The determination of risk of collision is a basic navigational skill. Equally basic at sea is situational awareness and the ability to keep track of dozens of vessels in congested waters, including oftentimes numerous fishing vessels and to interpret information, all in real time. This is bread and butter stuff; a watchkeeper who cannot master this, and be right all the time, is simply unfit to keep independent watch.
It is therefore dismaying that this basic skill is found wanting in more than a few navigating officers at sea today.
a surprising lack of confidence in modern lifeboats which is causing some reluctance on the part of ship crews to conduct the necessary lifeboat drills intended to help them protect their lives
It may have been surprising in 1994, today it's not just mariners who lack confidence, the IMO, because of concerns with the number of mariners killed and injured during lifeboat drills, amended SOLAS effective July 2006 so that it is no longer required that the crew be aboard during launching.
This has observers tsk-tsking and decrying the decline of seamanship and training of today's crews. For example the the New Zealand branch of The Nautical Institute is worried that:
The crew are no longer able to practice using the tricing pendants to bring the lifeboat alongside the embarkation deck; or release the pendants to clear the ship's side before lowering into the water.
I think that amount of training crews receive in the use of tricing pedants is adequate given that tricing pendants are not used on a modern enclosed lifeboat.
The photos below, from the Northeast Maritime Institute, a facility which provides training to meet Coast Guard and SOLAS requirements for proficiency in survival craft, shows an crew being trained in an obsolete open lifeboat
The first photo shows the boat in the stowed position. The span wire is equipped with manropes, these are for the crew to hold in case the lifeboat drops, modern enclosed lifeboats do not have manropes.
Next, here is a photo which shows an open lifeboat that has been lowered to the embarkation deck. The boat is held at three points, from left to right, first the falls, the double set of wires which can be seen running from the sheave at the ends of the davit, the falls raise and lower the boat, next the tricing pendant, just inboard of the falls, this pulls the boat alongside so the crew can board. They will be released before the boat is lowered (the boat must be raised to release weight first) and the frapping lines which run horizontally to a cleat on the davits, these help control the swing of the boat.
I received my lifeboat endorsement at NMI myself, I am confident that if I find myself on a sinking WWII Liberty ship my crew ( say for example we get torpedoed by a U-Boat) and I will have a good chance to successfully launching the lifeboats.
Unlike the open boat on which the crew receives training, the modern fully enclosed lifeboat there are no tricing pedants, no frapping lines, no manropes. The crew boards the lifeboat in the stowed position. The gripes and davit locking pins) are removed, then the crew simply lifts the brake and down she goes. At least in principle, in practice it is a different matter.
For example in the video below a lifeboat launch the boat starts down, stops, then resumes it descent. As can be seen this causes the lifeboat to swing energetically.
-Do not stop the swinging out operation at deck position. Stopping shakes the lifeboat and may cause casualties. - A rapid swing out may cause dangerous impact on the boat when the davit arm reaches the deck position. - Inching operation shakes the lifeboat and is dangerous.
On ships I sailed on lowering the boat in accordance with the instructions, neither too fast nor too slow, requires a deft touch on the brake.
In the video the person at the brake starts out at full speed, which the IMO tells us: "may cause dangerous impact." Then the operator tries to slow down which the IMO says "is dangerous" but ends up stopping instead which causes the boat to swing.
The modern enclosed lifeboat and davits is an attempt to idiot proof the launching system. these systems have problems which can be partly mitigated with training.
As for critics who claim that the mariners reluctance to trust modern lifeboats shows a lack of seamanship, I say, have the critics keelhauled.
Almost all of the conventional tugs use it, but how do you know when to replace it? Where do you go for information if you’re company has no policy or offers no guidance, or the policy/guidance sounds sketchy, is incomplete, or comes from what appears to be a questionable source?
That's from Daniel Sekulich's new book, Terror on the Seas - True Tales of Modern-Day Pirates.
Sekulich skillfully weaves together some "Modern Day Tales", true tales from, mariners, fisherman, officials and others from pirate hot-spots, the Gulf of Aden and Straits of Malacca as well as shipping centers such as London and Singapore.
The book also provides some historical background that puts the modern tales in context, not only the familiar Blackbeard and Captain Kidd but surprising (to me) stories such as the Red Flag Fleet, which was comprised of fifty thousand men and commanded by Cheng I Sao, a women and former prostitute.
Sekulich, has spend some time aboard ships at sea writes this with regards to using mariners to crew pirate vessels:
"They needed mariners to crew their vessels, not only for their knowledge of the sea and seamanship but also because they understood how to work as a team. Aboard a vessel there is a cohesiveness, a unity of individuals that is barely understood outside the seafaring community"
Terror on the Seas is recommended, it is a good read, insightful, well-researched, well written and manages to provide both a comprehensive and in-depth look at modern day piracy.
a surprising lack of confidence in modern lifeboats which is causing some reluctance on the part of ship crews to conduct the necessary lifeboat drills intended to help them protect their lives
It may have been surprising in 1994, today it's not just mariners who lack confidence, the IMO, because of concerns with the number of mariners killed and injured during lifeboat drills, amended SOLAS effective July 2006 so that it is no longer required that the crew be aboard during launching.
This has observers tsk-tsking and decrying the decline of seamanship and training of today's crews. For example the the New Zealand branch of The Nautical Institute is worried that:
The crew are no longer able to practice using the tricing pendants to bring the lifeboat alongside the embarkation deck; or release the pendants to clear the ship's side before lowering into the water.
I think that amount of training crews receive in the use of tricing pedants is adequate given that tricing pendants are not used on a modern enclosed lifeboat.
The photos below, from the Northeast Maritime Institute, a facility which provides training to meet Coast Guard and SOLAS requirements for proficiency in survival craft, shows an crew being trained in an obsolete open lifeboat
The first photo shows the boat in the stowed position. The span wire is equipped with manropes, these are for the crew to hold in case the lifeboat drops, modern enclosed lifeboats do not have manropes.
Next, here is a photo which shows an open lifeboat that has been lowered to the embarkation deck. The boat is held at three points, from left to right, first the falls, the double set of wires which can be seen running from the sheave at the ends of the davit, the falls raise and lower the boat, next the tricing pendant, just inboard of the falls, this pulls the boat alongside so the crew can board. They will be released before the boat is lowered (the boat must be raised to release weight first) and the frapping lines which run horizontally to a cleat on the davits, these help control the swing of the boat.
I received my lifeboat endorsement at NMI myself, I am confident that if I find myself on a sinking WWII Liberty ship my crew ( say for example we get torpedoed by a U-Boat) and I will have a good chance to successfully launching the lifeboats.
Unlike the open boat on which the crew receives training, the modern fully enclosed lifeboat there are no tricing pedants, no frapping lines, no manropes. The crew boards the lifeboat in the stowed position. The gripes and davit locking pins) are removed, then the crew simply lifts the brake and down she goes. At least in principle, in practice it is a different matter.
For example in the video below a lifeboat launch the boat starts down, stops, then resumes it descent. As can be seen this causes the lifeboat to swing energetically.
-Do not stop the swinging out operation at deck position. Stopping shakes the lifeboat and may cause casualties. - A rapid swing out may cause dangerous impact on the boat when the davit arm reaches the deck position. - Inching operation shakes the lifeboat and is dangerous.
On ships I sailed on lowering the boat in accordance with the instructions, neither too fast nor too slow, requires a deft touch on the brake.
In the video the person at the brake starts out at full speed, which the IMO tells us: "may cause dangerous impact." Then the operator tries to slow down which the IMO says "is dangerous" but ends up stopping instead which causes the boat to swing.
The modern enclosed lifeboat and davits is an attempt to idiot proof the launching system. these systems have problems which can be partly mitigated with training.
As for critics who claim that the mariners reluctance to trust modern lifeboats shows a lack of seamanship, I say, have the critics keelhauled.
The lifeboats of two (sister) car ships can be seen in this photo (photo by K.C.)
gcaptain has posted a video of a lifeboat accident. It looks to me like the releasing gear may not have been fully locked. Here good article about this problem The Lifeboat Imbroglio by Captain Paul Drouin. (PDF) From that article:
The OCIMF survey also showed a general lack of confidence by seafarers in the hook/release gear.
Lack of confidence, that's one way to put it.
The article confirms what I have often suspected, since 1990 lifeboats have killed more mariners then they have saved.
This problem has been know for several years, from the article again:
Finally, what can be said about the lamentable time lag of the imbroglio? As early as 1994, the OCIMF survey into lifeboat accidents was right on the mark. Yet here we are, 14 years later and more than 20 years after serious accidents began to occur with lifeboats still grappling with the same issues.
On a car ship the problem is not launching it's recovery, try hooking up a boat with 90 feet of wire hanging from the davits. Imagine if the ship was rolling.
It seems to me the purpose of the lifeboats on a car ship is to meet SOLAS requirements, nothing more. The trick is to meet the requirements for drills without incident.
Anyone who sails for a living knows how many hoops you have to jump thought to obtain the credentials to work about ships today. In contrast the requirements needed to start a shipboard security company is a web page and a list of your old Blackwater buddies
Peter Hinchliffe, marine director with industry association the International Chamber of Shipping, told an IMO meeting on piracy last week there were concerns over the "proliferating private armies of security guards", who were also unregulated.
"These relate to issues of legality and liability for the use of lethal force, collateral damage and shipboard safety," he said.
John Dalby, chief executive of Spanish based MRM, which provides armed and unarmed personnel to merchant vessels, said he had concerns about the type of security companies now approaching shippers. "Some have been kicked out (of Iraq and Afghanistan) for bad practice and being too ready to use the gun," he said.
"They are punting for work out there (Somalia) and some are getting it and making grave errors. There have been unnecessary shootings and instances spiraling out of control when firearms were not necessary," he said
Transiting the Gulf of Aden without an embarked security team the ship is faced with the risk of an attack by pirates. With an embarked security team the captain may instead be faced with the all the risks associated with having a group of inexperienced, untrained, undisciplined, but very enthusiastic armed men with an unsophisticated world view, particularly with regards to the use of lethal force.
Dictator in tow by the U.S. Coast Guard—U.S COAST GUARD
In the article Quick Thinking Saves Dictator After Collision at Sea fishing boat captain Rick Curtis, regarding the ship which struck and nearly sank his boat, is quoted as saying "There are supposed to be three guys in the wheelhouse of that ship. And they didn’t see me?”
Capt Curtis supposes or imagines three people in the wheelhouse of the ship which struck his boat. Going a step further, here is what I think a fishing boat crew imagines regarding the watch on the container ship contrasted with what I imagine the wheelhouse of that container ship might really been like.
The fishing boat crew imagines the lookout is well rested and is watching forward, constantly scanning the horizon and will have no problem seeing a 70 foot fishing boat.
I imagine the lookout, if there is one, having worked overtime that morning is nearing the end of his watch and weary of watching forward, he instead has become mesmerized by ship's motion and is daydreaming, seeing nothing past the rolling, pitching rows of containers in front of him.
The fishing boat crew imagines that the mate is competent, motivated, rested and alert, has full situational awareness and has no other duties other then maintain a good watch.
I imagine that the mate, on the mid-watch, is fatigued, he has spend the last hour and a half weaving though fishing vessels in poor visibility while also encountering other large ship traffic. The numerous fishing vessels, most of which do not have proper lookouts, alter course suddenly and without warning, unaware of the presence of the larger, faster vessels.
The crew of the fishing vessel imagines the captain to be at the radar, which is on the optimum range for detection of fishing vessels and that the gain, sea return and rain clutter are all properly adjusted. Furthermore the fishing boat crew imagines that there are no other large vessel about and that their vessel is the only one of concern.
I imagine the captain is in his office. His ship is approaching the United States, the country which has perhaps the most complex entrance requirements and the most draconian penalties for non-compliance . In addition to pre-arrival requirements the captain has payroll, stores and parts orders and so forth.
In general, it is accepted practice to assume that the watch on another vessel is alert and competent, at least to a point. What that point is depends upon the circumstance of course but when the point of "in extremis" is reached both vessels have an obligation to take action. Before that point however it is prudent to call on the VHF and verify that the watch on the other vessel is aware of your presence.
