In an age of high technology shipping and very large and powerful ships, we sometimes need reminding of the power of the sea. And there is a stark reminder contained in a single photograph in the latest edition of the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch Safety Digest. This does not illustrate raging seas or towering waves, but is a photograph of the shop in a large cruise ship. At first glance, it seems somewhat untidy, but closer inspection reveals a whole gallery of paintings hanging at an angle of 31 degrees from their usual vertical position, demonstrating better than any clinometer the heavy and violent rolling of the ship, caught close to the centre of a storm at sea.

It was, in fact a very unpleasant incident, with a large amount of damage done as the ship lay hove to in the storm, but more to the point was the fact that “numerous passengers and crew were injured, several seriously”. In the case of the passengers, this certainly was not what they had bargained for as they booked their holidays at sea.

The MAIB, in its exposition of this event, notes that the ship was prepared for heavy weather, although it would clearly have been more prudent to confine the passengers to their cabins. But the pictures of the event show heavy furniture, which it had not been possible to secure, strewn around the public rooms in a hazardous fashion. The report also noted that the stabilisers on the ship had been ineffectual with the vessel hove to, which is perhaps a matter to remember.

In the efforts of naval architects to design passenger spaces that resemble luxury hotels rather than ships, there is clearly a need for such reminders. A ship designer not long ago was recounting the battle he had with shipbuilders who did not think it necessary to fit grab rails along the extent of accommodation alleyways (thus making a useful saving), but unless that shipbuilder had seen how necessary these were in heavy weather, his neglect was at least explicable.

But all ships need to be given what might be thought of as a “heavy weather audit” in both outfitting and procedures. There was a death and severe injuries aboard a container ship which rolled violently in a typhoon, with the personnel on the bridge hurled violently from one side of the full-width wheelhouse into the other. It transpired that there was a distinct lack of grab rails in this space high on the after superstructure where they were undoubtedly needed. Can all furniture and equipment, which may seem heavy and perfectly secure, move if the ship rolls violently? Are there proper procedures in place to prepare the ship for heavy weather?

A pilot spoke of his amusement at discovering a ship’s computer in the back of the wheelhouse lashed down with heavy rope like an item of deck cargo might have been. This was necessary, explained the Master, who said that there was no other way of securing this important item of equipment! That may have been amusing, but there can be tragedy accompanying the failure to properly anticipate the power of the waves, such as was the case of a big tanker putting to sea from a northern port. The team forward was still securing their equipment when the green sea smashed over the bow, killing two and injuring others. Nobody takes chances with the sea.

Source: The Watchkeeper       Images MAIB