Issue: 02/2012

Hook on Your Harness

Dear Colleagues,
In this issue of Lookout, we bring you
the winner of the Working Overside
..Safely competition. Though we
had a disappointingly low number of
responses, we found a worthy winner
in Bosun Dayanand Sawant from M.V.
Federal Yukina. His ideas are being
shared with all of you.
Working overside is a critical task and
should be treated with the utmost
care and planning.
Safety statistics for the first half of
the year show a disturbing trend of a
rising deficiency per inspection figure
for our Port State Control performance
fleet wide. Over the years, all of us at
Anglo-Eastern have worked zealously
towards maintaining a high standard
in PSC inspections. We have together
won a number of awards for excellence
in PSC performance. However, now
that legacy is under threat.
Today there is increased scrutiny
from the Port Sate Control regime
worldwide. There are the odd cases
where a Port State Control officer
has been deemed unreasonable.
However in the vast majority of
inspections, we cannot hide away
from the fact that a deficiency did exist
onboard our vessel.
The Company has provided a number
of tools to deal with PSC inspections
and in this edition we bring you some
further information in this regard.
As we approach the last quarter of
the year, let us reflect upon the port
state deficiencies of the past. Very
few deficiencies were attributable to
equipment failure and it is unfortunate
that a large number of deficiencies
could have been avoided by a sincere
walkabout.
The ships that we sail on are our
homes. Let us strive to keep them
inspection ready always.
Wishing you safe voyages.

As we all are seamen and have rigged

the combination ladder numerous times.
The mere thought that ITS EASY can be the
most dangerous thought one can put in our
mind. The truth is, we all make mistakes and
because of such mistakes there are a lot of
accidents happening, out of which some are
fatal & some are near misses.
As Bosun, when I am told to prepare a pilot/
combination ladder, I make sure that I have
sufficient people to rig it (for pilot ladder at
least two & for combination at least three).
Secondly, I try to call those persons who have
had proper rest. Third & most importantly, I
like to prepare it well before time & not at the
last minute to avoid hassles and possibilities
of making mistakes due to time crunch.
Some ships have pilot ladder kept on deck &
some on drum operated by air winch. Before
removing the railing or gates, make sure that
you have a good tight rope which will act as a
make-shift railing. Normally life buoy is always
kept near the pilot area so make sure it is in
place with an operational light and a separate
heaving line.
While lowering the ladder always be in a good
position so that you can lower it slowly and
in a controlled manner. Always be watchful of
the spreader. When you want to check for the
height, secure the ladder with one shackle at
least so that the other person doesnt have to
hold so much weight. Once correct height is
ensured, secure the ladder with shackles on
both sides & make sure that the weight is on
the shackle & not on the step near the ship
side. Now you can remove the rope which
you had put as safety make-shift railing. While
heaving up with air operated winches, the
ladder some times does not come in proper
position (centre). In that case, tell other
persons to direct it & one person should be
on the winch.

Accidents
happen when
Editorial
one person
Working Overside... Safely
does it alone
5 S RULE
by himself
Winners of the Working Overside...
thinking of
Safely Competition
saving time.
Port State Control Inspections
He keeps
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the winch
For the Skipper
in Heave
Shipboard Concentrated QHSE
Campaign No. 1
position &
Regulation Updates
tries to adjust
the ladder.
This is a very
wrong practice and should not be done on
board under any circumstances.
For rigging the combination ladder, check all
lashings of gangway are removed. Before
lowering make sure that one good thick rope
is connected to it at the bottom section of
the gangway as a precaution. Once lowered,
make sure that the person who goes down is
wearing proper PPE, an inflatable life jacket
and a full body harness which is connected to
a safety line. The safety line has always to be
kept secured at a strong point on board the
vessel. One person should always keep an
eye on the person working overside.
Once the gangway is ready & pilot ladder
is lowered, connect the pilot ladder to ship
side & gangway to pilot ladder so that they
will make one composite unit and not move
independently.
These simple precautions are not a tall ask to
ensure tasks are done safely.
As someone has said very correctly Our work is never so urgent or important that
we cannot take out time to do it SAFELY.
Always remember that there is some one waiting
for you back at home.......................... Bon Voyage

By: Bosun Dayanand Sawant

5 S RULE
Working Overside can be Safely done using a 5 S Rule.

Proper P.P.E to be worn.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

SUPPORTING EQUIPMENT
Check Safety Harness, Safety Line,
Stage, Gantlines.

3
S

Ensure a Hazard Free Environment.

URROUNDING

SUPERVISION

Responsible Person should be Identified.

S TOP

All Involved should have the Right to

Stop the Work.

Contributed by
3/Off Nischith Shetty

Overside ... Safely

Winners WorkingCompetition
of the

1st Prize Bosun Dayanand Sawant MV Federal Yukina.

Following ship staffs have also been awarded for their contributions and efforts:
1. 3/Off Nischith Shetty MV Thailand Express

5. O/S Manish Chandra MV Federal Yukina

2. 3/Off Gagandeep Singh Anand MT Pecos

6. O/S Sarfaraz Ali Sheikh MV Federal Yukina

3. Cadet Sandip Bais MV Saga Enterprise

7. DTSM Jayminkumar Tandel MV Federal

Yukina

4. A/B Ajit Kumar MV Avocet

PORT STATE CONTROL INSPECTIONS

THE QUEST FOR ZERO DEFICIENCIES
Every industry has bench marks for separating the
ELITE from the general crowd and shipping is no
different. One such widely accepted bench mark is
PORT STATE CONTROL INSPECTION RECORD. It
stands for safety and quality.
As a responsible management company our quest
for Zero Deficiency in the inspections across the
fleet continues. To have the desired result the whole
organization has to work as a team ship and shore
in complete synergy.
The primary purpose of a PSC inspection is to
verify that the vessel is being run in compliance with
International regulations and poses no threat to safety
of personnel, environment and property. In case there
are clear grounds that the vessel, its equipment, or
its crew does not correspond with the requirement of
relevant conventions or that the crew members are
not familiar with the essential shipboard procedures,
the inspection enters the realm of an EXPANDED
INSPECTION. A most undesirable culmination of an
expanded inspection is a DETENTION.
Industry watch dogs relate the PSC data of a company
to other aspects of functioning of a company drawing
a direct relation between the inspection reports and
safety standards of an organization. The outcome of
an adverse PSC inspection has serious effects on
the reputation of an organization.
1. Adverse PSC report causes delays to a vessel
and threatens the commercial viability.
2. Rightship ratings fall with each adverse inspection
which directly affects the employability of a Bulk
Carrier. The vessel does not get accepted by
reputed companies for carriage of cargo.
3. Adverse reports on Oil Tankers are viewed in a
similar way by Oil majors.
4. Terminals lay emphasis on the PSC record of a
vessel while approving a vessel and are reluctant
to accept vessel with a poor PSC record.
5. There is a loss of reputation of the organization
with clients.
6. Leads to loss of reputation of the seafarer and
has an adverse affect on the employability of that
nationality.
Often deficiencies are observed to be of a nature
which should have been observed and rectified by us
before being pointed out by an external party.
The Port State inspector must always be
accompanied by a senior officer, preferably Master
or Chief Engineer.
The SMS provides various control measures to assist
a vessel for PSC preparation. The initial SMS setup

includes numerous reference materials for the ship

staff, viz:
1. A Port state Checklist file which contains
guidelines and Checklist issued by various Port
states to assist vessel in complying with the port
state requirements.
2. DNV PSC tool kit has been provided on board to
assist vessel preparation for PSC inspection.
3. An Anglo Eastern QA poster with numerous
photographs of Common PSC detainable
deficiency covering the Bridge equipment/
Documents/LSA/FFA/Marpol/Living standards/
Machinery.
4. A reference pocket card with the one line
description of common PSC detainable
deficiencies which includes areas concerning
LSA/FFA/Marpol/navigation/GMDSS/load line/
ISPS.
5. LR POCKET CHECKLIST for reducing the risk of
port state control detentions
a. Port state Inspection checklist.
b. Life saving appliances Checklist
c. Marine pollution prevention checklist.
d. Marine Fire safety checklist.
e. ISM and ISPS checklist.
6. DNV POCKET CHECKLIST for Port State control
Top detainable items.
7. P&I guidelines pamphlets from the West of
England
8. UK P&I Club good practices pamphlets
9. IMO publication Procedures for Port State
Control
10. Training video on Approach towards Port state
Control including targeted video on agencies like
USCG and AMSA.
Ship staff can also benefit by attending a two day
course, Port State Inspection for all officers at Anglo
Eastern training centers.
The Superintendents and Internal auditors during
ships visit will focus on PSC detainable deficiencies
and try out all emergency and Marpol equipment.
The burden to provide results and achieving targets
has to be shared by all.
Note: You can read more about procedures for third party
Inspections in SBP 201A Chapter 18.

For the Skipper

Routine/Non-Routine message (SBP 17.3.1)
E-mail messages for the AESM Office need to
classified as Routine/Non-Routine message.
NON-ROUTINE messages would include but not
be limited to the following matters:

Injury
Damage to Equipment, Cargo or Ships
Pollution
Delays to vessel or cargo
Fines by Authorities
Port State inspections
Oil major inspections
Flag State inspections
Disciplinary actions
Any other Technical or Commercial problem,
including potential problems.

Other messages are to be prefixed at ROUTINE.

Communication in Emergencies (ECM 7.7.1)
The first choice for emergency messages shall
always be voice communication.

Regulation Updates
st

21 June 2012: The revised US Coast Guard (USCG)

regulations on ballast water management entered into force
21 June 2012. (SQ/MSG/065AS/12 - Biofouling Management
Plan and Record Book)
23rd June 2012: The new USCG Ballast Water Regulations
under 33CFR 151 Part C, has imposed additional measure
for limitation on minimum salinity level of the discharge
ballast water. (US 62)
01st July 2012: The RO would review the asbestos-free
declaration and supporting documentations to verify that no
asbestos has been used in equipment newly installed on or
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material and equipment not containing Asbestos)
01st July 2012: Revised requirements have come in to force
for the Pilot ladder transfer arrangement (RU 73)
20th Aug 2012: The Maritime Labour Convention has
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into force with effect from 20 August 2013. Routine updates
and audit feedback are being forwarded through the SQ
messages. (SQ/MSG/099AS/12 - Shipboard MLC Inspection
Plan update)

Shipboard Concentrated
QHSE Campaign No. 1
Summary of deficiencies noted in the campaign conducted
from January to March 2012 Permit to work system,
Risk assessment & Cargo practices
Permit to Work System
1. Lockout or Tag out kit not onboard the vessel.
Equipment / system are not isolated and tagged out
by placing adequate warning signs. (H&S 5.6)
2. The Supervisor does not remain in attendance
throughout the period of the work.
Risk Assessment (H&S 3.0)
1. The generic risk assessment templates are being
used for all tasks and ship specific templates have not
been made.
2. The risk assessment is not being done for all non
routine tasks.
3. The control measures as discussed in the safety tool
box meeting are not followed up by supervisor while
the job is in progress.
Cargo Practices (Tankers)
1. Spares for gas detector equipment and calibration
gas not available on board. (TOM 14.4 - SIRE 5.31/
SIRE 5.34)
2. The sampling hoses of the gas detectors not sufficient
to reach the bottom of the space being sampled.
(TOM 14.4)
3. The gas detectors on board are not appropriate for the
type of cargo being carried. (TOM 14.4 - SIRE 5.31)
Cargo Practices (Dry Cargo Vessels)
1. The container lashing gear not color coded as
specified in CHM manual. (CHM 7.18.7)
2. The observed values are not entered in OPS 4A form
on completion of the relevant sequence.
3. The Shippers declaration which provides information
relating to cargo hazards is not available on board.
(IMSBC 3.1)
4. The records of the maintenance of container lashing
gear is not maintained on board. (CHM 7.18.6)
5. The temperature of reefer containers containing
Dangerous goods not checked every 6 hrs as stated
in the IMDG code. (CHM 7.12)

Photo Hook on your Harness West of England P@I Club

Anglo Eastern Group

23/F, 248 Queens Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2863 6111 Fax: (852) 2861 2419
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.angloeasterngroup.com