The anchor is away and the new mooring lines have just been replaced
so now we have all the equipment in place
the daylight signals are also checked and the obligatory two black balls with
a diamond shape in the middle are ready to be hoisted the Rio also seems to be
right on schedule she can only be about half a mile away
in about an hour we will commence with the run-in procedures
in approximately three hours we should be ready for mooring
so now will be a good time for dealing with unfinished business
can you think of any outstanding matters Nick yes you got that right we need to
retract the oversight protrusions on our port side
I have just contacted our third officer and he has agreed to see to that it
should only take about half an hour to get the pneumatic pilots hoist inboard
in the meantime I can explain the principles behind the running process
for you
it's a very demanding maneuver for both the engineer and the navigator engine
controls steering gear and all the navigation equipment should be in full
working order and there should be effective radio communication between
the bridge and mooring personnel and between the Masters on both ships
the ships speed should be controlled by adjusting engine revolutions or
propeller pitch in order to maintain four to five knots during the entire run
in a more operation when we are performing the STS transfer
operation with both ships underway the largest ship will normally keep a steady
course and minimum speed about four to five knots by experience it's
recommended that the manoeuvring ship approaches and berths with the port side
to the starboard side of the constantly heading ship
being the maneuvering ship we will approach the Rio the constantly heading
ship from the quarter on the side of berthing and when the distance is
narrowed to about three to four hundred meters I will order to stand by for
mooring
courses requested by the maneuvering ship must always be followed by the
constantly heading ship but our angle of approach should not be excessive on
closer approach we will parallel the course of the Rio at a safe distance
that is appropriate to the conditions approximately fifty to a hundred metres
and position our cargo manifold in line with theirs then we reduce the distance
by appropriate rudder and engine movements until the fenders touch
during this closing up maneuver it is important that the approaching angle
between the two ships should be as little as possible two to five degrees
the two ships should preferably make parallel contact at the same speed with
no astern engine movements being necessary
now you know what's ahead of us but before we proceed to run in we must see
that the formalities are handled properly well here you are rehearsing
the procedures
I have just confirmed checklist number 2 with the Rio Peter there should be no
outstanding matters on either side
John it looks fine so all our mooring personnel are also in position now
yes and I have also checked that the communication with them works perfect
then I will call the Rio right away and get things moving hi Michael I can see
that you are in position and everything looks good
now you have the light breeze on your port bow as planned
hope it remains there until we are anchored again do you have any trouble
in keeping the agreed course and the speed
no we are steady on the course and maintain the speed of four knots good
but call me immediately if you experience any problems and have to make
alterations in course or speed and if the commute
should break down during the closing up we must abort the manoeuvre and indicate
the following actions by whistle signals according to Coleridge collision
regulations okay that's understood so starting time of
the operation is set to 1200 hours let's go for it
you
you the REO has just sent the confirmation
of checklist number three and that's very well timed as we now enter the
final run in phase
the distance between us and the Rio can't be much more than a hundred meters
now and we must also be very close to being in line
Nik can you see the pump man at the manifold
he will call on the walkie-talkie when the two manifolds are in line and we can
begin to close in
yes Peter here hi Peter it's John here my chief engineer just informed me that
we're experiencing increasing problems with the main engine because of the slow
speed in order to align with the rear the chief engineer would be more happy
with 4.5 to 5 not thanks for informing me it's crucial to keep the main engine
stable at this stage of the operation hold on for a second and let me think ok
John I'll contact the REO right away and order them to increase to 5 knots with
this weather condition and little traffic I think we will do fine with 5
knots until we are moored but let me know immediately if there are any
changes in the state of the engine sure Peter I'll keep in close contact
look the manifolds are on line we will now gradually close the gap
between the ships and make a parallel and hopefully soft landing on the
fenders but with wind sea and swell not to
mention tidal current and hydrodynamic interaction between the ships hulls you
can imagine how difficult it is the sideways movement and the velocity when
touching the fenders should not exceed 0.4 knots yes we are lucky to have
Michael at the wheel he is a master in these delicate
maneuvers he certainly seemed to have the needed
experience
the collaboration with the chief engineer is also excellent absolutely
and it looks like the Rio are doing just as good
the synchronization works very well yes in a few minutes we will have contact so
the crew should be ready for mooring no steel to steel contact thanks to the
secondary fenders I'm glad you insisted in using them also
Peter I always used the secondary fenders
because in connection with mooring and unmooring the bow is being pressed
together by several forces and too much damage is caused by neglecting these
extra fenders right and now the mooring operation can
commence
can you tell us what the right positions are Nick yes that's correct Nick
in accordance with the moring plan the first thing we have to do is pass the
mooring lines over from the bow
that's because the forward motion of the ships driving the water between them can
push the boughs apart
as you can see the next team is ready to assist right from the beginning
it's their job to make fast the forward spring
they will thereafter move to the poop and take care of the Stern lines
there should be at least four men in each of the two teams to do the job
quickly enough the mooring is now completed so we stop the engine and keep
the rudder amidships any stronger Stern movement should be
avoided and the Rio will power our movement at lowest possible speed to the
anchor position
and then the REO should use the anchor on opposite side of us
right and you have chosen a very suitable anchor position for the
operation with a good water depth and the best conditions for holding ground
the wind and current should also be to our advantage
yes and though only one anchor is used each ship is responsible for watch
keeping arrangements as required by STCW
however we have agreed that the Rio maintains anchor watch
and I have pointed out that although it is practical to enhance the monitoring
of the anchor position by an additional GPS installed in cargo control room
nothing relieves a ship of the requirement to keep a navigational watch
I can see that there are many STS transfer operations involving one ship
already positioned a tanker in this area why is it you prefer mooring with both
ships underway Peter
run in & Moring with one ship at anchor can also be conducted in a safe way
this type of birthing is actually quite like maneuvering and birthing to a jetty
and it is often used in more constrained areas where there is no possibility for
underway transfer and when tugs for berthing are available
but it is still a little more complicated to perform than mooring with
both ships underway first of all the operation should not
commence until the vessel at anchor is on a steady heading and during berthing
operation proper watch should be kept on board the vessel at anchor
the heading should be monitored and reported to the manoeuvring ship and any
tendency of joying should be reported immediately
when birthing alongside an anchored ship the maneuvering ship must deploy the
lines I have done many of these operations but
quite a few times excessively joying has postponed the operation because no
tugs were available to keep the anchored ship on a steady course
and birthing should absolutely not be attempted when the tidal stream is due
to change I clearly remember one operation in the
US Gulf where the hydrodynamic effects of my maneuvering ship kept pushing the
anchored ship so far away that we couldn't catch up with each other
we had to wait till the next day to get a tugboat to keep the anchored ship on a
steady course and even though we used secondary
fenders fore and aft of the primary fenders we weren't able to prevent steel
to steel contact but that was mainly because we made the
mistake of pulling the anchored ship too quickly towards the maneuvering vessel