Ref 2 0501-20 RA - Emergency Towing (public).doc

Procedure 0501-20

Section 8.3

RESPONSIBLE POSITION

CDR Samuel F. Greenaway, NOAA

Commanding Officer Commanding Officer

EMERGENCY TOWING

1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this document is to provide standard operating procedures for emergency towing operations when the NOAA Ship Rainier will be the towed vessel.

2. SCOPE

2.1 This procedure applies to NOAA Ship Rainier.

2.2 This procedure applies only to occasions when a NOAA ship is the vessel to be towed and will serve to meet the amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Regulation II-1/3-4, Emergency Towing Procedures.

2.3 This procedure must be kept on the bridge at all times.

3. RESPONSIBLE POSITIONS

3.1 The following positions or groups have action item responsibilities within this procedure:

· Ship Commanding Officers

· Marine Operations Center Procurement Officials

4. PROCEDURE

4.1 The ship Commanding Officer (CO) ensures the ship is in compliance with this procedure and amendment to SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-4 regarding emergency towing.

4.2 The CO knows the ship’s capability to be towed under emergency situations. Emergency towing procedures and Ship’s Specific Instructions (SSI) must be developed by each CO. Per SOLAS III/IV amended requirement, the SSI must be presentable in a clear, concise, and ready-to-use format (booklet, plan, poster etc.).

4.3 In the event an emergency tow is required, the CO initiates OMAO Procedure 1102-700 - Operations Incident Reporting.

4.4 The respective Marine Operations Center-Atlantic/Pacific/Pacific Islands (MOC-A/P/PI) initiates the emergency procurement process to facilitate the towing.

4.5 Ship Evaluation

4.5.1 The CO Evaluates the ability of the ship to be towed from bow and stern and reviews the following items:

· Line handling procedures (passing and receiving messenger lines, towlines, bridles); and layout, structural adequacy, and safe working loads of connection points (fairleads chocks, winches, bitts, bollards), etc.

· Identify on-board tools and equipment available for assembling the towing gear and their locations. These include but are not be limited to:

· Chains

· Cables

· Shackles

· Stoppers

· Tools

· Line throwing apparatus

· Identify availability and characteristics of radio equipment on-board to enable communication between deck crew, bridge, and the towing/salvage ship.

· Unless the safe working loads of connection points are known, these loads should be determined by an engineering analysis reflecting the on-board conditions of the ship. The guidance on shipboard towing and mooring equipment (see Section 5, References) may be used for guidance.

· Any area wide emergency towing systems (ETS) in the ship’s operating area, i.e., Alaska ETS (see Section 5, References).

· Persons onboard with experience in towing industry or training specific to completion/ certification/licensing of course work associated with the U.S. Coast Guard towing endorsement.

4.6 Emergency Towing Booklet

4.6.1 The Emergency Towing Booklet consists of the Emergency Towing Diagram, Ship Specific Instructions (SSIs), and checklists.

4.6.2 Emergency Towing Diagram

The towing diagrams must include ship specific information of towing operations and be distributed throughout the ship.

· SSIs include:

· Ship’s name

· Call sign

· International Maritime Organization (IMO) number

· Anchor details (shackle, connection details, weight, type, etc.)

· Cable and chain details (lengths, connection details, proof load, etc.)

· Height of mooring decks above baseline (ABL)

· Draft range

· Displacement range

· Comprehensive diagrams and sketches include:

· Assembly and rigging diagrams

· Towing equipment and strong point locations

· Equipment and strong point capacities and safe working loads (SWLs)

· Safety Zones while under tow

· Copies are posted in the following locations:

· Bridge

· Forecastle space, or in a place identified by the Chief Boatswain.

· Ship’s Office

· CO cabin

· Chief Marine Engineer (CME) stateroom

· Additionally, a copy should be kept:

· At the NOAA supporting port facility to facilitate the passing on of information to the towage company as early as possible in the emergency.

· In common electronic file format to allow faster distribution to the concerned parties.

4.6.3 Ship Specific Instructions and Checklists

SSIs and checklists are identified during the ship’s evaluation and include:

· A quick-reference operational risk assessment (ORA) summarizing options under various emergency scenarios, such as weather conditions (mild, severe), availability of shipboard power (propulsion, on-deck power), imminent danger of grounding, and description of safety zones on deck to be observed.

· Organization of deck crew (personnel and equipment distribution including communication and safety equipment).

· Organization of tasks (what needs to be done, how it should be done, what is needed for each task).

· Diagrams for assembling and rigging bridles, tow lines, showing possible emergency towing arrangements for both fore and aft. Rigged lines should be lead such that they avoid sharp corners, edges, and other points of stress concentration.

· Power shortages and dead ship situations, especially for the heaving across of heavy towing lines.

· A communications plan for contacting the salvage/towing ship. This plan should list all information that the ship’s CO needs to communicate to the salvage/towing ship. This list should include but is not be limited to:

· Damage or seaworthiness

· Status of ship steering

· Propulsion

· On deck power systems

· On-board towing equipment

· Existing emergency rapid disconnection system

· Forward and aft towing point locations

· Equipment, connection points, strong points and SWLs

· Towing equipment dimensions and capacities

· Ship particulars

· Ship’s position

· Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) and location of grounding risk based upon rate and direction of vessel’s drift from tidal or river currents, winds and sea state

· Evaluating existing equipment, tools, and arrangements on-board the ship for possible use in rigging a towing bridle and securing a towline.

· Identifying any minor tools or equipment providing significant improvements to the “towability” of the ship.

· Inventory and location of equipment on-board that can be used during an emergency towing situation.

· Other preparations (locking rudder and propeller shaft, ballast and trim).

· Other relevant information (limiting sea states, towing speeds).

5. RECORDS AND REPORTS

Emergency Towing Booklet

6. REFERENCES

Amendment to SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-4, Emergency Towing Procedures The Alaska Emergency Towing Manual http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/ets/ IMO MSC/Circ.1175 Guidance on Shipboard Towing and Mooring Equipment http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/circulars_and_notices/pdfs/shipping_circulars/msc1175.pdf Naval Ships Technical Manual, Chapter 582, Mooring and Towing, sec 9 http://www.navygirl.org/downloads/NSTM%20582%20Mooring%20and%20Towing.pdf

7. DEFINITIONS

There are no definitions required for this procedure.

8. NOTES

Effect on other documents: Supersedes previous versions of OMAO Procedure 0501-20 – Emergency Towing.

DOCUMENT HISTORY