Tag: anchor

The grounding of the general cargo ship ‘Harvest Caroline’ constitutes an interesting case study of how inconsistent implementation of ISM can lead to unpleasant situations. 

MPA Singapore issued an alert concerning vessels' sailing through specific working areas at the port of Singapore. Specifically, the port marine notice focuses on mariners that are to operate off raffles reserved anchorage that they should be careful when sailing through the working area.

Japan Transport Safety Board issued an accident investigation concerning a cargo ship that was un-manoeuvrable due to lack of handling its anchor. By having only one anchor, the vessel drifted in the current and collided with a bulk carrier, resulting to both vessels having damages. Yet, there were no injuries reported.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has published Port Marine Circular (PMC) No. 06 of 2019 to inform ship masters, owners, and agents of vessels of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (Port Limits – Suspension) Notification 2019 that came into operation on 08 April 2019 at 0001hours.

Malta has traditionally been dependent on diesel and heavy fuel oil for its power generation. However, these facilities no longer comply with current European environmental legislation and are inefficient and expensive. To address all of these issues, ElectroGas Malta Consortium developed a liquid-natural-gas-to-power project.

A recent change in the procedure for handling loss of anchor incidents in Singapore means that MPA Singapore now involves itself directly with the local contractors in such cases. This has also led to a change in the procedure for obtaining permission for the vessel to leave Singapore waters following such an incident.

Accidents involving ships at anchor usually occur when the anchor drags and the vessel drifts without holding power, leading to collisions, groundings or strandings. In a recent Loss prevention guide, the Japan P&I Club shared key countermeasures for preventing an anchor dragging in stormy weather.

As more people are heading out to sea over summer, safety both onboard and overboard is under the spotlight. For this reason, ISO updated the international guidelines for the effectiveness of sea anchors for rescue boats in the 'ISO 17339:2018, Ships and marine technology – Life saving and fire protection – Sea anchors for survival craft and rescue boats.'

The anchoring operation of a ship is a complex activity, especially when it is being carried out in busy anchorages or in ports’ outer limits where traffic is heavy. It involves the use of critical shipboard equipment and requires high level of situational awareness.

The Singapore Strait and the Port of Singapore are busy waterways, where large numbers of ships of different types transit and make port calls. As such, MPA Singapore issued a circular providing safe navigation tips for vessels sailing in regional waters.