The Safe Operation of Ships - Case Study Example

Maritime Operations 512952) Introduction Operations at sea are a risky business which involve proper adherence to safety manuals to avoid risk to life at sea. It has been recognized by the shipping fraternity that no cargo is more valuable than precious human life and proper training procedures must be inculcated among shipping personnel to avoid risks at sea that could endanger human life. It is with these guidelines that the International Safety Management (ISM) Code was developed for the Safe Operation of ships along with measures to prevent pollution at sea. (The ISM Code, 2007) The objectives of the code included (i) Prevention of accidents that could endanger human life, destruction of the marine environment in the event of spillages and safeguarding property in the same order of priority. (The ISM code, 2010) (ii) It should ensure a safe working place is maintained on board ship. (iii) Identify areas where accidents can occur on board ship and provide measures for rectification.( The ISM code, 2010) (iv) Upgrade the ability of persons on board to react immediately in case of emergency per safety manuals. (v) The safety manuals and codes have been developed after years of research and feedback generated by shipping personnel over years of experience in facing different distress situations. Hence the crew should always be encouraged to follow the safety instructions and treat the code as a valuable piece of guidance. (The ISM Code, 2007) Therefore it is quite clear from the objectives that the human element is quite clearly addressed in the ISM code and guidelines have been prescribed to reduce operational risk. It is with these intentions that the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 and the STCW 1978 were conducted and guidelines to avoid human risk were evolved. Maritime labour Convention 2006 Since the Maritime labour Convention as a document covers a whole gamut of areas and stipulations, the primary areas of reference regarding reducing operational risk of seafarers shall be discussed here. This convention consists of a series of conventions which deals with the scope, rights and responsibilities of seafarers. Here Title 1 deals with the minimum qualification a seafarer must possess for him do his job efficiently thus mitigating accident risk to fellow crew and the ship. Title 2 deals with the minimum wages, hours of rest, period of leave and the manning levels of the seafarers. Title 3 deals with his accommodation and food that is provided on board. Therefore Title 2 and Title 3 deals with the psychological aspect of the person as only an optimum amount of rest would ensure that he performs his watch keeping duty diligently. Title 4 covers measures that the ship has adopted for accident prevention and medical care facilities on board in case of any injury. The ship should also be provided with efficient communication that could inform the land and have the injured person airlifted to the nearest medical facility. (Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) The regulation and code is then further arranged in to a series of five titles. These are (i) Title 1- The minimum age of entry should be sixteen years. Night duty for people below 18 years is banned. Night duty is also defined as one which begins before midnight and ends before 5am. Work that may have an adverse effect on the health of an individual should be avoided if he is below 18 years.( Cleopatra Doumbia, 2009) Seafarers who have not passed the medical tests prior to each sail shall be prohibited from joining ship and taking up duties. Medical certificates to prove the legitimacy must be provided on joining board. The seafarer should be adequately trained in carrying out watch keeping duties and should have carry all the relevant certificates regarding safety like basic fire fighting, first aid among others. (Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) (ii) Title 2- This encourages the shipping companies to adopt a more humane approach to the seafarer employer agreements so that his mind remains focussed when at work away from other external distractions. The management should ensure that no crew is working for more than forty eighty hours per week. However, in case of emergencies this can be exceeded but proper rest should be provided for them between intervals. The limits of work include 14 hours in any 24 hour period or 72 hours in a seven day period. Minimum hours of rest shall be 10 hours in a 24 hour period and 72 hours in a seven day period.( Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) It also states that a 15 minute rest should be provided after 2 hours of continuous duty. It also stipulates that sufficient number of watch keeping personnel along with other key personnel should be on board to ensure that work is rotated on a systematic basis which provides adequate rest to all working personnel. (iii) Title 3- This deal with the accommodation and recreational facilities of the seafarer. It should ensure that rooms are properly ventilated and proper sanitation facilities are provided. (Cleopatra Doumbia, 2009) These provisions deal more with the state of mind of the seafarer so that he is ready and keyed up to his work after a period of rest. (iv) Title 4- The ship should have a basic medical facility on board capable of providing first aid on an urgent basis. When air lifting is not possible, taking the injured to the nearest port should be of primary importance rather than the delay in cargo delivery. STCW procedures also ensure that at least one seafarer on board is competent enough to provide basic medical treatment. (Cleopatra Doumbia, 2009) Apart from these, the title addresses the effects of very low or high temperature, high noise, poor light, fatigue, effect of drugs and alcohol on working effectiveness of human personnel. (v) Title 5- This provides guidelines to the Flag state in the effective implementation of its responsibilities under this convention and also ensures that all measures of the convention is followed in letter and spirit to ensure the safety of the seafarer during marine operations. STCW 1978 The STCW stands for the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978. The STCW contains eight chapters that are dedicated to the physical and academic requirements of all personnel that are involved in watch keeping duties along with responsibilities of other key personnel who might not be involved in watch keeping duty. Although the STCW manual is exhaustive, this report shall discuss areas where this standard provides special mention of reducing operational risk to mitigate human loss. (Caputo Antonio, 2005) As adopted in the International Maritime convention, all personnel who have selected as the crew of a particular ship should have acquired the educational qualifications that are desired for that post. Apart from these academic certificates, certificates of personnel having undergone mandatory fire fighting training, simulator room exercises and knowledge of basic first aid are a must before joining ship. However the most critical aspect of a ship duty is the watch keeping process. An efficient watch keeper can mitigate accidents caused due to human error to a large extent. Proper handing and taking over of a watch also ensures that all personnel involved in the duty are aware of the shortcomings and are prepared to take an action in the eventuality of an accident. (Caputo Antonio, 2005) The operational risk that causes lot of harm to human life can be negated very effectively with a proper watch. The salient features of proper watch keeping are (i) Persons in charge of a watch shall be given a 10 hour rest in a 24 hour time period. (ii) The master in charge of the navigational unit and the chief engineer in charge of the engineering room should ensure that the 24 hour period is adequately staffed by personnel on a rotary basis. People who are temporarily incapacitated due to minor bruises or sickness shall be provided rest with other personnel filling in between. (iii) The watch keeper should be aware of the changes occurring in the environment in terms of temperature, odour and sound. Reacting swiftly to these changes can make him locate the source of any problem. (STCW, 2000) (iv) The crew in charge of navigational watch should not just rely on the radar to feed him information but also on his eyesight which can make out debris or other ships in distress. (v) New crew who might be taking charge of duties in the bridge or in the engine room should be assisted capably for the first few watches by the older crew of the ship so that the new member can make a smooth transition into his watch keeping duty. (STCW, 2000) (vi) The officer in charge of the bridge must ensure that the bridge is not left without a proper watch keeper at any point during the voyage. (vii) The officer who is carrying out the watch should ensure that the next person who is taking over the watch is sober and is not in an intoxicated state. (viii) Officer in charge of the navigational watch is capable of handling the electronic gadgets and take readings on the radar, gyro compass and the echo sounder. (STCW, 2000) (ix) For an engineering watch the engineer shall be aware of the mode of operation of the boiler, the pressure to which the steam pressure needs to raised in case of manual firing and the valves that need to be kept open in case of operating positive displacement pumps which generate huge pressure. (x) The person who is going into enclosed spaces must ensure that his duty officer has been duly informed. (Caputo Antonio, 2005) (xi) On joining the ship the second officer or the chief officers conducts a ship familiarization for the new crew and informs him about the various exit routes and the location of various fire extinguishers in case of a fire. This plays a huge part in controlling fires caused due to failed operations. (xii) Engineers involved in engine room watch keeping should ensure that the second engineer or chief engineer is immediately informed in case of breakdown of machinery. (xiii) Proper readings of temperature, pressure and rpm needs to be entered in relevant log books to help the chief engineer assess the performance of different machinery and look for non conformance that might indicate a potential risk. (Caputo Antonio, 2005) Conclusion The International labour convention 2006 and STCW 1978 therefore successfully addresses the human element of a watch keeping operations that if implemented correctly could go a long way in reducing operational risk on board ship. Reference Lists 1. Caputo Antonio, 2005, STCW-Electronic Edition, International Maritime Organization. 2. Cleopatra Doumbia, 2009, The maritime Labour convention 2006, Available at http://ilocarib.og.tt, [Accessed on 26th March 2011] 3. Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, International Labour Conference. 4. STCW, 2000, Standards of Training Certification & Watchkeeping, Available at http://stcw.org, [Accessed on 27th March 2011] 5. The ISM Code, 2007, InformISM, Available at http://www.ismcode.net, [Accessed on 27th March 2011] 6. The ISM Code, 2007, ECMEurope, Available at http://www.ecmeurope.net, [Accessed on 27th March 2011] 7. The ISM code, 2010, International Management Code for the Safe Operation of ships and for Pollution Prevention, Available at http://www.dft.gov.uk. [Accessed on 25th March 2011] Read More