Moorings

[Michael Black]

Does the shipping company decide the minimum number of moorings to put out or just left to the master's decision.
Having only sailed on Shaw Savill ships my experience is only limited to them, but it was always 7 & 3 even if just in for bunkering. Obviously if strong winds were expected the master might put out more. I remember being night watch in Wellington when the ropes were bar tight and getting the 2nd mate out to look at them, I don't think he was happy about being woke up in the middle of the night, but he was O.O.W.
Used to be wary when put on the springs,always made sure I had plenty of wire flaked out behind me for checking the spring.
Regards Michael

[Ivan Cloherty]

The Master decides on the safety of the ship, a decision based on prevailing circumstances, well he did in my day! These days you may get some clerk in an office thinking he knows better

[Michael Black]

Appreciate that the master has the safety of ship,crew and cargo as priority,just wondered if there was a minimum that they had to adhere to.
Regards Michael

[Ivan Cloherty]

Appreciate that the master has the safety of ship,crew and cargo as priority,just wondered if there was a minimum that they had to adhere to.
Regards Michael

Regret I cannot answer that question Michael, but different ports require different solutions, and mooring is so much easier these days with automatic mooring winches and each rope having its own winch. Doubt many ships these days have to hang-off the anchor and use the anchor cable for mooring, or break-out the Insurance Wire for mooring, as far as I can see they don't use wire springs any more. There may be minimum requirements laid down by the office, but this is probably more to do with Insurers and Underwriters requirements rather than seaman ship.

[Michael Black]

Ivan, we always used to see the likes of blue star, port line, N.Z.S.C. around the kiwi coast and they would often have fewer ropes out than us, used to think it was a Shaw Savill thing, you are right about the tension winches, how they would have been welcomed.
Insurance! In the early nineties we used to moor vessels and oil rigs alongside at McNulty's in South Shields, an offshore construction and repair yard. Just using experience and knowledge of the berth. Then the insurance companies got involved and all sorts of paperwork,mooring diagrams, certs for every bollard,shackle, wire rope, gangway,cranes everything, all had to be pre approved by the underwriters. It was part of my job to collate all this, after a couple of jobs it wasn't to bad as we usually used much of the same gear and I just kept a pack together and added as required.
Then the auditor's would come in to check out the yard and equipment, half of them didn't know a shackle from an eyebolt.
Regards Michael

[John Cassels]

Does the shipping company decide the minimum number of moorings to put out or just left to the master's decision.

Used to be wary when put on the springs,always made sure I had plenty of wire flaked out behind me for checking the spring.
Regards Michael

You were correct to call the mate on watch , it's his responsibility after all .

[j.sabourn]

Moorings were usually the custom of the port and any other advice given. Still up to the ship however . Sometimes used to put the bight of a rope ashore to increase the holding power , sometimes springs with rope tails. The springs with rope Tails was the usual before the 66 strike with the demanning it became a matter of course to leave the heavy tail off as did didnt have the man power. The likes of Japan it was mandatory at a buoy to hang your anchor off and put the cable on together with a slip wire. JS

[j.sabourn]

In addition to above ratguards were required on all ropes and wires . I used to think in the early years this was to keep rats from coming on board . It was not, it was a port health requirement to keep rats from going ashore off the ship.For spring wires lying alongside the hull it was common to wrap a section with burlap and cover with grease and old oil . The bottom of the gangway was sometimes painted white in the belief a rat wouldn’t cross . I never watched this to see if true or not , as this rat was too busy going down it, This shows I am not prejudiced in any way. Colour or otherwise . There could be big fines if didn’t follow Port Health rulings . JS.

[Colin Wood]

Michael. the minimum number would be decided by master in conjunction with Harbourmaster re weather conditions at the time. For instance, far less mooring required in a an enclosed harbour in summer with a steady glass, than an exposed harbour in winter with a series of depressions approaching. Also state of loading and type of vessel.

[j.sabourn]

Out here the harbour master would more than likely during cyclonic conditions tell you to clear off out of his harbour and sling your hook elsewhere , didn’t want his nice piece of paradise cluttered up with container ships plus tankers like the Suez Canal at present. JS

Outside of Australia tried to get into Saigon in 1970 as a port of refuge ,couldn’t get in for the traffic coming out , this was a different sort of weather however and was probably being led by the harbour master himself. JS