Well David I reckon you have already taken care of business with our external
cargo surveyors yes Peter they are finished calculating our cargo
and are now ready to do the same at the Rio great let's get them over first so I
can be in attendance throughout the transfer operation and fulfill my role
as the person in overall charge should we use the gangway or the personnel
basket what do you think Nick both crane basket and crew are certified for this
kind of operation and we have a risk assessment based on evaluation of
whether sea state and any other relevant factors and we have the all-important
lifejackets right here this is absolutely the safest and quickest way a
work boat transfer is a good alternative but it's much slower Nick and I will
take the next trip with the personnel basket while they accomplish the first
transport mission we should put on the lifejacket and required safety equipment
welcome on board the rear please let me introduce you to my chief officer
Charles Brown thanks Michael and this is chief officer of the merry David long
and my aspiring superintendent Nick Carter
nice to meet you well everything has run smoothly so far
but before we continue with the cargo transfer we have to conduct this meeting
in order to meet the safety regulations as you are the person in overall control
of the operation I suggest that you lead this meeting Peter no problem Michael
it's also my responsibility to ensure that the cargo transfer operation is
carried out in accordance with the requirements of the receiving ship
however NIC here is assisting me today I hope that you are okay with him
conducting this meeting
well Nick where do you suggest we start and what point should recover yes there
should always be one person at the manifold two persons checking moorings
fenders anchor and carry out security surveillance rounds the duty officer or
chief officer should be the navigational and anchor watch the engine should
always be manned by one engineer and motor man what do you think Charles yes
he looks good this is our watch plan when you take the anchor watch as the
STCW regulation prescribes it won't be necessary to have one on the Mary as
well but otherwise the watch plan on the Mary will be similar to yours
next issue is emergency procedures if you have any questions on the emergency
signals and shutdown procedures now the crew is familiar with the procedures and
know what first action to be taken any leakage or other problem will be
immediately reported to the officer in charge okay
it seems the security arrangements are in place
regarding the transfer we have agreed upon an initial transfer rate of 1,000
metric tons an hour and a maximum transfer rate of 6400 hour there should
be no alterations to this caused by weather conditions or technical issues
so with the pumping capacity around 5,000 metric tons per hour I expect the
cargo transfer including crude oil washing will take about 30 hours
beginning at 1730 hours
correct and I've already got the details about the Mary's cargo of 85 thousand
metric tons of Gulf acts crude from the external cargo surveyors they must also
have the details regarding our present cargo ready soon
regarding the communication I suggest we maintain the intership communication on
the VHF channel 13 and also have as much visual contact as possible during the
cargo transfer if that's okay with you sure that's the safest way to do it
now after this meeting I will make the last checks of the cargo transfer
arrangements and give you a final confirmation of our readiness before the
transfer is started last issue is the disconnection when the
cargo is completed I want the hoses to remain connected on
the Rio as we are also bringing in the next vessel alongside you
so we drained the hoses thoroughly and put the blanks on them and then we
arranged them in front of your manifold also the fenders we leave them with you
until the next berthing before we start unmooring we shift the
fender moorings from the Mary to the Rio that's understood
okay the crew should be finished with the connection of hoses by now so it
will just take about 15 minutes before we are back and ready on the Mary
just remember that before the cargo transfer commences both the Escott ship
Shore safety checklist and the STS checklist number four should be filled
in and agreed upon I'll send the list for the Mary as soon as we are on board
again and ready
but regarding communication there is still one last task to do Nick maybe you
can help us with that before we break up yes the person in overall advisory
control is responsible for reporting to the local authorities about commencement
and completion of the operation he also informs the organizers
both masters inform their respective agents and keep the agent updated on all
important timings such as commencement of the operation cargo transfer
completion time delays etc the agent continuously keeps the ship
owners operators and organizers updated okay Nick so far so good
the runnin & Moring went well and now the cargo transfer just started
this phase of the STS operation is normally routine work
both chief officers will be in close contact during this phase
on the Mary it is hectic in the cargo control room CCR
starting pumps and inert gas system ordering of valves to be opened
and have watch men standby for any unforeseen events
as soon as the chief officer on the Rio is happy with the flow and everything is
working the way it should he orders to increase rate up to full
rate the Dec duty officer must keep a time log later it will be entered into
the deck logbook and it also forms the basis for the timesheet which is to be
enclosed with the cargo documents the important times stages like commenced
cargo pumping receiving any intermediate starts and stops commenced crude oil
washing finished crude oil washing cargo transfer completed must be agreed
between the chief officers of the two ships the timesheet forms the basis for
calculating the expenses and who should pay what for the vessels port call ie
the division between the charters and ship owners the respective agents for
the two ships must be updated by the master and the agent keeps the owners
operators charter as informed during the cargo transfer we will keep an eye on
the operation from the bridge here on the Mary and furthermore we must make
rounds from time to time to check the moorings fenders and hoses
let's go for a round now the crude oil washing was completed two hours ago
creating the last hose you can see how cautiously the crew disconnects it to
ensure that is is free of liquid and pressure and blank both the hose and the
manifold flanges to avoid oil spillage
I think we can inform the authorities of the completion of the cargo transfer and
give them the anticipated time of unmooring
John we should be ready from morning and departure tomorrow around 6:00 a.m.
let's meet for a briefing here at 5:30 a.m.
no problem sleep well both of you Thanks I will just inform Michael on the
Rio as well and then we are off to bed