Tag: Watchkeeper

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Watchkeeper: Keeping a weather eye open

Weather is becoming more unpredictable and possibly violent There is a tendency these days perhaps to be a bit blasé about bad weather. Whatever one's view of climate change might be and the suggestion that weather is becoming more unpredictable and possibly violent, nobody can deny that shipping remains heavily weather-dependent. Indeed, it could be argued that we are likely to become more so if horsepower is to be penalised and slow steaming becomes "institutionalised". Just as the old sailing ship men were adept at using the weather to their best advantage, it could well be that the weather component of seamanship becomes more - not less, important - as the century progresses.All enclosed wheelhouses, externally generated weather forecasts and weather routeing services, along with reliable power plants, may well combine to almost isolate the mariner from the meteorological conditions, suggesting that weather is "somebody else's" business. Nothing could be further from the truth, although it is a regrettable fact that charterers often attempt to "micromanage" the conduct of a voyage by trespassing into areas that are more appropriately left to the Master.Charterers themselves, particularly those without seagoing experience, need to take a step back and learn something about the ...

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When the past repeats itself

Nowdays, it looks similar to the 1970s and 1980s Ship values are causing concern, as those who bought ships when the price was high are now finding that they must face a precipitate decline in the market and book value of these same nearly-new vessels. It is something that is completely predictable, what with the febrile state of the global economy but also a perfectly natural consequence of both the over-optimism that saw so much over-ordering and the effect that this would inevitably have upon ship supply.One does not have to be much of an historian to relate this regrettable coincidence of bad news to the situation in the 1970s and 1980s, when the seeds of the shipping industry's long depression were sown in a similar fashion. Then it was state-supported credit that persuaded owners that they should buy against a new era of perpetual growth. Now it has been everything from short-term demand spikes to the new fashion for public finance that drove the enthusiasm that has so spectacularly backfired since the Autumn of 2008.One can, however, be persuaded by doom-laden headlines in newspapers written by people with little concept of the historical trade cycles that govern shipping and ...

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A need for clarity with ECDIS

ECDIS tend to eventually become a mandatory carriage requirement Everyone is getting concerned about ECDIS - the Electronic Chart Display and Information System that will eventually become a mandatory carriage requirement for all merchant ships.Two P&I clubs - the Standard and the UK P&I Club - have issued comprehensive warnings to owners and managers about these important upcoming changes. The inference is that this represents a major change in navigation that needs action to deal with if ships are not to be detained, or worse still, the "ECDIS assisted accident" is not to become a grim feature of inquiries into incidents.So why is the coming of ECDIS such a big deal? Why is it so very different to all the other advances in equipment that have miraculously appeared on the bridges of ships over the past 40 years or so? ECDIS is different because the leap forward in navigation is rather larger than anything that has come before - like the arrival of radar or automated collision warning equipment, AIS or suchlike. And most importantly, it will require mandatory training before a watchkeeper is able to operate the equipment that is fitted to the ship to which he or she ...

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When ships meet ports

Everything that goes on in one port will be different to that which took place in previous ports There is a phrase famous in maritime circles which refers to "the customs of the port" and which suggests that pretty well everything that goes on in one port will be different to that which took place in the previous port, and that which will go on in the next. The procedures, the documents demanded, the "ritual" visits of all the officials which need to visit the ship and all the inspections of paperwork will be slightly different, but all will be accorded great importance. The Master of the visiting ship would be unwise to suggest that the "customs of the port" are due an overhaul!Can the ship/port interface be made more efficient? This question forms the basis of the next Nautical Institute Command Seminar, to be held in Bristol on 4-5 November, organised by the London and Bristol branches of the professional mariners' organisation. BIMCO would undoubtedly answer the question very much in the affirmative, because greater efficiency in this area has for many years been part of the agenda for better facilitation in trade, with the smooth passage of a ...

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Warnings of dangers ahead

The industry needs to support the best casualty investigation Most ships complete their voyages expeditiously and with perfect safety, and we perhaps do not give their crews and managements sufficient credit for this. But this tremendous "success rate" should not blind us to the lessons we can learn from those voyages we hear about where problems were encountered. From such reports, trends can be established and warning lights go on as we try and ensure that such a problem will not occur aboard the ships for which one bears responsibility. It is why the industry needs to support the best, most comprehensive and universal (in a global industry) system of casualty investigation, good when it is based on a "no-blame" regime, best when it is transparent.So what trends ought to be switching on those warning lights today? One very notable warning seems to be coming from pilots around the world, who have been commenting on the number of ships that are experiencing "fuel problems" in vulnerable places. Sudden losses of power can be exceedingly embarrassing in confined waters when the engines are in a manoeuvring mode. Many, it would appear, can be attributed to the new fuel regulations that are ...

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The rocky road to e-navigation

In addition to advantages, the use of ECDIS is accompanied by potential pitfalls Nobody could ever deny that electronics have provided a huge boon to the shipping industry and its safety. The comforting ability to employ satellites to provide accurate positions, regardless of weather conditions or the distance from land makes shipping more precise and far safer than it was, when a landfall after an ocean passage with no celestial observations was fraught with doubts about the accuracy of the dead reckoning.The arrival of the electronic chart display system (ECDIS) is but the latest stage in this progression, and those who have spent hours correcting their world folios by hand are grateful for the transition. At the same time, just as every technological advance has provided misunderstandings in addition to advantages, the use of ECDIS is accompanied by snares and potential pitfalls for the unwary (and untrained).Just as the "radar assisted" collisions demonstrated the importance of proper theoretical and practical training in the use of the new device, and every advance from ship to ship VHF communication to AIS has seen its share of accidents contributed to by improper use of the equipment, so a number of accidents have shown ...

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Liquefaction dangers are emphasised

The liquefaction of some bulk cargoes on passage is an old problem The liquefaction of some bulk cargoes on passage is an old problem that has regrettably not gone away. The loss of three modern ships, with heavy loss of life in 2010, was a brutal reminder of this. All were carrying Indonesian nickel ore; cargo, which by its very nature and the fact that it is mined in an area of excessively high rainfall, is recognised as hazardous and highly prone to hygroscopic effects.It would be easy to suggest that it was inadequate testing to determine the water content that was the problem, or that prudent operators should reject such charters out of hand. But the fact is that these cargoes are of increasing value, so that the demand for them by steelmakers is high and growing.It is also a fact that there is a distinct lack of expert advice available in many of these areas, and a notable shortage of science in the determination of water content. There is also often a great deal of commercial pressure on shipmasters to accept the assurances given by the cargo owner, anxious only to get the cargo loaded and the ship ...

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Big ships carry more baggage!

Offering the solution to so many of the problems Very large ships, we are confidently told, offer the solution to so many of the problems that beset the shipping industry. To mention just a few of their advantages, there are the obvious benefits of scale economies, with one ship doing the work of perhaps two but gratifying reductions in emissions and environmental effects for the substantial payloads they offer. They save fuel, when this is expected to become still more expensive, and can move a container or a tonne of ore for a dramatically reduced unit price, or a cruise or ferry passenger carried more economically, but unlike aviation with no reduction in luxury!So is it a convincing case for "gigantism" in the maritime world? Perhaps, but as with all things there are balances which have to be struck and often quite large adjustments that must be considered. There are operational problems which have to be surmounted before the giant ship can be running smoothly and making profits for her owners. The lack of flexibility occasioned by a ship's great size is usually cited as an important negative factor. It may indeed be a real problem if the ship has ...

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