Real Life Accident: First Mate Falls Into Cargo Hold While Operating Hatch Crane

                  While closing the hold a hatch fell out of the hatch crane and into the hold. This then caused the hatch crane to come off its rails on the starboard side. The first mate, who was operating the hatch crane alone from the operating platform, fell approximately eight metres into the hold; he was not wearing personal anti-fall protection (safety harness). He suffered serious injuries as a result of this fall and was admitted to hospital in a critical state.

                 

                    The hatch crane and hatch arrangement are similar to those in many small ocean going and inland vessels. The hatch crane rides on both sides of the hold over rails which are fitted to the hatchway coaming. The crane consists of two vertical uprights and a yoke, placed athwartships [across the width of the vessel] and fitted with hooks from which the hatches are hung during hatch movement. The hatches are fitted with attachment points, referred to as ‘pockets’. There are markings on both the hatches and the hatch crane to indicate the correct position of a hooked-up hatch relative to the hooks of the hatch crane. The person who operates the crane stands on the hatch crane, either on one side or on top, and rides along with the hatch crane while the hatch is moved.

 

 

                  Because the hatch was being transported in a high position, not only was its centre of gravity higher than need be, but also there was little chance of it coming to rest on the hatchway coaming when it fell. The investigation also determined that the hooks of the hatch crane yoke on the starboard side did not connect to the hatch attachment points but to the rounded (outer) side of the attachment points. Contrary to the vessel’s procedures, this was not checked by a second person at the time of the manoeuvre.

 

 

                 Since 1992, a total of 15 incidents involving hatch cranes on board Dutch flagged ships have been reported to the authorities. These have resulted in three deaths and 13 serious injuries. Investigations have revealed two categories of incidents/accidents. On the one hand, many occurrences involved contacts between the crane and people on or near the rails. On the other hand, eight other occurrences involved hatches falling out of the crane hooks, potentially causing the hatch crane to topple or shift, and then the operator to fall. Dutch authorities made a number of recommendations to limit this type of accident. They can serve as a list of lessons learned.

 

Recommendations

1 Use claws on the hatch crane which grip the rails so that the crane cannot topple or shift off the rails.

2 Use sharp ended hooks and pockets, so that the hook cannot lift the hatch if it is not properly connected.

 

 

3 Operate the hatch crane only if there is a person on each side to check whether the hooks are connected properly.

 

4 Apply markings to the hatch crane and the hatches so that it is clear whether the crane is correctly positioned in relation to the hatch.

 

5 Move the hatch crane only when the pontoon is in the lowest possible position to keep the crane’s centre of gravity as low as possible.

 

6 Use ‘brushes’ in front of the wheels, so that fingers can be pushed away instead of becoming trapped.

 

7 The installation and maintenance of audiovisual warning signals in order to warn bystanders of the driving crane.

Singapore’s Keppel Says To Build First Drillship, But No Buyer Lined Up

 

                                Singapore’s Keppel Corporation Ltd, the world’s top offshore drilling rig maker, said it plans to build its first drillship despite not having a buyer lined up, confident the design will be welcomed by the market.
                             
 It is the first time Keppel has built a rig without a contract in at least 14 years, an examination of company announcements showed.
A leading builder of jackup rigs, which work in water depths up to 500 feet (152 metres), Keppel has yet to build a drillship from scratch and has been trying to secure a contract for its own drillship design this year.
                           
  South Korea’s shipbuilding giants, Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, dominate the market for drillships, which are used to explore oil and gas in water up to 12,000-feet deep and cost at least $500 million a piece to build.



                       Keppel said in a statement that its new design would overcome the constraints of limited deck space found in most drillships. Construction is expected to be completed in 2016.
Keppel had expected to get the order for the drillship by the end of next year, Tong Chong Heong, chief executive officer of Keppel Offshore & Marine, said at a results briefing in October.
Keppel had bagged new orders of S$6.8 billion by late November, and is on track to deliver a record number of rigs this year. But growing competition from Chinese shipyards have put a lot of pressure on the company’s profit margins in recent years.

Knowledge is power: GE’s Powerful Dynamic Positioning Technology For N...

Knowledge is power: GE’s Powerful Dynamic Positioning Technology For N...:          It’s a powerful proposal. Keeping a 90-meter, 4,500-dead weight capacity platform supply vessel (PSV) stationary only a few ...

GE’s Powerful Dynamic Positioning Technology For Next Generation Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs)

         It’s a powerful proposal. Keeping a 90-meter, 4,500-dead weight capacity platform supply vessel (PSV) stationary only a few meters from an oil and gas platform, as it transfers fluids, equipment and personnel in challenging weather conditions, is as much about power as it is about precision.

         With GE Power Conversion’s dynamic positioning and vessel automation technologies, the Brazilian Shipyard Detroit Brasil Ltd  is constructing the next generation of PSVs for Brazilian operator Starnav Serviços Marítimos Ltda. The ships will operate under a long-term arrangement with Brazilian oil giant Petrobras. GE’s newest advancements in dynamic positioning and vessel automation will enable the ships to perform such operations with stability, safety and precision and will substantially contribute to the ships’ overall efficiency and operational effectiveness.

        Carlos Eduardo Pereira, general director at Starnav Serviços Marítimos Ltda. says, “We insist on having the very best in terms of performance. Second best is just not good enough for the kinds of environments they operate in. Not only does this apply to the worst the ocean can throw at you but it also means that the ships need to be efficient to meet both financial and environmental concerns. Offering a total solution means you understand the world of the mariner with innovation and technology that makes their life easier, this is where GE Power Conversion excels and why we are proud to be able to have them as a partner.”

                       Carlos Adrião, marine business director for GE Power Conversion Brazil & Latin America says, “We listen to our customers every day, and we listen to our customers’ customers. Moreover, we put what they say to work through our understanding of how to provide a complete marine solution. It is a matter of pride to be able to say that our reputation is made with every successful trip of the PSVs to support their platforms. A PSV will be operating for possibly decades; we need to make sure that the technologies we provide them today will keep them competitive tomorrow. ”

                      In taking a global view of the ship while listening to customers and understanding the challenges of tomorrow, GE Power Conversion experts are more than ever before powering, propelling and positioning the marine industry.

Grounded ship Pratibha Cauvery finally sold for Rs 16 crore

        Six months after it ran aground near Chennai during Cyclone Nilam drowning six sailors, oil tanker Pratibha Cauvery, has been sold for Rs. 16 crore.

          The Madras High Court had on April 18 ordered the sale of the ship through tender, rejecting the request for private sale.

         The High Court has recently confirmed the sale to the successful bidder Baltanas Shipping Limited in Charlestown, Nevis.

        Subsequent to the sale, Justice R Subbiah has ordered the release of the vessel from the Chennai Port Trust.

        The ship was seized and kept in the outer anchorage of the Chennai Port Trust on the order of the High Court, after a relative of one of the deceased sailors filed a petition seeking compensation.

         The vessel ran aground off Elliots Beach in the city when cyclone 'Nilam' hit the coast on October 31 last year.

         Mumbai-based Pratibha Shipping Company Limited, which had initially deposited Rs. 30 lakh, was directed by the court in December last year to pay Rs. 87.45 lakh as compensation to legal heirs of the six sailors.

          During the course of trial, parents of one of the sailors allegedly committed suicide, following the delay in receiving the compensation.

         As for the 17 crew members, who survived the October 31 incident and have filed petitions seeking payment of salary arrears, Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar had in December last directed the company to calculate the admitted arrears of salary payable to them till October-end and pay it in four weeks.

Knowledge is power: Death toll hits 39 in Philippines ferry accident

Knowledge is power: Death toll hits 39 in Philippines ferry accident:      CEBU, Philippines (AP) — As the MV Thomas Aquinas cruised toward Cebu city in the central Philippines, navy marshal Richard Pestillos...

Death toll hits 39 in Philippines ferry accident

     CEBU, Philippines (AP) — As the MV Thomas Aquinas cruised toward Cebu city in the central Philippines, navy marshal Richard Pestillos prepared for a brief stop while some passengers watched a band and others soaked in the night breeze on the deck.

    Then the scene turned chaotic when the ferry, with 870 passengers and crew, and a cargo ship collided late Friday, ripping a hole in its hull, knocking out its power and causing it to list before rapidly sinking as people screamed, according to Pestillos and other witnesses.

    "The sea was very calm and we could already see the lights at the pier," Pestillos told The Associated Press on Sunday by telephone.

    "Then very suddenly ... there was a loud bang then the grating sound of metal being peeled off," he said.

    Coast guard officials said at least 39 died and more than 80 were missing in the latest deadly sea accident in the Philippines, which happened 570 kilometers south of Manila.

    Frequent storms, badly maintained vessels and weak enforcement of safety regulations have been blamed for many of the accidents, including in 1987 when the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

    Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said 751 passengers and crew of the Thomas Aquinas were rescued. There were no signs of additional survivors late Sunday, although Davide told reporters that he had not given up hope.

    Pestillos, one of several people praised for saving others in the accident, said he distributed life jackets and launched life rafts before creating his own flotation device by tying three life jackets to his navy service rifle.

    As the ferry sank, Pestillos said he fell into water that reeked of oil and was hit by a falling life boat. He said he gave his homemade flotation device to a woman who needed it to stay afloat.

    He said he lost sight of her when he went to help seven others, including two toddlers, toward an overturned life boat.

      Pestillos said rescuers found his rifle still tied to the life jackets, but it was not clear what happened to the woman.

    "I'm really praying that she also made it to the shore alive," he said.

     Cebu coast guard chief Commodore William Melad said there were 870 people on the ferry, including 754 passengers and 116 crew, after collating records of hospitals, rescuers and the ferry owner.

     Coast guard deputy chief Rear Adm. Luis Tuason said some of the missing could still be trapped in the sunken ferry, which has been leaking oil.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said the cargo ship was leaving the Cebu pier when it smashed into right side near the rear of the ferry which was arriving from southern Agusan del Sur province and making a brief stop in Cebu before proceeding to Manila.

     Outbound and incoming ships are assigned separate routes in the narrow channel leading to the busy Cebu pier. It is not known if one of the vessels strayed into the wrong lane, coast guard officials said.

     "There was probably a non-observance of rules," Melad told a news conference in Cebu on Sunday, but he said the investigation will start after the search and rescue work ends.