookouts. The chief inspector of marine accidents also wrote to the operators of seven ships which failed to offer assistance following the accident. They were asked to explain the actions of their vessels and what they intended to do to ensure future compliance with SOLAS rules. Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson described the case as very disturbing. ‘This incident demonstrates the importance of quality training and experience of merchant officers,’ he added. ‘The master and crew of the Norman Voyager should be commended for their actions — sadly lacking amongst so many others,’ he added. And the North of England Club has questioned whether the slowdown in maritime trade will lead to a hoped-for reduction in the accident rate as a result of the industry being worked at a ‘less pressured, frantic pace’. Its annual report points to a number of recent large incidents where incompetence and negligence have resulted in disaster. Club chairman Albert Engelsman said it remains ‘starkly clear’ that human factors lie behind the vast bulk of maritime accidents. ‘The levels of competence and standards onboard ship continue to cause concern and, even in these times of recession, there still appears to be a shortage of qualified, properly experienced seafarers,’ he added. Mr Englesman said this shortfall is resulting in inexperienced crew being promoted too fast — ‘with obvious implications for safety onboard’. The trend could also have a long-term adverse effect, he warned. ‘The worry is that the next generation of seafarers will suffer because they could be learning from people who simply don’t have the requisite experience to pass on.’ Writing in the annual report, Mr Englesman said the club wanted to see much more investment in seafarer training. ‘We are concerned that, as we near the hoped-for end of recession, the problems will escalate in parallel with increased demand for personnel.’ He warned that the knock-on effect — lack of experience coming ashore — presents a threat to safety-critical posts in the maritime sector. ‘Where will we find our surveyors, our superintendents, our maritime lawyers, our harbour masters, our pilots or even our insurers’ he added. CNautilus has welcomed a new ‘name and shame’ policy to combat substandard shipping in European waters. The European Commission last month approved new rules that aim to improve the safety of the 80,000 ships operating in the region, including an online register of poor operators and tougher powers to ban vessels that repeatedly fail inspections. Coming into effect on 1 January 2011, the new rules will ensure that port state control checks are targeted on the basis of risk assessment — with better performing operators, ship types and flags rewarded with fewer inspections. The new rules will harmonise inspection standards across Europe and will, for the first time, introduce a fully coordinated system of control and analysis of all the port state safety inspections carried out in the EU. A key element of the new policy will be an advanced information tool — Thetis — operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). This will hold data on all safety inspections carried out in EU ports and provide a risk analysis to help determine the frequency of, and priorities for inspections. An associated online register will ‘name and shame’ companies whose safety performance has been found to be low or very low for three months or more. The Commission said the new regime also strengthens Europe’s ability to push substandard ships out of its waters, making it possible to ban any categories of ships, inserting a minimum time limit for a ban and introducing a permanent ban for those ships that continue to flout the rules. Vice-president Sim Kallas commented: ‘Safety is the first priority for EU. We have seen the devastating effects of maritime disasters like the sinking of the ferry Estonia or the Erika or Prestige in terms of tragic loss of life and massive environmental damage. ‘As ever, I am strongly convinced about the power of transparency,’ he added. ‘We want to shine a light on the safety records of shipping companies, flag states and certification organisations. More transparency in this sector will showcase companies with strong safety records, giving them a competitive advantage. The register will also put poor performers in their spotlight so that with tougher inspection regimes and public pressure there is every incentive for them to raise their game rather than face a ban from EU waters.’ Nautilus senior national secretary Allan Graveson commented: ‘This is a welcome step forward and it should improve the effectiveness and efficiency of port state control, by targeting high-risk ships. It should also benefit members serving on quality tonnage, as they will be subjected to far fewer inspections in port.’ S.M. Bass & Co (Manchester) Ltd prides itself on creating the smart, professional uniform look as preferred by the Merchant Navy. S.M. Bass & Co (Manchester) Ltd offer everything from complete uniforms and braids to work, safety and corporate wear for male and female crew throughout the ranks. • MN cap & blazer badges made to your company’s own specification • Braids and epaulettes made to any design • No order too small! • Delivery UK wide and international Braids Work Wear Tropical Wear Cadet Uniforms Merchant Navy Uniforms
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