Navigational safety during pilot transfers
The Republic of the Marshall Islands maritime administrator has issued safety bulletin 10-15 to highlight navigational issues that may arise during the period of pilot boarding and disembarkation. In particular it was noted that a number of incidents have occurred, resulting in collisions, allisions, as well as groundings at or near areas where pilots board / leave vessels.
A particular feature of these incidents was that masters and bridge teams were distracted and lost their situational awareness.
Other issues found includes:
an over-reliance on pilot station's radioed advice lack of effective passage planning lack of effective preparation for the embarkation / disembarkation ineffective bridge team management ineffective ship Safety Management System (SMS) procedures for navigationThe advice is that ships and managers should review their SMS with respect to navigational procedures and bridge team training.
The full advisory is republished alongside Skuld's advisory with the kind permission of the Marshall Islands Registry.
Loss prevention and further reading
Navigational safety continues to be a key issue for overall vessel safety. Collisions, allisions, and groundings occur with regular frequency and while some can be traced back to mechanical issues, in most cases the "human element" had a role to play. Such accidents can be dramatic, putting both crew and vessel at risk. Effective training, and diligent follow up in operations (both on ship and on shore) can help to mitigate against such risks.
Links to further information and resources on these issues can be found alongside this advisory.
For vessel specific enquiries, members are asked to contact their usual Skuld business unit.