Tag: Mooring Procedures cm

Mooring and unmooring operations hide a number of risks for those who get involved, many times leading to a fatal accident or a collision; Thus, it is of a great importance when conducting any mooring operation to follow specific steps to ensure the safety of all those conducting the operation.

A large LNG carrier was docked in an LNG terminal in UK. The 345.30m LOA carrier was moored with a total number of 20 lines (high modulus polyethylene ropes) following the ‘3-2-3-2 fore and aft’ rule. The vessel had 22 lines on board (as per manufacturer’s requirements) to be used during mooring operations of 44mm diameter Steelite Superline Xtra high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) with a specified minimum breaking load (MBL) of 137t.

In July 2018, OCIMF issued the fourth edition of its Mooring Equipment Guidelines (MEG4) to update related guidelines and include new chapters on Human Factors in Mooring Design, Jetty Design and Fittings, Ship Shore Interface and Alternative Technologies.

Mooring is a key operation onboard, hindering many challenges for crew members involved. In particular, many accidents involving mooring equipment have reported in the last years, resulting to injuries and expensive claims.

Sometimes the anchor may drag, something that may not be in control of the crew. So, what rests for the crew to do is to recognize the signs of a dragging anchor?

Speaking at SAFETY4SEA Forum in Athens, David Nichol, Senior Loss Prevention Executive, UK P&I Club focused on safe mooring, providing a brief overview of the challenges facing seafarers as well as common failures arising from mooring accident investigations.

Intertanko launched new guidance on Mooring System Management Plans and Line Management Plans. The guidance is developed to assist operators ensure compliance with MEG4 and address the questions in Vessel Inspection Questionnaire. With this guide, Intertanko also aims to help operators manage the relevant equipment and lines from design to retirement.

Reviewing the guidance, there are two issues that may require more clarification for the operators: The first issue refers to the maximum breaking load that a line should have in order to be purchased. The second issue refers to the retirement of a line (or supportive equipment as tails)

Mooring and unmooring operations provide the circumstances for potentially serious accidents. There is no doubt that, this duty requires a good technique initially in lifting the heavy eye of the rope, followed by a good pulling technique. Care must be taken, therefore with the laying out of heavy mooring ropes and wire ropes/hawsers. 

The fourth edition has been extensively updated and addresses: Lessons learned from incidents, most notably from failures of HMSF mooring lines; Human centred mooring designs and human factors in mooring operations; New and in-development regulations and guidance from the IMO on the safety of mooring; Alternative mooring technologies and how they can be incorporated safely into the design of mooring systems both for ships and terminals.