Gen Memo 07/16: Pilots & Officers / Comms During Pilotage / ICS Welcomes ILO Convention /

Busy Year for Trainers / Sixty Years Ago/ Autonomous Tugs

Dear Members

PLEASE ENSURE THIS MEMO IS WIDELY DISTRIBUTED WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION

1 Marine Pilots and Masters/Officers

Please refer to the attached for safety deficiencies associated with teamwork on the bridge, including

communication between marine pilots and masters/officers of the watch.

2 Communications & Teamwork Vital During Pilotage

Please refer to the attached 'Communications' for an expression of concern about the situation occurring

on many bridges.

3 ICS Welcomes Progress on ILO Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention

Please refer to the attached for a report on progress with the ILO Seafarers Identity Documents

Convention

4 A Busy Year for Trainers

On 1 January 2017, the phase in transition period ends and every seafarer employed on a ship must have

certificates issued in accordance with the new requirements; please refer to the attached.

5 Sixty Years Ago

It is 60 years since Malcom McLean organised the first ship carrying 58 cargo-laden truck-trailers on its

specially fitted deck from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas and initiated the container revolution;

please refer to the attached.

6 Autonomous Tugs

Please refer to the attached for an article about autonomous tugs.

Kind regards

Rod Short

--

Executive Secretary

GlobalMET Limited

 

 

MAIIF/IMPA Joint Education Project

The Marine Accident Investigators International Forum (MAIIF) has completed numerous studies and investigations on the operational relationship between marine pilots and ship masters/watchkeeping officers. For its part, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) has completed a number of surveys regarding operational practices on the bridge of vessels under pilotage including matters such as the initial master/pilot exchange and the nature and extent of support received from bridge teams throughout pilotage assignments. Safety deficiencies associated with teamwork on the bridge, including communication between marine pilots and masters/officers of the watch, is a shared concern for our two organizations.

It is well established that the pilot and the bridge team should develop a shared mental model of how a voyage will unfold. The initial master-pilot exchange is an important part of the process by which the master and the pilot can develop such a model and resolve uncertainties about how intended maneuvers are to be carried out. It is also important that adequate communication between the pilot and the bridge team continues throughout the voyage. When the pilot and bridge officers share a similar mental model of the voyage, they are able to individually monitor the progress of maneuvers from their different vantage points on the vessel, thereby reducing the possibility of single point failure.

While the IMO and Member States have demonstrated due diligence and have implemented mandatory training for ships’ crews and pilots, the number of accidents in which the cause or a finding as to risk is related to the pilot/bridge team relationship continues to be an object of concern. MAIIF and IMPA have found that, in the absence of effective monitoring , the pilot has little support in the navigation of the vessel.

In marine pilotage operations, effective situational awareness involves: 1) perceiving critical factors in the environment, 2) understanding what those factors mean with respect to controlling the vessel, and 3) projecting what will happen in the near future and taking appropriate action. Situational awareness is enhanced by good communication and, since the bridge team and the pilot work together towards a common goal, ongoing sharing of information is necessary for both parties to be fully effective.

The respective obligations of pilots and bridge teams are well established in various international instruments. The Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping Code emphasize the importance of an ongoing exchange of information between the master and the pilot and state that “despite the duties and obligations of pilots, their presence on board does not relieve the master or officer in charge of the navigational watch from their duties and obligations for the safety of the ship.” At the same time, IMO’s Resolution A960 states that: “Masters and bridge officers have a duty to support the pilot and to ensure that his/her actions are monitored at all times” and “The master, bridge officers and pilot share a responsibility for good communications and understanding of each other’s role for the safe conduct of the vessel in pilotage waters.” (A960, Annex 2, paragraphs 2.3 and 2.2).

Communication and team work vital during pilot operations, says UK P&I Club and Solis Marine Consultants A joint study by UK P&I Club and Solis Marine Consultants found ‘human error’ and the breakdown of communications on the bridge is a major contributing factor in claims. Stuart Edmonston, Loss Prevention Director at UK P&I Club, and Captain John Simpson, Director at Solis Marine, examine the issues raised and highlight the relevant actions to take to reduce the risk of accidents. “Despite the falling cost of claims resulting from human error, good communication between masters and their bridge teams during pilot operations remains critical to avoid unnecessary accidents. “Even with the development of on-board sailing directions and port guides, together with what may have been provided by the local agent, there will still be areas where further detail is required by the bridge team. A master can be familiar with a port after frequent visits, but there will be many aspects that can only be properly completed when the pilot actually boards. That is the opportunity for the master to seek the information and advice that will fill in the missing gaps for the transit, manoeuvre, berth and tugs. The bridge team must ensure that they know the following:

· The transit to and from the berth, including the route agreed, speed and timing, local traffic regulations and emergency anchorage areas· Details of the tugs used, including their type and power, time of arrival, and whether the ship’s or the tug’s line is to be used; · Information on the berth, such as limitations on vessel size, turning areas, mooring plans, and berthing speed limits “With the pilot onboard, the master and bridge team should confirm arrangements and ensure that they are satisfied with the planned transit and berthing/unberthing manoeuvre. This is the best opportunity to talk to the pilot and to clarify any issues that have been identified during the preparation of the onboard plan. The co-operation of the master and bridge team includes confirmation of the language to be used throughout, so that helm and engine orders can be quickly and properly acknowledged and carried out.

“It is important that both the master and pilot are clear about the status of the vessel and the planned passage. However competent the pilot is, the bridge team must monitor the progress of the vessel on the chart or ECDIS. A pilot should never mind being asked questions about the position of the vessel in the channel or unexpected depth soundings. It cannot be assumed that the pilot knows everything, but the more information is exchanged, the more effectively the transit and manoeuvre will be carried out.“During the master pilot exchange, the priority should be to ensure efficient and timely communication to embark on a safe passage, and not the overloading of the bridge team and pilot with unnecessary information and questions.” Source: UK P&I Club

ICS Welcomes Progress on ILO Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention The International Chamber of Shipping, as the Secretariat for the Shipowner Group at the International Labour Organization (ILO), co-ordinated employers’ representatives at the Ad Hoc Tripartite Maritime Committee on the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185), held in Geneva from 10 to 12 February 2016. ILO 185 requires ratifying nations to issue resident seafarers with Seafarers’ Identity Documents (SIDs), and to facilitate the entry of foreign seafarers holding such documents into their territory for the purposes of shore leave, transfer and transit. However, since its adoption in 2003, the Convention has failed to achieve widespread implementation, in large part because the technical standards adopted have been superseded by the technologies and infrastructure now used for the issuance and verification of ePassports. ICS is pleased that, with a view to addressing this impasse, last week’s meeting adopted amendments to Annexes I, II and III of the Convention, establishing that SIDs are to conform to the mandatory requirements for other electronic machine-readable travel documents in use, such as ePassports. A resolution on transitional measures and entry into force of the amendments was also adopted by the Committee, together with a resolution calling upon countries to do their utmost to implement measures to facilitate access to shore leave and the transit of seafarers to and from ships. Speaking after the meeting, spokesperson for the Shipowner Group, Joe Cox, observed that: “Shipowners are pleased to finally see the adoption of these important amendments. In addressing the outstanding technical issues, the revised annexes appear to outline a way forward that will make it easier for governments to ratify and implement this important Convention.” He added: “We are confident that, moving forward, the amendments will lead to the greater harmonisation of formalities and procedures regarding the facilitation of access to shore leave and the transit of seafarers to and from ships. These are vital elements of a seafarer’s well-being and by extension of the safe and effective functioning of the global shipping industry.” The amendments will enter into force one year after their adoption by the 105th Session of the International Labour Conference, which will take place in June 2016. Source: ICS

A Busy Year for Trainers

The amended convention actually came into force on 1 January 2012 but its provisions allowed for a phased in implementation period of up to five years. The exact requirements of how quickly the transitional period was to be implemented was left to flag states and some may have already fully implemented the amended requirements. Seafarers certificates issued before the amendments came into force could remain valid if the flag state approved. From July 2013 all new training and competence has been required to comply with the new convention but of course many seafarers would have received their certificates before this date. An additional requirement was that since 1 January 2014 all seafarers have had to participate in security training. On 1 January 2017, the phase in transition period ends and every seafarer employed on a ship must have certificates issued in accordance with the new requirements. STCW 2010 is quite different from its 1995 predecessor and introduced a whole raft of changes. As well as new ranks of seafarer competencies there is also a requirement for regular updating training. The STCW courses that are required to be updated are:

Personal Survival Techniques Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting Advanced Fire Fighting Proficiency in Survival Craft & Rescue Boat Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boat

There is provision within STCW for some of the updating to be done on board but this must be supported by documentation if a reduced updating/refresher training course is being contemplated. As well as the new training and certification rules, STCW 2010 also attempts to tighten up on certification to eliminate the number of fraudulent documents that have been found to exist. All documents are now to be endorsed by the flag state of a ship a seafarer is employed on. Such endorsements are not a mere rubber stamp exercise but are also intended to ensure quality of training. It is quite usual for training establishments to issue their own documentation for completed courses but these and indeed the training itself may not be recognised by a flag state. Since seafarers may serve on ships under different flags during the validity of their certificates, it is important that any training undertaken is acceptable to the likely flag states concerned. Tied in with the new requirements under STCW is the increasing need for navigating officers to be trained to operate ECDIS. STCW provisions require crew to be trained for working with new technologies. Quite clearly this will apply to ECDIS which this year sees a new stage of the rollout applying to dry cargo ships of 50,000gt and above with smaller vessels following over the next two years. The need for ECDIS training is something that has been heavily promoted over the past few years and should of course be on the radar of all ship operators. Currently highly topical but it is not the only new technology that is emerging onboard ships. There are the insidious advance of e-navigation and the so-called ‘internet of things’ along with so many other instances of computer controlled equipment.

New machinery is also being installed on ships and although operating a ballast treatment system or a scrubber might not be much different from other equipment on board, batteries, fuel cells and LNG bunkering, storage and fuel systems will require some new skills to be learned. The training needs around LNG as a fuel have already been identified and when adopting the code in June last year the IMO also adopted related amendments to STCW to include new mandatory minimum requirements for the training and qualifications of masters, officers, ratings and other personnel on ships subject to the IGF Code. The amendments also have an entry into force date of 1 January 2017, in line with the SOLAS amendments related to the IGF Code. Some basic details of the training required were included in an IMO circular (STCW.7/Circ.23) issued in December 2014. The circular states ‘Basic and advanced training should be given by qualified personnel experienced in the handling and characteristics of the fuels used and the safety procedures involved’. Given that LNG fuel systems are a recent development and that very few ships have so far been built, it may be that some training establishments may experience difficulties in finding qualified and experienced personnel to carry out the training of crews. The possible size of the task facing both operators and training establishments is beginning to become obvious based on a number of initiatives that have been launched in the closing months of 2015. For example Irish-based GAC Training and Service Solutions (GTSS) has teamed up with travel specialist ATPI Griffinstone to offer a fully integrated training and travel service. The service aims to offer access to convenient, cost-effective, standardised crew training across a worldwide network of approved facilities. With many machinery systems in its product range, Alfa Laval has conducted training courses for many years, both on its own premises and in other locations around the world. Mostly these have been tailor-made sessions but now the company is introducing a range of open training courses, designed to let more customers take advantage of specialist expertise. Some training is offered at the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre in Aalborg, Denmark, which comprises cutting-edge training facilities in addition to its 250 m2 testing space. Customer-focused courses are regularly conducted on Alfa Laval’s premises in Tumba, Sweden, but also worldwide in places like the Philippine capital of Manilla, where around 500 customers are trained each year. Now Alfa Laval will offer a range of open courses as well, allowing individual operators and small groups to participate. Open training courses will focus on key areas of concern for all ship owners and operators. The first, which will deal with separators, will be a three-day course aimed at equipment operators, technical crew and superintendents. This course will take place 23-25 February 2016. By relating in-depth knowledge through the courses, and by teaching proper operational, maintenance and service procedures, Alfa Laval experts will help participants to optimise safety and ensure the correct handling that prevents unnecessary wear and stops.

In another training related initiative, Seagull Maritime has launched an advanced software tool designed to benchmark seafarer knowledge levels and allow operators to compare their crew and potential recruits with industry peers. The new tool will provide shipping companies with online access to data that can help them take objective decisions on recruitment sources and identify areas where further training is required. Through its existing Crew Evaluation System (CES), which holds records from 250 companies and from more than 500,000 test results, Seagull Maritime is enabling customers to benchmark knowledge of their crews against industry data identifying attributes that include nationality, rank, and crew pool. The tool is available online in an easy to use web-based application that provides reports and graphics for detailed analysis. “STCW certification is essential, but it is not a guarantee of competence,” said Roger Ringstad, MD at Seagull Maritime. “Our Crew Evaluation System is widely used to test and verify the knowledge level of seafarers, but benchmarking takes its usefulness to another level. This will be an eye opener for employers, who can base their crew supply decisions on accurate information, not supposition.” Also taking an interest in training, Italian classification society RINA Services has launched a new Competence Management System certification which it says helps ship owners and managers to raise the skill levels of their crews and shore staff above the basic statutory requirements. Italy-based PB Tankers is the first company to benefit from the new voluntary certification. RINA’s Competence Management System is set out in RINA NCC89E Rules for the Certification of Competence Management Systems. It requires companies to establish, document, implement and maintain a competence management system and continually improve its effectiveness in accordance with the requirements of the rules. The company must determine the criteria and methods needed to ensure that both the operation and control of the competence management system are effective and ensure the availability of resources and information necessary to support the operation and monitoring of the competence management system. The CMS has to include a competence management policy, a plan for the implementation of the competence management system on board and ashore, defined company objectives and indicators relevant to the competence management system, procedures for competence assessment and gap analysis and a plan of competence acquisition. A monitoring and evaluation process must be built in. It is certified for three years following an initial audit, then maintained with annual audits.

Sixty Years Ago. April 26, 1956. The Container Ship’s Maiden Voyage

The converted tanker Ideal X leaves Newark, New Jersey, carrying 58 cargo-laden truck-trailers on its specially fitted deck. Containerization is born. Globalization has set sail.The first container ship was the brainchild of North Carolina businessman Malcom McLean, who bought a second-hand truck in 1934 and built it into a fleet of nearly 1,800 trucks, the largest in the South and the fifth largest in the USA. As early as 1937, he’d noted the wasted time of break-bulk cargo handling, with longshoremen or stevedores laboriously loading individual items like sacks of coffee or nets full of cotton bales. He thought it would make much more sense to lift wholetruck trailers on and off the ship. And he wanted to savetaxes as well as time. Sending truck trailers by ship from one domestic port to another would avoid the state fees imposed for excess weight as a truck passed through a dozen or more states. The Seatrain shipping line had carried railroad boxcars on deck as early as 1929 on the New York–to–Cuba run. But McLean envisioned ships dedicated entirely to the new loading system. He wanted to separate the truck container from its bed and wheels, and he conceived an angled-corner-post system to allow easy stacking and hold the containers in place. So, he sold his trucking business (to avoid antitrust issues and the enmity of the established shipping lines), and bought Pan-Atlantic Tanker Co. He renamed it Sea-Land Shipping and beta-tested his idea with the Ideal X.

McLean’s gamble was closely watched, and by the time the ship arrived in Houston five days later, she already had space booked to ship containers north. The cost savings began immediately, and they got bigger. Ports needed to retool and install new, jumbo cranes, but more and more did so as they saw other containerized ports increase traffic. Ships were built to contain nothing but containers, above deck and below. Containers were soon standardized to make the system global. They’re now 8 feet wide, either 20 or 40 feet long, with heights of 8, 81⁄2 or 91⁄2 feet. In a classic effect, increasing the nodes in the network increased the capabilities — and therefore the value — of every other part of the network. The U.S. military’s need to supply troops across the Pacific during the Vietnam War also provided a big push for containerization. And it proved the container ship in international rather than just domestic, coastal trade. About 90% of global cargo is now carried by container. Automobiles are the biggest exception, but thanks to refrigerated containers that plug in to shipboard electrical systems, food is not. The average cost of shipping a product overseas has fallen from 15% of retail to less than 1%. There’s less breakage and theft, but there is a downside. Ports handle more cargo, but there aren’t as many jobs for dockworkers. And low- cost goods from overseas have cost millions of jobs in developed economies. McLean was surely a visionary, but that doesn’t make him a saint. With thanks to From the Bridge, the newsletter of the Master Mariners of Canada www.mastermariners.ca February 2016 By Randy Alfred Email Author April 26, 2012 http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2012/04/april-26-1956-the-container-ships-maiden-voyage/

Autonomous tugs: A vision of the future?

The renowned firm of naval architects, Robert Allan Limited (RAL), has recently invited the industry to imagine the impact of a workboat designed to operate in hazardous environments, but without risk to crew. The Canadian company points out that drone technologies have opened up a new realm of possibilities for tug operations and, following a research and development programme lasting more than a year, the company has unveiled a new autonomous tug concept, called the RAmora. Part of an anticipated TOWBoT (Tele-Operated Workboat or Tug) series, the RAmora 2400 is designed primarily for ship assist and berthing operations. A high-performance tug with a bollard pull of 55 tonnes, it features a hybrid propulsion system and substantial battery storage capacity to enable extended operation even in potentially hazardous environments such as LNG terminals or fire-fighting situations. According to RAL, RAmora is designed to leverage - not lose - the capabilities of a traditional tug and operator by working in tandem with a conventional 'command tug'. An experienced tug master, operating RAmora remotely from the command tug, will use the ‘immersive telepresence’ features built into the RAmora console, including live 360 degree video and real-time electronic position-sensing to capture a continuous on-board perspective for safe and effective ship handling. An advanced real-time control system provides the interface for the operator, as well as onboard manoeuvring/positioning controls, equipment and workspace monitoring and safety management functionality. This control system design has been developed in partnership with International Submarine Engineering of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, and is derived from proven remotely operated vehicle, autonomous underwater vehicle and surface vessel applications.

The RAmora design incorporates Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) drives arranged in a fore/aft configuration for omni-directional manoeuvrability, profiting from experience gained with RAL’s new RAVE tug concept. The hull form, designed for high stability and good seakeeping performance in waves, is the product of extensive development work including CFD and towing tank testing. However, being a TOWBoT, with no need for a conventional wheelhouse, crew accommodation, domestic systems or lifesaving equipment, RAmora is claimed to be simpler and more compact than any conventional tug of comparable performance. Additionally, the RAmora 2400 has several other innovative features. Heavy-duty cylindrical fendering is installed about the entire deck perimeter to allow RAmora to push from any point, while a stabilised line- handling crane is used to pass the end of the towline to the ship. According to RAL, the combination of the clear working deck, slotted staple design and fore/aft VSP configuration makes RAmora extremely versatile, and more importantly, safer for ship handling operations which pose higher risk to crewed tugs, such as working in close proximity to the bow of a ship that is underway, or within confined channels or locks. RAL says it has been working with a number of tug operator clients, a major classification society, Voith and other supplier partners to ensure the RAmora TOWBoT system is fully viable, safe, highly reliable and meets the requirements of local port and harbour authorities. According to the company, “As the first of its type, the RAmora is set to become a powerful new player in the modern tug fleet in the years to come.”It will be interesting to see how the RAmora concept progresses and who will be brave enough to commission a first in series. Regulatory issues will also have to be addressed by port authorities to allow such unmanned craft to operate. However the concept shows that when it comes to embracing new technology used in other industries the tug sector is right up there at the cutting edge. 05 Oct 2015 http://www.tugtechnologyandbusiness.com/news/view,autonomous-tugs-a-vision-of-the-future_39373.htm