Seafaring “P” is for…
Let’s get this rolling with:
Passage planning
Passage Planning – Passage planning or “voyage planning” is a procedure to develop a complete detailed strategy of a vessel’s voyage from start to finish, or “berth to berth”.
The plan includes leaving the dock and harbour area, the en route portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, and mooring. According to international law, a vessel’s captain is legally responsible for passage planning – however the actually production of the passage plan is usually delegated to the ship’s navigation officer, typically the second officer. The practice of voyage planning has evolved from pencilling lines on nautical charts and listing alterations of course, to a far more evolved and involved process of risk management. Having and using a voyage plan is, “of essential importance for safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation and protection of the marine environment, and is necessary for all types of vessels on all types of voyages.
Annex 24 to IMO Resolution A.893 (21), “Guidelines for Voyage Planning”, should be followed on all vessels. The key elements of the Voyage Plan are:
• Appraising all relevant information
• Planning the intended voyage
• Executing the plan taking account of prevailing conditions
• Monitoring the vessel’s progress against the plan continuously
The appraisal stage consists of gathering and contemplating all information relevant to the voyage. Much of this appraisal is done by consulting nautical charts, nautical publications and performing a number of technical tasks such as weather forecasting, prediction of tides and currents, and checks of local regulations and warnings.
Nautical publications are a valuable guide to local conditions and regulations, but they must be updated and actually read to be of any use. These publications could include Sailing Directions and Coast Pilots or similar texts produced by other authorities.
The next stage of the process is known as the planning stage. Once information is gathered and considered, the navigator can begin the process of actually laying out the voyage. The process involves projecting various future events including landfalls, narrow passages, and course changes expected during the voyage.
Execution of the finalised the voyage plan should be carried out taking into account the factors in the plan – anticipating any problems which have been identified. To ensure that the plan is being executed, it is vital that the vessel’s progress is checked, monitored and recorded. This requires the use of all available means of checking and confirming position. Today, the use of ECDIS can streamline and assist in the planning process – but it still requires the same levels of diligence, good seamanship and checking as previously. The process may be made easier with technology, but accidents and mistakes are just as costly.
Port
Ports – We looked at “docks” as part of the Seafaring AZ, but another parallel and expanded concept is that of a “port”. Whereas a dock is the physical place a vessel comes and is moored alongside, a port is a far wider reaching entity.
Ports have played important roles in the socio-economic development of cities, countries and regions throughout the history of human civilization. As a very basic definition, a port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbours where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimise access to land – referred to as the “hinterland”, and navigable water, for commercial demand, and for shelter from wind and waves. Ports with deeper water can obviously handle larger ships, and these “deep water” ports are the lifeblood of global trade. The largest container vessels and tankers, through to mega bulk carriers bring the goods, fuel, food that the world depends on.
Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, and dominate the local economy. Great “port cities”, such as New York, Liverpool, London, Shanghai, Singapore and many more, have been shaped by the ships, people and cargoes which they have brought in. Today port activities tend to be further away from the population, and that has weakened the cultural impact they have on the locality. This is a growth and development which has been termed the “Any Port Theory”.
The geographer J. H. Bird, coined the phrase and theorised that ports all develop, evolve and eventually die in the same ways. His theory on the functional development and evolution of port cities has three phases: settlement, expansion and specialization. Generally, port establishes with the furthest point of the land which connects to the sea where it gives access for the sailing ships. That is the initial geographic requirement of the port. Often this would merely be a river bank, where vessels could sail up close to civilisation.
As the trade grows, the port develops with the necessary working facilities, warehousing facilities transportation facilities and hinterland facilities. Often the development sees a need for longer harbour walls, and then even for a dock to be cut in. There are different piers and wharfs, and cargo handling areas developed.
As more vessels come, the impact of the dock grows and the port becomes ever larger and spreads out. As different cargoes began to shape the vessels which carried them, then there was a need for ports to be upgraded and expanded to meet the latest innovations of the industry.
The container ships need large cranes, and vast hard standing areas. They need road and rail links, and they begin to shape the surrounding hinterland. For oil tankers, there is a need for pumping and pipelines. Then there is a need to get the crude oil to a refinery, and so again the natural tendency of a port when it reaching the “specialization” phase of the “Any Port Theory”, is to actually push far beyond the boundaries of a city.
The world’s busiest ports are commonly ranked by cargo tonnage and by volume of container shipment measured in TEUs. Since the 2000s, the Port of Shanghai has surpassed the Port of Singapore and the Port of Hong Kong to become the world’s busiest port by both measures.
There are various factors which can be used to assess how ‘busy’ or ‘large’ a port is; whether we are talking area covered, amount of traffic handled or the gross tonnage of goods processed. Using a mixture of various factors, some of the world’s biggest ports would be:
• Felixstowe, United Kingdom
• Hamburg, Germany
• Port Hedland, Western Australia
• Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates
• Miami, USA
• Hong Kong, China
• Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia
• Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Port of Singapore, Singapore
• Port of Shanghai, China
Philippine seafarer
Philippine Seafarers – Ships may be the lifeblood of global trade, but they would be nothing without seafarers. For the majority of crew, the shipping industry turns to the Philippines. The country remains to be the world’s top source of seafarers, with around 229,000 Filipinos on board merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Filipino seafarers comprise more than 25 percent of the 1.5 million mariners worldwide, making them the “single biggest nationality bloc” in the global shipping industry. There are understood to be around 90,000. Filipino maritime officers overseas, and these are trained in 100 Maritime academies in the country.
In a study made by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), 358,898 Filipino seafarers were deployed in 2015, paying some US$5.575 billion to the country’s economy through their remittances back to families at home. Filipinos are the most preferred seafarers in the world because they are well trained and have a natural proficiency in English, according to the DOLE. They are employed via a network of over 400 licensed crewing agents though there are increasing concerns that some are not upholding the standards and rules laid down within the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
The Philippines became the 30th member state of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to ratify MLC in 2012. Though unfortunately given the sheer number of Filipino seafarers, they do tend to suffer from issues such as piracy and seafarer abandonment. Pivotal to the ability of Filipinos to be employed globally on such as scale is the fact that the nation is on the IMO “White List”. The White List distinguishes the nations that have displayed and established a plan of full compliance with the STCW-95 Convention and Code. The White List was created using criteria related to the type of system of licensing the administration has, their training centre oversight, process of certificate revalidation, as well as issues such as flag and port State control.
To be on the “White List” a nation must be fully compliant with the STCW-95 Convention and Code. The nation must provide detailed information to the IMO regarding administrative measures enacted to ensure compliance, education and training courses, and certification practices.
This is not to say that the system of seafarer training and administration does not have its issues to deal with. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) expressed concerns about standards, and representatives visited the nations to discuss and audit improvements. There were especial concerns about deficiencies at so-called “fly by night” maritime schools. There were genuine fears that a negative result could see Filipino seafarers barred from many fleets – though, there was eventually deemed to be sufficient improvement and the threat of a ban was lifted, though there is obviously some form of ongoing scrutiny.
Pilot
Pilot – A pilot, also referred to as “Marine Pilot” or “Maritime Pilot” is a mariner who manoeuvres ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours, estuaries or river mouths. Whether inbound to port, or out to the port limits – The pilot acts as the person who advises the captain what route to take and what changes need to be made during ship’s routine manoeuvring while entering or leaving a port.
It is not just into and out of port – there are specialised pilots in all kinds of difficult and challenging navigational areas. Canals have their pilots, and the Great Barrier Reef is also kept safer by the pilots who fly out and guide vessels clear of trouble.
Pilots are normally an ex ship captains or senior deck officers, and are highly experienced shiphandlers who possess detailed knowledge of the particular waterway e.g. actual depth, direction and strength of the wind, current and tide at any time of the day. In addition to bringing local maritime expertise on board, unlike the vessel’s captain the pilot is insulated from the economic pressures (e.g., getting the ship from point A to point B on time, regardless of weather conditions, traffic, or other navigation issues) that can compromise safety. Instead of being part of the ship’s crew, pilots are employed locally and therefore act on behalf of the public rather than of the shipowners.
Manoeuvring a ship through the shallow water to berth / unberth in a port is basically a teamwork which involves, apart from the port Pilot, the ship’s captain, ship’s crew, port Tugs and shore linesman. Since the Pilot is on board the ship, he/she manages the tugs and linesmen through a radio and the ship directly. Ship captain ensures his crew carry out the pilot advice via the masters’ orders. It is usual for the log book entry during times of pilotage to contain the acronym “CVTMOPA” – this means, “Courses Various to Master’s Orders and Pilot’s Advice”. The role of pilot involves great skill and knowledge, piloting through waterways and congested channels or anchorages is not a task for the faint hearted and most ports have compulsory pilotage.
Legally, the master has full responsibility for safe navigation of the vessel, even if a pilot is on board. If there are clear grounds to believe the pilot may jeopardise the safety of navigation, the master relieve the pilot of their duties and ask for another pilot or, if not compulsory to have a pilot on board, navigate the vessel without one.
In English law, Section 742 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 defines a pilot as “any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof.” In other words, someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. The current United Kingdom legislation governing pilotage is the Pilotage Act 1987. Pilotage is one of the oldest professions, as old as sea travel, and it is one of the most important in maritime safety. The oldest recorded history dates back to about the 7th century BC. The role of the pilot goes back to Ancient Greece and Roman times, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships’ captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely. Before harbour boards were established, pilots known as hobblers would compete with one another. The first to reach an incoming ship would navigate it to the docks and receive payment. This is why pilot gigs were raced, to allow crews to practise the skills needed to get their man to the vessel first.
Piracy
Piracy – Piracy is an ancient and established threat to ships, people and cargoes. Since ancient times it has seen people killed and kidnapped, ships destroyed and cargoes stolen. A definition of piracy was laid down in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas (Article 15), which also makes up Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and declares piracy a criminal act.
The IMO follows the UNCLOS definition, which contains five elements:
• Piracy must involve a criminal act of violence, detention or depredation
• Piracy is committed on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state
• The two-ship rule. Pirates need to use a ship to attack another ship, which excludes mutiny and privateering
• Piracy needs to be committed for private ends, which excludes the acts of terrorists or environmental activists
• Piracy must be committed by the crew or passengers of a privately-owned vessel, which excludes attacks by naval craft
Put simply, attacks inside territorial water are not piracy while those outside are. Restricting piracy to the high seas means that an alternative term has to be created for attacks against ships within territorial waters.
It is a threat which never truly goes away and re-emerges whenever and wherever the circumstances are attractive. Over the past 30 years shipping has been in the grip of a “modern piracy” epidemic, with a form of piracy that has evolved into a faster, more ruthless, organised and violent threat than ever before. The worst affected places are currently SE Asia and West Africa – thankfully the Somali pirate problem of the past few years has now been largely contained, thanks to shipping taking action, the use of private armed guards and naval patrols.
Modern piracy is violent, bloody and ruthless and it is important to note the main aim of piracy can vary, depending on where it occurs and by whom it is perpetrated. Theft of cash and valuables, particularly from the Master’s safe, is often involved but all kinds of ship’s stores have been taken, including the contents of upper deck lockers and stores. In some cases whole ships have been stolen, their cargo taken and their crew murdered and the ship subsequently sold.
Littoral states with a coastline in a particular area have legal responsibilities to ensure the freedom of innocent passage but in the main piracy is seen as a crime against foreign crews, ships and cargo. In many cases it is not viewed as a major concern. The reality is that piracy is a global problem, affecting all shipping nations. There are massive cost implications to consider. An estimate by Oceans Beyond Piracy claimed the overall cost of paying ransoms and insurance premiums, costs of re-routeing ships, purchasing security equipment and providing naval forces totals US$7-12Bn annually.
New piracy hotspots open up and old ones can flare again. Shipowners should closely monitor the security situation in areas into which they trade or transit, and the master, ship security officer and all crew should be aware of the dangers and what to do if the worst happens.
Plimsoll line
Plimsoll line – The waterline on a ship is point along the hull where the surface of the water sits. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line or “Plimsoll line”.
It indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship may be loaded at deadweight tonnage for specific water types and temperatures in order to safely maintain buoyancy, particularly with regard to the hazard of waves and conditions that may arise. Temperature, density and salinity affect the levels, because warm water provides less buoyancy, being less dense than cold water, as do salinity, because fresh water is less dense than seawater. The purpose of a load line is to ensure that a ship has sufficient freeboard (the height from the water line to the main deck) and thus sufficient reserve buoyancy. The freeboard of commercial vessels is measured between the lowest point of the uppermost continuous deck at side and the waterline and this must not be less than the freeboard marked on the load line certificate issued to that ship.
All commercial ships, have a load line symbol painted amidships on each side of the ship. This symbol is also permanently marked, so that if the paint wears off it remains visible. The load line makes it easy for anyone to determine if a ship has been overloaded. The exact location of the load line is calculated and verified by the vessel’s Classification society.
The different loadline zones are:
• TF = Tropical Fresh Water
• T = Tropical
• F = Fresh Water
• S = Summer
• W = Winter
• WNA = Winter North Atlantic
The marking will also show the Classification Society – AB for American Bureau of Shipping, for instance – BV for Bureau Veritas, LR for Lloyd’s Register – etc. The first official loading regulations are thought to date back to maritime legislation originating with the Kingdom of Crete in 2500 BC when vessels were required to pass loading and maintenance inspections. Roman sea regulations also contained similar regulations.
In the Middle Ages the Venetian Republic, the city of Genoa and the Hanseatic League required ships to show a load line. In the case of Venice this was a cross marked on the side of the ship, and of Genoa three horizontal lines.
The first 19th century loading recommendations were introduced by Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping in 1835, following discussions among shipowners, shippers and underwriters. These efforts did not prove sufficient, and after increased loss of ships due to overloading, a British MP, Samuel Plimsoll, took up the load line cause. Plimsoll (1824–1898) was a member of the British Parliament and social reformer, concerned with the loss of ships and crews due to vessel overloading.
In 1876, he persuaded Parliament to pass the “Unseaworthy Ships” Bill, which mandated marking a ship’s sides with a line that would disappear below the waterline if the ship was overloaded. The load line mark became compulsory, although the positioning of the mark was not fixed by law until 1894. In 1906, laws were passed requiring foreign ships visiting British ports to be marked with a load line. It was not until 1930 (the 1930 Load Line Convention) that there was international agreement for universal application of load line regulations. In 1966 the International Convention on Load Lines was concluded in London which re-examined and amended the 1930 rules.
Propeller
Propeller – A propeller is the most common form of propulsion on ships, the spinning blades provide momentum to a fluid which causes a force to act on the ship – pushing it forward, or pulling it astern, depending on the direction of rotation.
With the advent of steam and it managing to eclipse sailing ships, it was necessary to translate the power of engines into propulsion – for a while this was done by means of cumbersome paddle wheels.
The tipping point towards propellers came when Isambard Kingdom Brunel decided that instead of using paddles on his iron behemoth, “SS Great Britain”, he would use screw propellers instead. Though as far back as 1752 the Academy of Sciences of Paris offered a range of prizes that brought a significant contribution in the shipbuilding – and a range of differing types of propeller were designed.
The great leap forward came when Brunel changed his mind on propulsion as building of the Great Britain was already underway. In 1839 Thomas Petit Smith, an English engineer, built a screw steamship that was a complete success. The vessel was a hundred and twenty five feet long, twenty-two beam, and thirteen deep, and named “Archimedes”. He took this vessel to Bristol in 1842, and this is where Brunel immediately recognised its advantages, and changed the Great Britain’s plans there and then, introducing the screw in place of the paddlewheels.
A propeller works by thrusting a column of water away from the main body of the ship, thereby producing a reactive force that moves the boat forward. Most vessels use a screw-type propeller that transmits thrust through the main shaft to the thrust bearing. This reactive force reacts to the backward force of the water column to push the ship forward. Propeller blades rotate downward while water rushes in to fill the space left behind to create a pressure differential. Water accelerates from the front of the propeller towards the back, creating a column of water slightly bigger than the propeller itself. Higher velocity creates a water jet out of the rear of the propeller, which adds momentum and thrust to the water. This thrust moves the boat forward. Propeller blades work in water much like fan blades work in air.
The design of propellers is still taking place and there are no end of attempts and experiments to find new optimum designs and ways of delivering push and pull. The history of the screw propeller is a long one, but there is no sign that the propeller will be replaced by any great leap forward for large ships just yet.
The post Seafaring A-Z Alphabet – “P” is for… appeared first on Crewtoo.