What are the Primary Duties of Officer on Watch (OOW) on Ship’s Bridge?

A deck officer assigned with the duties of watch keeping and navigation on a ship’s bridge is known as the officer on watch (OOW). While keeping a watch on the bridge he is the representative of the ship’s master and has the total responsibility of safe and smooth navigation of the ship.

Officer on Watch (OOW) is also in charge of the bridge team, which is there to support him in the navigation process. He is also responsible to ensure that the ship complies with COLREGS and all the orders of the master are followed with utmost safety under all conditions.

The three main duties of an officer on watch (OOW) are:

• Navigation

• Watch keeping

• GMDSS radio watch keeping

A list of main duties of an officer on watch (OOW) is provided below. However, this is not an exhaustive list and the duties may change according to the requirements.

Duties of OOW

• Maintaining a proper watch along with general surveillance of the ship

• Monitoring and recording all bridge activities

• Checking navigational equipment in use at regular interval of time

• Following a proper navigation plan to avoid any kind of collision according to COLREGS

• Must know how to use Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA)

• Must know how to use Electronic Chart and Display System (ECDIS)

• Should be conversant with the ship’s speed, turning circles, and ship handling characteristics

• Keep a continuous watch on GMDSS radio for any kind of distress or general signals

• Prepare, execute, and monitor a safe passage plan

• Ensure handing over of the watch is done according to shipboard operation procedures

• Asking for support whenever required

• Contact master when need arise

• Should be fully aware of all safety equipment on board ship

• Must use helm and signalling apparatus whenever required

• Must know how to use all equipment meant for prevention of pollution at the sea and safety of lives

• Should not leave the bridge unattended during his watch

These are the primary duties of any officer of watch at the bridge. However, there would also be additional duties allotted to the officer depending on his rank.

The Port Of Singapore : One Of The Busiest Ports In The World

he Singapore port is unanimously regarded to be the busiest port in the world. While generalising, it is referred to as the Singaporean port, it is in fact a collection of all porting and harbouring amenities offered by the nation to all international and national vessels in transit.

According to the 2005 statistics tabulated, the port of Singapore had catered to vessels exceeding over one-point-five billion in gross tonnage, making it the world’s busiest port. Alongside, the port was also categorised as the world’s most engaged port when it came to transhipment activities.

Transhipment activities are carried out on those cargo which need further work or modifications to be carried out before they can be transported to their intended final port of destination. In the international maritime arena, the Singaporean port undertakes many such vital transhipment activities, which has further enhanced its credibility amongst the other ports of the world.

• The statistical figure of vessels’ gross tonnage catered to by the Singaporean port grew by 0.11 billion tonnes from 1.04 tonnes in 2004 to 1.15 tonnes in 2005

• The port is now ranked second after the Shanghai port in terms of the cargo handled, handling over 400 million tonnes of cargo

• Even in the container aspect, the port of Singapore container domain is a market leader in many ways

• In the year 2011, the port handled almost 30 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers

• In terms of refrigerated cargo containers, the port handled over one million TEUs of refrigerated cargo containers in the year 2011

• Vessels arriving at the busiest port, get easy route connexion to 600 various ports and harbours across the world

• The port of Singapore is also well-known as a leading player in the international fuelling (bunkering) domain

The Singapore port has been presented with numerous awards and accolades by international marine societies and institutes. These acknowledgements act as a catalyst and also as a verifiable testimony about its achievements and activities. Two most noteworthy accolades presented to the busiest port of the world include the best port operator award conferred by Lloyd and the best container terminal award conferred by the Asian Freight and Supply Chain awards. Both these awards were won in the year 2011 and not for the first time.

The port of Singapore attempts to revitalise the Asian maritime industry while competing against its Chinese, Korean and Japanese counter-parts. Through a resourceful campaign, the nation has re-defined the perception of Asian players in the once-Western dominated marine industrial and shipping sector.

Top 10 Tallest Lighthouses In The World

Lighthouses have been a part of the maritime domain right from its initial hey-days. In the ancient times, even when the architectural arena wasn’t as advanced as today, several wonderful marine lighthouses were constructed and erected. The lighthouse at Alexandria in Egypt is a long-standing testimony to this statement-of-fact, once being rated as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. These lighthouses served as an important navigational aid for ships in the past.

In our previous articles, we mentioned about the ten most beautiful lighthouses in the world and ten most beautiful lighthouse hotels in the world ; however we missed the tallest ones.

Although lighthouses aren’t still important as far as marine navigation is concerned, contemporarily there are many marine lighthouses which can be rated as being the world’s amazing lighthouses, not to mention the world’s tallest and biggest.

1. Lighthouse of Jeddah: The city of Jeddah has world-wide acclaim as a port city in the otherwise arid Saudi Arabia.

The lighthouse of Jeddah is the tallest lighthouse and the first in this list of amazing lighthouses in the world at a staggering 436 feet. Unlike conventional lighthouses, the Jeddah lighthouse acts as a control room for the city’s port and harbour.

2. Yokohama Tower: Located in the Japanese province, the Yokohama Marine Tower was built as a centenary memorial for the port of Yokohama in 1961.

At present, amongst the world’s biggest lighthouses, the Yokohama Tower ranks second at 348 feet. Initially, while the lighthouse’s flash-lighting colours used to interchange in red and green, presently, the flash lights are white in colour.

3. Pointe de Barfleur Light:  The Pointe de Barfleur Light is built in the Manche section of Barfleur in the Normandy province of France.

Anglicised as the Pointe de Barfleur Light, the lighthouse’s French title is the Phare de Gatteville. The lighthouse measures 247 feet and is the third tallest lighthouse in the world.

4. The Lighthouse of Genoa: Referred in Italian as the ‘La Lanterna’, the lighthouse is located in the Genoese province of Italy.

Measuring 253 metres, the lighthouse was built as far back dating the early 12^th century, according to sources. Extensive redevelopment activities were carried out in the years ’95 and ‘04 to ensure the lighthouse’s functionality. The La Lanterna is the biggest lighthouse in the country of Italy.

5. Punta Penna Lighthouse:  The second-biggest lighthouse in Italy, the Punta Penna lighthouse, featuring fifth in this list of tallest lighthouses in the world, is located in the province of Abruzzo.

The lighthouse is a vital presence in the harbour of Vatso and measures 230 feet.

6. Mulantao: Lighthouse Mulantao is situated in the Hainan region in China.

The lighthouse measures 237 feet and was built in the year 1995. It’s regarded to be the biggest of marine lighthouses in the Oriental nation.

7. Baishamen: The lighthouse Baishamen is also situated in the Hainan region.

The second-biggest in the country after its counter-part – Mulantao – the lighthouse measures 236 feet.

8. Storozhno Light: A Russian lighthouse marvel, the Storozhno lighthouse is located near the Ladoga Lake in the Leningrad region of Russia.

The lighthouse demarcates the village of Storozhno from the lake and the Bay of Volkhov. The lighthouse measures 233 feet and is said to be the world’s fourth biggest stone lighthouse.

9. Vittoria Light: Built in the year 1927, as a World War I memorial, the Vittoria Lighthouse stands at 223 feet.

Although its construction was proposed to be started right at the time of World War I, due to certain problems, construction work and completion began only after the war was completed. The Vittoria lighthouse is located in the Trieste region and caters to the Gulf of Trieste.

10. Cordouan Lighthouse: This lighthouse is referred to as the ‘patriarch of lighthouses’ in its native French.

The lighthouse was built in the early 17^th century and is still operational in the region of Gironde. The lighthouse combines a unique flavour to the architectural offering of France in that era, successfully bringing about a confluence of palatial, fort and church-like constructional aspects.

The need and relevance of lighthouses has changed a lot with the passing of years even though they remain a vital cog in the nature of maritime operations world-wide.

5 Biggest Oil Tankers Which Are Now Scrapped

The shipping industry has grown manifold in the past few decades. As trade grew, big players commissioned the construction of bigger ships, especially oil tankers. Most of the biggest ships in the world are oil tankers. Moreover, in the past one of the biggest ships in the world have been oil tankers. In this article we will take a look at the top five biggest oil tankers that are now scrapped.

The following mammoth sized oil tankers were built in between the mid and late 70’s. Sadly, three of these five giant vessels could not serve even for a decade and were soon scrapped. The other two, however, served much longer but were also eventually scrapped.

Let’s have a look at the five largest oil tankers that were ever made.

1. Seawise Giant

With a length longer than the Empire State Building, Seawise Giant was the longest ship ever made. She had the greatest deadweight tonnage ever with a displacement of 657, 019 tonnes; a draft of 24.6 m (81 feet). Due to her mammoth size, she could not navigate the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal or the English Channel.

She was built in 1979 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. at their Oppama shipyard in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan for a Greek owner

During the Iran-Iraq war, Seawise Giant was transiting the Strait of Hormuz and was damaged by an Iraqi air force attack. The damage caused her to be declared as a total loss and was eventually laid up in Brunei Bay.

The wreckage was bought by Norman International who towed her to Singapore from the Persian Gulf. She was repaired there and resumed services in October 1991 as Happy Giant.

Shortly after that she was bought by Jørgen Jahre and renamed as Jahre Viking. First Olsen Tankers Pte. Ltd. purchased her in 2004 and she was renamed to Knock Nevis as she was converted into a permanently moored storage tanker in the Qatar Al Shaheen oil field in the Persian Gulf.

Her new owners, Amber Development Corporation, renamed her as Mont for her final voyage to Alang, Gujarat, India in 2010 where she was scrapped.

The next four super tankers belonged to the Batillus class and were all built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire. They were the biggest ships in terms of gross tonnage that were ever constructed having approximate 555,000 metric tons deadweight and were 414 metres in length.

2. Pierre Guillaumat

This Batillus class supertanker was built for Compagnie Nationale de Navigation. She was named after Pierre Guillaumat, the French politician and founder of Elf Aquitaine oil industry.

The ship was brought in service in 1977 and was put on anchorage at Fujairah by early 1983. Her gigantic proportions didn’t allow her to pass through either the Suez or Panama canals and her draft let her enter only a minimal number of ports in the world causing her unprofitable for the company. In late 1983, she was renamed as Ulsan Master by Hyundai Corporation and brought to Ulsan, South Korea for demolition.

3. Batillus

This supertanker was built for Shell Oil in 1976. The condition of the international oil market did not improve between 1977 and 1980 and the number of voyages undertaken by the Batillus was considerably reduced to just 4 trips round the year; which were further reduced to 1 or 2 trips by 1982.

She made her last oil shipment in mid-1983 after which she was moored. Shell Oil decided to scrap her in 1985 for less than $8 million and the Batillus made her last trip to Kaohsiung, Taiwan where she was scrapped.

4. Bellamya

She was another Batillus class supertanker commissioned by Shell Oil. Work on the Bellamya was finished months after the Batillus and she began her service in 1976.

In the following years, the condition of the international oil market did not improve. Like her sister vessels, she could not be employed at a lot of places and was put out of service in 1984. She was eventually scrapped in 1986 at Ulsan, South Korea.

5. Prairial

The Prairial was the only Batillus class which was in service for more than a decade and rendered service for 24 long years before being scrapped. She was renamed several times as Sea Brilliance in 1985, Hellas Fos in 1986 and Sea Giant in 1997. She is the third largest ship ever built, surpassed in size only by Seawise Giant and sister ship Pierre Guillaumat.

The Prairial was completed and commissioned in 1979 and laid up at Vestnes, Norway by 1983. She was sold in 1985 and re-commissioned as Sea Brilliance. She was bought to the Gadani ship-breaking yard in Pakistan in 2003 and scrapped.

One cannot help but wonder at the amount of technical brilliance that must’ve gone into building these giants and the thousands of hours spent in keeping them running safely. The Maersk E-class ships will be the longest container ships when launched and yet trail behind these giants with a length difference of almost 16.5 metres from the Prairial and a good 60.75 metres from the Seawise Giant.

What makes Ro-Ro Ships unsafe?

A ro-ro vessel is one of the most sought after cargo ships to work on. Providing both cargo and passengers carrying capabilities, ro-ro ships reaches ports more frequently and have shorter voyages. The flexibility, speed and the ship’s functionality to blend with other transportation modes has made it popular among seafarers.

However, there are things that make ro-ro ships dangerous to work on. Ro-ro ships have been criticized for a number of reasons, mainly because of one single reason – safety of the ship.

Safety being the primary concern of ship owner, operator, and seafarer, lately ro-ro ship has become less famous to work on. We bring you eight reasons that make ro-ro ship is a bit dangerous to work on as compared to other ships.

1.  The Problem of Stability

If a vessel maintains its stability at sea then it is safer to sail. However, the problem with the RO-RO ship is its design, which includes cargo in upper decks and accommodation at even higher levels.

Even a minor shift of cargo in the ro-ro vessel can become a major threat to the stability of the ship. Similarly, hull failure leading to flooding can result in capsize of the vessel in no time. The effects of wind and bad weather on high accommodation can also disturb the ship’s stability.

2. Low Freeboard

In Ro-Ro ships which carry only cargo, the general arrangement of cargo access door is close to the water line. In the event of listing, the door can get submerged leading to high chances for ingress of water inside the ship which will lead to capsize.

3.  Cargo Access Door

As discussed above the effect of listing of the ship leads to ingress of water if the cargo doors are open or damaged.  One weak point of ro-ro vessel is that sometimes the cargo door itself is used as a ramp which makes the ship more vulnerable to damages.

4.  Lack of Bulkheads

The subdivision of ro-ro ship from inside lacks from the transverse bulkheads, leading to lower water tight integrity when water ingress or flooding takes place. Lack of bulkhead also leads to spreading of fire more quickly as no subdivision is present to contain the fire.

5.  Location of Life Saving Appliances (LSA)

When a ship is to be abandoned, life raft and lifeboats are used to leave the ship as soon as possible. The location of lifeboat and life rafts on ro-ro ships is usually very high, which makes it even difficult to lower them at sea especially when the ship is listing.

6.  Weather condition

Another reason which acts externally on the Ro-Ro vessel is the rough weather, which may result in reduction in the stability and cause heavy rolling of the ship. Heavy rolling has lead to capsizing of ships in the past.

7.  Cargo stowage

Cargo stowage is very important operation on Ro-Ro vessel for any loose cargo (trailer, cars etc.) can give rise to a chain reaction leading to heavy shift in cargo position. The trucks and trawlers loaded on board also carry cargo inside them and any shift of that cargo can also lead to listing of the ship.

8.  Cargo Loading

It is very difficult to have a sequential loading of cargo as cargo arrives on terminals at different intervals and due to lack of time on port. This further leads to uneven cargo distribution, something for which nothing can be done about. Lack of proper cargo distribution has been the reason for several ship accidents in the past.

Avoiding “Death Traps on Ships – Understanding Dangers of Mooring Operation

Note: The Intention of this article is not to threaten seafarers but to warn them about the dangers of mooring operation on ships and educate them on the procedure to carry it out safety.

A cargo vessel’s main earning potential is not tested from the amount of time it travels at the sea but from the efficiency of its operation at ports where the cargo is handled.

An efficient port and cargo operation of a ship is what every ship operator expects from its deck crew. The first and foremost operation performed by the deck crew as the ship reaches the port – the mooring operation, is also one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs on ships.

What makes Mooring Operation dangerous?

There have been several cases reported in the past about accidents during mooring operation that has led to severe damage or deaths of seafarer.

The mooring area on a ship comprises of foreword and aft parts of a vessel where winches are installed to pull the ropes from tug and jetty bollards.

The Mooring area is equipped with several equipment and systems such as winches, hydraulic motors, bollards, piping valves, anchor chain etc.

Following factors make this mooring area and operation dangerous:

• Use of old and damaged wires and ropes

• Unclear mooring area with unused ropes and equipment

• Mooring ropes are not fastened but stored at winch drum end

• Mooring equipment are not maintained properly

• Undersized and untrained operating staff

• Supervisor of operation is involved with some other work as a result of less crew members

• The painting of mooring area is badly planned with all surfaces and equipment painted with same colour not highlighting hazardous and tripping sights

• Over painting of drum including corners causing rope damage

• No warning marks painted

• Non slip deck is not available

• Crew not aware of Snap Back Zone

• Crew not aware of dangers of rope bight

• Personal Protective Equipment are not used

• Rope and metal line are joined directly without using thimble which may lead to parting of rope

• Inspection and tests of mooring machineries and ropes are not carried regularly

• Ropes are not arranged on split type drum correctly. The smaller drum must have 4-5 turns and rest of it should be on larger drum

All the above points are considered by the supervisor i.e. Chief officer or 2^nd officer while preparing a mooring operation beforehand.

From the above listed points, two important and dangerous phenomena which are responsible for maximum causalities in mooring of a ship and which are also considered as death traps are-

1)      Snap Back Zone:

The highest number of injuries and deaths during a mooring operation on a ship are due to parting of the rope or wire hitting back to a crew member standing in the area of the rope. The area travelled by the parted rope having a force enough to kill a person on its way is known as snap back zone.

When ropes are pulled straight then the snap back zone is minimal but if the ropes are turned in bollard or roller then the snap back area increase. This is shown in the diagram below:

Ship has to be pulled by tugs or by ships own winches for making it close to the jetty for berthing. This requires strong ropes and wire to be stretched in tension for pulling the ship. Every rope and wire has got its own endurance limit above which it will fail and part off. The endurance limit will get reduce if the rope is old or not maintained properly.

The rope will break or part when it is in tension due to pulling action and when these parted rope swings back in its snap back zone and hits a person standing there, it can be a deadly blow.

 

The snap back zones in forward part of the ship undergoing mooring operation increases well in number due to several restrains and turn points with lines in tension as shown in the diagram

The crew performing the operation must be thoroughly trained and qualified with the snap back zone. The ship fore and aft parts must highlight the snap back zone with signalling paints so that the crew will be aware not to be on that painted mark when the ropes are under tension.

2)      Rope Bight:

Mooring ropes are long and heavy ropes stored on board ships in coil form. When these ropes are under operation, they tend to form a coil or ring shape naturally known as rope bight.

If a person involved in mooring operation comes under this rope bight, the pull of the rope can drag him over the ship or smash him in the hard deck over machines. Several injuries and deaths have been reported due to crew unaware of standing over bight and dragged by the rope.

The best ways to avoid accidents due to rope bight are:

• Crew must be aware of where he is standing while handling the ropes or when near them.

• Supervisor must concentrate on others action and should not involve himself/herself in the operation as working hand.

• Inexperienced crew such as cadets and fresh ratings should bellowed to handle rope only under supervision

• Only required crew should be present on mooring station. It has been commonly seen that those people who are not involved in the operation (Engine crew or off timers coming on deck) visit the mooring operation area. Thus, notice should be placed for restricted entry.

• Enough number of deck hands to be present on mooring station to perform the operation smoothly.

                                                Remember, Bights don’t always look like bights.

Safety of human life on ship must be the first priority of all operations performed.

Life is precious, always think about Safety First.

Basics of Fire prevention Onboard Ships

The best way to deal with fires on board ships is to prevent them rather than letting them occur. Breaking out of fire in a place where no fire exist is called “ignition”, whereas “flash” is a term used for fire eruption in a new place as a result of flames from an existing fire in a nearby place (the ignition source).

Fires on board ships can be prevented by finding and rectifying leakages of fuel oil, lubricating oil, and exhaust gases.

In a ship’s generator room, the biggest danger of fire is from a leaky high pressure fuel pipe. Oil leaking from such pipe can fall on high temperature exhaust manifold or on indicator cocks, which are sensitive points for catching fire.

In modern marine engines, there is push-type cover concealing the indicator cocks; however in old engines there is no such provision available which makes it quite difficult to provide lagging to indicator cocks.

These days fuel high pressure pipes are sheathed and the leakage finds its way to a small tank at the bottom of the engine known as fuel leak off tank. It is imperative to keep this system in good order by regularly testing the tank alarm – fuel leak off tank high level alarm.

Leakages are mainly caused because of pipes breaking due to vibrations, clamps rubbing against pipes to create holes, pipe connections behind the pressure gauges getting damaged due to ageing (we generally do not look here), leakages from fittings at boiler furnace front and incinerator front etc. These leakages are some of the most common “hot spots” for fire. Moreover, careful and periodical checks are also required on boiler smoke side and incinerator uptake.

Fires can be largely prevented by providing effective laggings to hot surfaces such as generator turbocharger bellows, main engine exhaust uptakes after the turbocharger, various steam pipes and pipes carrying hot oil. Laggings can be done by ship staff but these days specialist contractors are available to carry out this work more aesthetically. Also, whenever lagging is removed, a habit should be cultivated to put it back after the work is finished.

Apart from this, it is also important to check/test fire detectors on regular basis. Some of the main types of detectors used on ships are:

Flame detectors 

Light produced by a flame has a characteristic flicker frequency of about 25Hz. The spectrum in the infra red or ultra violet range can be monitored to give an alarm. Oil fires generally do not give off much smoke and this type of sensor is preferred, especially near fuel handling equipment or boilers to give an early warning.

Heat detectors

Heat detectors are of various types such as rate of rise type, which has bi-metallic type detecting elements – a thick strip and a thin strip. The thin strip is more sensitive to temperature rise than the thicker one.  If there is a sudden rise in temperature, the thin one bends faster than the thicker one, bringing both of them in contact.

During normal temperature rise both strips will deflect about the same amount and thus show no reaction. Normally if rate of rise is less than 10 deg C in half an hour, the detector will not give any alarm. If the rate should rise to 75 degree Celsius, or more, the two strips come in contact, thus triggering the alarm.

Smoke detectors

There are two main types of smoke detectors used

1) Light obscuration type

2) Ionization type Liquid or gas fires may not give off smoke initially but will catch fire spontaneously. Thus smoke detectors are not effective for such fires. These detectors are mostly used in accommodation areas.

Important points to consider for fire prevention on board ships

• In engine room, waste bins used for storing oily rags must have lids (covers). Oily rags should not stay lying around or stuck at unnecessary places. Receptacles with covers should be provided at each floor and on both sides.

• High pressure fuel oil pipes should not be tightened to control a leakage while the engine is running. Also, oil shouldn’t be taken in to turbochargers during operation.

• Short sounding pipes should be kept shut with plugs. Never should they be left in open position for the sake of convenience. Cases have been reported wherein oil has spilled out from these short sounding pipes leading to accidents.

• Loose pet cocks /small cocks on common rail pipes should be checked for.

• Exhaust leakages and steam leakages should be promptly attended.

• Ship’s crew should be careful about galley fires, especially by keeping electrical equipment in good order. Senior officers should keep an eye in the galley when provision is being received because this is the time when galley remains unattended for a long time.

• One of the patent methods of fire prevention is effective and regular fire patrol. There is no method that can beat physical monitoring.

• Fire caused by cigarettes is still one of the most common causes of fire. All care should be taken to dispose cigarettes (using self closing ashtrays) and never should one smoke in bed.

           

• Fires have also caused during loading and unloading of cargo such as coal. For this reason, ship personnel must always discuss the characteristics of the cargo and preventive methods to be taken during safety meetings and weekly drills.

These are some of the main points one needs to consider for a safe environment on ship. This list might not feature all the methods to prevent fire; however it does provide a brief overview of how things are to be handled on board ships.

Read more: http://www.marineinsight.com/misc/marine-safety/basics-of-fire-prevention-on-board-ships/#ixzz1wK8qIeo7