An independent safety study into the Panama Canal expansion, which was commissioned by the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and released yesterday at a press conference in Panama City, has raised pressing concerns about the canal’s new locks.
The ITF commissioned the study, which was carried out by Brazil’s Fundação Homem de Mar (FHM), in response to safety concerns raised by its Panamanian member unions . FHM was tasked with preparing a mathematical model, using a Manoeuvring Simulator Class A, to recreate the new locks, a neo-Panamax vessel and the tugboats that would assist its manoeuvres.
The concerns raised by the unions centred on the Panama Canal Administration’s refusal to engage in dialogue on matters such as training, as well as the technical and construction issues that have led to delays in the operation of the new infrastructure. They have been borne out by the study’s simulation exercises. These, using a neo-Panamax model vessel and two tugboats, concluded that the safety of manoeuvrability is compromised due to several factors:
- The locks’ dimensions are too small for safe operation (with both gates closed);
- There are no refuge areas for the tugboats inside the locks, leaving no room for failure (human error, miscommunication, broken lines or engine failure);
- The bollard pull is insufficient;
- In terms of manoeuvrability in the locks, the control of the vessel was compromised under the average environmental conditions present in that geographic area (data provided by the contracting party). The main reasons were the low power of the tugboats and the required bollard pull. With milder conditions the exercise was concluded safely.
ITF general secretary Steve Cotton commented
“The issues identified in this study will not be a surprise to workers on the canal. Unfortunately their expertise and experience have up to now been snubbed. Thankfully they’re still on offer. Those who’ll be working these locks have to be brought into the process, while there’s still time to fix the defects.
“We share our affiliated unions’ concerns and we can assure that The ITF and its canal affiliates want the new canal to be safe and to work. The Panama Canal is crucial for the international maritime industry. We offer our full support to make this important maritime route safe for all those who transit it or work on it, and for a positive engagement between unions and the PCA.”
He concluded: “We believe that this is an issue where there is common ground with shipowners, insurers and others in the maritime industry, so we will seek to engage them in the discussions and strategies for improvement in this crucial area and may also consider updating the simulation to cover new manoeuvring alternatives in co-operation with the PCA, as well as other shipping industry representatives .”
The study recommends that a complete risk analysis and special training should be carried out to those who are involvd in manoeuvres, principally pilots and tugs captains, to avoid any accidents that may result in loss of life or pollution.
Please click below to read the study
Also, view the following video which shows the simulation exercises in the new set of locks of Panama Canal. These exercises were carried out between September 11th 2015 and April 14th 2016 at FHM the “Fundação Homem de Mar” Manoeuvring Simulator Class A in Rio de Janeiro.Different environmental conditions historically recorded in the area, including current and wind, were used in the simulation exercises. The data of the area, tugboats, model vessel and environmental conditions was provided by the contracting party.
Source: ITF
