Command Companion of Seamanship Techniques

David House

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9781136416484
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

The Command Companion of Seamanship Techniques is the latest work from the well-respected marine author, D J House. It contains all the information needed for command posts at sea. · All aspects of shipboard management are discussed, with special emphasis placed on health and safety. · Guidelines on how to respond to accidents and emergencies at sea · Contains the most recent SOLAS revisions and a discussion of marine law to keep you up to date with the latest rules and regulations. In order to aid learning, the book includes a number of worked examples in the text along with questions and answers at the end of chapters. The author tells you how to respond to accidents and emergencies at sea, in the event, for example of cargo contamination, collision, loss of stability due to cargo shift and damage due to flooding, fire plus loss of life/crew. In addition, the SOLAS revisions and a discussion of marine law is included to keep you up to date with all the latest rules and regulations. In order to aid learning, this book will include a number of worked examples in the text along with questions and answers at the end of chapters. D J House is senior lecturer in Nautical studies at the Nautical college, Fleetwood. His sea-going experience includes general cargo, reefer, bulk cargo, passenger and liner trades, underwater operations, and roll-on/roll-off ferries. He is a well-known marine author and has written Seamanship Techniques Volumes 1 and 2 (combined) and he has revised Cargo Work in the Kemp & Young series.

1 A ship Master’s business

A ship’s Master is more and more being described as the ship’s manager, where he or she in this modern day can expect to carry out the day-to-day, and the voyage-to-voyage, business of operating the ship not only safely but effectively in economic terms. Clearly the start of business will commence when a new Master takes over either a new ship, or relieves the Master from a previous voyage.

The usual pattern of handover documents and certificates is the norm and will depend on the type of ship for which the command is being assumed. The following list expands briefly on each of the documents.

Master’s handover documents

1. The Certificate of Registry
   The Certificate of Registry contains the ship’s name and the Port of Registry together with the ship’s details, type, tonnage, engines, dimensions, builders etc. It will also contain the first Master’s name and certificate number, in addition to the owner’s name and address with details of any shared ownership. (NB. There are 64 shares in a ship and a company normally registers as the owner of a share or shares. Anyone who owns more than 33 shares becomes the majority shareholder.)
2. The Official Log Book (OLB)
   This is issued by a Port Superintendent or proper officer to the ship’s Master, with the Crew Agreement and the ship’s Articles, opened at the beginning of the voyage. Once a new Master relieves the existing Master or officer in charge and ‘handover’ is complete a statement to this effect is entered into the OLB.
3. Loadline Certificate (period of validity 5 years, may be extended 5 months)
   It is the Master’s responsibility not to take the ship to sea in a condition in which she is overloaded. No ship is allowed to go to sea unless she has been surveyed and her deck and loadlines marked with the conditions of assignment. The Master will also be provided with stability, loading and ballast information in order to comply with the requirements of the Loadline Rules.
4. Safety Equipment Certificate (and record of inspection) (validity 2 years)
   A relieving Master should sight the validity of the Safety Equipment Certificate and ensure that it remains valid for the period of the voyage. In the event of expiry such arrangements must be made to conduct a safety equipment survey with the Marine Authority.
5. Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate (validity 5 years)
   This certificate is issued by or on behalf of the government agency of the country in which the ship is registered. Prior to the issue of this certificate the ship must be fitted with a type tested compass (no extension period) – a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate (equivalent) has a validity period of 1 year.
6. GMDSS Safety Radio Certificate (validity 1 year)
   By 1 February 1999 all ships at sea must be fitted with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). Vessels holding the certificate may be granted an extension which must not exceed 5 months until arrival at the ship’s next port.
7. Certificate of Class
   Vessels built in accordance with the Lloyd’s Register Rules, and which are seen to be maintained, as found by surveys to meet the standards of the society, will remain ‘in class’. In the event of structural change this may be in the form of an ‘Interim Certificate of Class’.
8. Tonnage certificates
   In accordance with the Merchant Shipping Tonnage Regulations (1982), British vessels will be measured by a Classification Society and issued with a British Tonnage Certificate. Other authorities (Panama and Suez) have their own tonnage measurement systems for setting costs for use of respective canals.
9. Derat or Derat Exemption, Certificate (validity 6 months)
   If the Master of a ship cannot produce a Derat Certificate on arrival in a port the proper officer shall inspect the ship’s condition with regard to rodents on board. If the inspecting officer thinks that the ship is free of rats he should then issue a Deratting Exemption Certificate. In the event the officer is not satisfied he should order the ship to be deratted and subsequently issue a Derat Certificate.
10. Marpol certificates
    Oil Pollution Insurance Certificate (OPIC)
    UK Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (UKOPP) International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPP)
    International Pollution Prevention Certificate for the carriage of Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk (INLS)
11. Document of Compliance (DOC) issued under regulation 1/12 of SOLAS
    This is a Document of Compliance, which for the purpose of Port State Control is treated as a certificate and issued by the MCA on completion of a successful audit to the shipping company. A certified copy being carried by the ship together with the Safety Management Certificate (SMC) issued to an individual ship must be available for inspection or the ship may be detained under Port State Control. The DOC will be specific to ship types and will be valid for 5 years but subject to annual verification +/− 3 months.
12. Safety Management Certificate (SMC)
    The Safety Management Certificate is issued to individual ships following an on-board audit of the Safety Management System aboard the vessel. This certificate will be valid for a period of 5 years and will be subject to one verification, between the second and third anniversaries. (More frequent audits may be deemed necessary and the certificate remains in force with this proviso.)

More detail on the ISM code can be found on pages 52–55.

Certificate validation and issuing authorities

It is a common practice for ships’ Masters to maintain a certificate file containing relevant dates of issue, dates of expiry and the issuing authority. Understandably over a period of time Masters will become familiar with the different organization which carry out surveys and issue respective certificates. Regarding this the following background is provided on the more widely used supporting elements associated with the Mercantile Marine.

The majority of certificates are generally issued after survey and it would also be remiss not to include details of these shipboard inspections. However, with changing legislation, aspects of surveys cannot be expected to remain static and higher standards will generate changes to survey content in the future.

Classification of ships

The principal maritime nations have established their own Classification Societies, e.g. UK – Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, France – Bureau Veritas, Norway – Det Norske Veritas, USA – American Bureau of Shipping, etc.

The function of the societies is to provide classification to ships based on published rules and regulations concerned with the strength and adequate provision of equipment to such vessels. Classification is not compulsory (in the UK), but an owner with an unclassified vessel would be required to satisfy the countries’ regulatory bodies that the ship complied with the required standards of strength and safety to qualify for relevant operating certificates, such as Loadline or Safety Construction.

The use of a Classification Society gives the ship owner an assurance that his ship is ‘well found’ and without classification, such bodies as underwriters, bankers, charterers, shippers etc., might be reluctant to carry out shipping business activities. An unclassed vessel is rare today and the majority of ships are classed with one of over 45 Classification Societies.

The classification of a vessel is subject to inspection (surveys) from the time of building right through its active life, in order to stay in class. This ensures that the ship retains an expected standard whilst engaged in general trading operations.

Lloyd’s Register (LR)

The LR Society acts on behalf of governments with regard to national and international requirements for inspecting and surveying vessels. Their surveyors would approve repairs to a ship’s hull or to equipment on board damaged vessels, to ensure that the ship is maintained in class. Additionally, surveyors would be employed on new building or inspecting existing ships seeking classification.

Lloyd’s Rules provide the following list of surveys carried out by the LR Society: New construction survey, classification survey, survey for repair/alterations, annual survey, docking survey, intermediate survey, special survey, continuous survey, statutory survey, as well as surveys for national and international shipping requirements.

Survey details

See Merchant Shipping Regulations (Cargo Ship Construction and Survey) 1981/84 SIs 572/84, 1217/84 and 1219/84.

Classification for existing ships

When classification is required for an existing ship, which has not been built under the supervision of the society’s surveyors, the ship’s plans and vessel’s arrangement must be submitted to the society for approval. These plans should include details of the scantlings and the manufacturer and/or evidence of testing of materials used in the vessel’s construction.

In the event that such plans are not available the Lloyd’s surveyor should be allowed to obtain relev...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1. A ship Master’s business
• 2. Commercial knowledge
• 3. Shipboard management
• 4. Navigation and communication practice
• 5. Special maritime operations
• 6. Ship handling and manoeuvring aids
• 7. Engineering knowledge for masters
• 8. Offshore seamanship
• 9. SOLAS: revisions, amendments and developments
• 10. Marine training
• Appendix Ship Master’s self-examiner
• Index