I would like some advice, pointers any views on the above subject.

As a company we are occasionally contracted to undertake refurbishment works on board vessels whilst they are at sea. I am attempting to put some guidance/assessments etc together for our sub-contractors/staff who will be undertaking the work and maybe subject to being at sea in adverse weather.

The normal risks of construction/refurbishment/fit-out will be multiplied due to the weather and being at sea. I want something that will fit in with the overall plans of the vessel when it is in adverse weather.

Anything will be of great help......

There are a lot of factors to look at that you cannot do on a general risk assessment, a lot of the time its not the weather that makes it unsafe its the sea state that is your enemy, particularly when there is a massive swell, A sea state above 5 with a short swell of 6 could put the upper deck out of bounds but the weather can be sunny (look it up State and swell)

Again need to look at the type of vessel a 40,000 ton ship will hardly move in a large swell , but a small vessel of 1000 ton in a large sea state could kill you as it throws you agaist a bulkhead, Then the safety rails are they tight there are lots to check

then where are they working ,on the upper deck, on the upper structure - if on the upper structure you will need tag outs for radiation and even the engines, if the skippers go on the big gas turbines when someone is aloft again could cause a person to pass out due to fume , with the radiation you could sterilise the man, Some of the aerials are actually on the walking deck, then there is the ropes winches, Upper deck hazards, Structures, small spaces- sometimes you can’t walk along an internal passageway without being slammed into a bulkhead do this on the upperdeck and your overboard

other items to think about in bad weather or sea states Can the skipper head into the wind or go with the flow of the sea or will will there be no deviation of course a side on wind or head on swell will be more unstable.

Then all the equipment’s --fall arrest equipment if aloft, lashing on of the equipment transporting it, use of lanyards etc etc.

who is the safety number work on a yardarm in rough weather and you ether dangle like a spider or fall overboard, do they operate lifeboy sentrie system how do you get the man down

Then critical issues such as who will carry out first aid. There are usually no Drs at sea. contacting an air lift out when it goes wrong. We had loads of fishing vessels asking for our help when we carried a paramedic, hooks went into arms or broken limbs

I worked on the ships for 30 years it’s a dangerous place that land lubbers can never fathom. One moment it’s good the next you wish you were at home --as the devil is in the sea and waiting to grab you overboard.

As has been said before there is a lot to think about especially the need to think about the type of ship you are likely to be working on. Some years ago now I worked on a cable layer mid-Atlantic (as a contractor) which was 'fun' to say the least. (on one occasion there was a hurricane, high seas and a few days later a serious fire on board). On that ship if a transatlantic cable snapped whilst it was being hauled in, repaired or deployed it could cut you in two whilst it whips around - you have to have your wits about you at all times. The other issue, particularly if you are working as a contractor on older ships and are unfamiliar with the vessel, is knowing about the possible presence of asbestos. The ship I was on was packed with the stuff - pipe lagging, bulkhead insulation, partition walls etc etc. Make sure your staff know what to look for. The older ships are still out there.

Hi,

Couple of things to think about. Cruise companies generally have a shore based as well as on board safety team - they should be happy to provide information and their own procedures / guidance for working in roughers. Also, cruise ships tend to first try to avoid the lumpy stuff as it gets in the way of passengers having fun and eating etc and if not then they are stabilised quite a bit. But as part of the RAMS you could build in for the guys to request a weather / sea state forcast each day from the ships bridge crew as they will have very up to date forcasts.

Or, as we used to do in the submarine world, just go a bit deeper, "Happiness is 500' in a Force 10" is an absolute truism,

Cheers,

Jim

If we are talking about cruise ships and ro-ro or ro-pax ships aka ferries the odds are that they are SOLAS Convention ships.

SOLAS as you in all probability know is the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea

No matter the flag the ships fly, SOLAS makes mandatory that every shipping company has in place a Safety Management System (SMS) in compliance with the International Safety Management (ISM) Code that is incorportated into the SOLAS through its Chapter IX 'Management for the Safe Operation of Ships'.

In addition to SOLAS, ships nowadays shall comply with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) whose Reg.4.3 deals with Health and safety protection and accident prevention'.

In the UK and by means of an agreement between the HSE and the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) it is the latter that rules and oversees occupational health and safety aboard ships.

The MCA has been for some years now publishing and reviewing on periodical basis its Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen that is a world standard and borrowed as guidance by many flag states and shipping companies.

Narrowing my advice some, your staff will be working on board as a so called riding crew and they are bound first and foremost by the shipping company's SMS related procedures and the ship's Master authority to the point that for work in adverse weather conditions some permit-to-work scheme would be in force and it will be down to the Master and ship's Safety Officer to allow work on daily basis taking into account the current and forecast weather.

You obviously will be bound to have in place your own OHS risk appraisal but it should incorporate or somewhat be 'slave' to the ship's risk appraisal.

If you think I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to email me: ajaviersaavedra@telefonica.net

With kind regards,

Javier Saavedra, MSc, CMIOSH, FNI, holder of an IMO STCW78/95 endorsed certificate of competency as Unlimited Chief Mate and limited Master Mariner