Corrective and preventative actions
A deep draught tanker arrived at a port to discharge her oil cargo and temporarily anchored in the exposed roadstead in order to await her turn. Expecting to berth the following day, the Master paid out a scope of 6 shackles of chain on the port anchor in gale conditions. The next morning, the weather was unchanged and the vessel received instructions to proceed to the pilot boarding ground to embark pilot. The engine was readied and the vessel began weighing anchor.
When 4 shackles had been heaved in, the windlass hydraulic motor suddenly failed and the entire 11 shackles of chain ran out at such speed that the brake was damaged as the crew tried desperately to check the cable. Fortunately, there was no injury and the bitter end securing of the cable in the chain locker did not part. Ship’s staff temporarily exchanged the damaged port windlass hydraulic motor with the operational starboard unit, and after a short delay, the ship weighed anchor and proceeded to her designated berth. The managers arranged for a classification society surveyor to attend the ship at berth and survey the damage, after which a condition of class was imposed.
Root cause/contributory factors
1. Lack of proper risk assessment, including special consideration for adverse weather conditions, as required by SMS procedures;
2. Master did not consider high loads on chain and windlass;
3. Ineffective use of main engine to ease stress on cable while heaving up anchor in rough weather;
4. Ineffective use of manpower – Master had delegated the inexperienced third officer to heave up the anchor in bad weather and retained the experienced chief officer in the wheelhouse.
Corrective/preventative actions
1. A new hydraulic motor was ordered to replace the damaged one;
2. The incident was reviewed by the management office, and shared with all vessels in the fleet;
3. The incident was discussed with the windlass maker’s technical representative, whose report was circulated to the fleet;
4. Master and bridge team members have been advised to review the anchoring procedures in the SMS and ensure full compliance;
5. The marine superintendent visited the ship soon after the incident and offered further guidance on safe anchoring procedures;
6. The Master will undergo a de-briefing at the end of his tenure in the office to establish useful lessons from the incident. These will become part of pre-boarding briefing for all Masters as they sign on, and will form part of future company seminars and workshops;
7. Managers will include a safety DVD / CBT module on anchoring in the onboard training library kit;
8. A copy of OCIMF’s publication Estimating the Environmental Loads on Anchoring Systems has been sent to all vessels under management with instructions for the bridge teams to estimate forces when weighing anchor, especially in rough sea and weather conditions.
Source: Mars/Nautical Institute
