A recent case study published in IMCA deals with Crew vigilance prevents mooring incident by CHIRP.
What happened
CHIRP – the Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme – has shared an event in which the careful vigilance of vessel crew prevented a mooring incident. A long, low-amplitude swell was causing a steady yawing and rolling motion of up to around 1.2m from the wharf on a 93,000-tonne deadweight bulk carrier alongside. During this time, a forward spring line running over the edge of the shipside roller fairlead began interacting with another mooring line causing significant abrasion damage.
What went right
Good monitoring of the lines by the vessel crew picked up the damage. There was good communication on the vessel and between the vessel and the terminal. The lines were replaced and re-run by the ship’s crew before they parted.
What went wrong
It was observed by CHIRP that “the design of the roller fairleads was not optimised to prevent contact with the sheer strake. Additionally, like many vessel spring lines, they can be susceptible to abrasion when environmental conditions at the port result in excessive movement.”
Key Takeaways
The significance of effective communication and teamwork.
According to CHIRP, mooring fixtures and fittings are commonly installed on ships to ensure compliance with the ship’s design requirements, thereby enhancing safety. However, numerous designs lack proper optimisation of their directional lead, resulting in increased line abrasion and reduced resistance to applied force. How effective are your mooring arrangements? Is it necessary to use additional rollers in order to achieve a higher quality lead?
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Source: IMCA
