Let’s injure a “tuggie” !! JCB

February 24th, 2013 by JCB
Posted in Articles, Technical and Training | No Comments »

Like most things in the shipping world as ships have got bigger, officers, crews, pilots and tug skippers have had to adapt their skills to cope with new challenges to achieve successful ship handling outcomes. Unfortunately the methodology mind-set of ship owners and berth operators hasn’t moved with the times so outdated mooring and line handling practices persist which are now posing serious risks of injury or even death to personnel. One such area is the centuries old heaving line whose efficient simplicity has seen it universally adopted as the primary means for passing moorings and picking up messengers etc. and a skilled AB can throw such a line a remarkable distance with great accuracy! However, in the last 20 years the advent of ships with high freeboards such as car carriers and  ever larger containerships has rendered  passing lines by means of a heaving line a futile exercise in anything more than a gentle breeze. So, how has the maritime world adapted to this? Well, instead of looking at more modern solutions the answer has, in many cases, been to enhance the performance and range of the heaving line by inserting a heavy weight into the middle of the “monkey’s fist”!

This practice poses particular dangers for tug crews as the tug closes in to pass the tow line. These dangers were highlighted in a presentation given to the Marine Safety Forum conference last December by Svitzer’s Health and Safety officer, Scott Ward, which is available on-line at the following link:

http://www.marinesafetyforum.org/upload-files//notices/amm-december-2012-dangerous-heaving-lines.pdf

One solution is the use of a sand bag in place of the monkey’s fist and I know that the pilots in Harwich take such bags on board the larger containerships to give to the crew to use when making fast the tugs but even this can be inadequate in very windy conditions when the tug has to manoeuvre very close under the bow of the ship with the tug crew trying to catch the heaving line with a boat hook. The dangers for tugs operating close to the bow were highlighted in Henk Hensen’s article in the last issue (310) and the difficulties in catching the heaving line sent from the Stena Brittanica was a contributory cause of the tragic loss of the tug Fairplay 22.

 

In 2013 there’s got to be a better way of passing lines! One solution is the use of compressed air line throwing apparatus. This isn’t new technology, since I can remember such a  gun being used by a bunker tanker in the Red Sea in the 1970’s. These throw a re-usable plastic projectile a considerable distance  and can be carried on board the ship or a tug. Ed Neale’s VLCC article in the last issue mentioned that these are carried on the tugs at Milford haven and are  proving to be safe and effective. The  abolition of the traditional heaving line for many maritime applications is  long overdue!                 JCB