Progress on mooring guidance

Among the many activities that make up the successful operation of a terminal is the mooring/unmooring of ships. It also tends to be taken for granted, and yet can be much more complicated than at first appears. It can be very dangerous to people in certain circumstances and, if not performed correctly, can have quite unintended outcomes.

An example of this recently arose out of the quite common practice for conveying fully erected container cranes from manufacturer to customer. This ingenious concept has revolutionised the provision of such cranes. However, it is a consequence that parts of the structure of cranes being carried project outside the athwartships profile of the carrying vessel. Accordingly, care must be taken in selecting the berths for such ships, if they need to tie up, and, if that is achieved satisfactorily, there is a clear need to ensure that the moorings are sufficient and firm.

Recently, a storm arose during one such situation and this caused the moored ship to come adrift and severely damage two shoreside cranes nearby.

The aspect of danger to those engaged in the mooring process was highlighted by a joint survey conducted by the International Harbour Masters Association and the International Association of Ports and Harbors, which had found 75 instances of fatal or serious injuries arising from this activity in a five year period. That caused the IMO to publish some guidelines on the shipboard end of the process and particularly the deck fittings and equipment used. However, this did not address the shoreside, as that is generally outside the IMO’s remit. This aspect was, therefore, taken up by the Nautical Institute and the outcome of that is a magnificent set of two volumes it has recently published*.

In recent years, I have been taking my main holiday on an island just a few miles offshore from one of the Channel Islands. The only way to reach it is by a local fast ferry and I always make a point of watching the seamanship involved in approaching and coming alongside small piers and of the rope handling involved in mooring. It is practiced and professional. That, of course, is one end of the mooring story, with the other rooted in the very large vessels that are not only exceptionally long and heavy, but also very high in relation to the shoreside mooring points. How many ropes and in which direction are issues that have much more significance than a mere landlubber could envisage.

The complexity of the subject is shown by the fact that the two books together total more than 530 pages – with volume one dealing with principles and practice and volume two with inspection and maintenance. One very beneficial feature of the two books is that extensive use is made of colour photography.

The main issue for the shoreside – apart from avoiding the Turks head as it hurtles in your general direction – is the condition of the mooring rope(s). Many of the injuries sustained ashore relate to their parting and yet mooring ropes are provided by the ship and are part of the ship’s equipment. Volume 2 devotes a whole chapter to the maintenance and care of ropes and it is to be hoped that these volumes will be taken up by shipping lines as well as shoreside operators. As such, they are recommended for all those whose work or responsibilities involve the mooring of vessels.

* Mooring and Anchoring: Each volume has a foreword by the IMO secretary general. Volume 1 by I C Clark, ISBN 978 1 870077 93 4, price £75. Volume 2 by W Vervloesem, ISBN 978 1 870077 94 1, price £75. Both volumes together ,ISBN 978 1 906915 03 2, price £130, ref 0317. Order from www.nautinst.org.