July 2013 Port Bureau News

Greater Houston2013 Ju ly

Po r t B u r e a u

Carriers in Houston Learn about the Tankers, Heavy-Lift/Multi-Purpose Vessels and Container Carriers in Houston

MASTT 2013 Regional Law Enforcement Personnel Share Best Practices

Spotlight On: Capt. Marek Orent Ms. Stella Ge Co-Presidents Chipolbrok America

The M/V BEAUMONT “The chief officer awoke confused and was shocked to find that the ship was aground.”

MEMBER DRIVEN - MARITIME BASED - VALUE ADDED

Captain’s Corner

SUPERSTORM SANDY

This week I flew up to the New York City area to participate in project that brought together 75 public and industry leaders from major coastal cities to evaluate the response to Superstorm Sandy. Listening to the critiques of emergency managers, port officials, Coast Guard, and transportation specialists, it became apparent that, although they are underestimating the possible effects of a storm surge, their most significant issue was dealing with the aftermath of the loss of power.

I spoke with Dr. Holly Bamford, a senior administrator for NOAA, about the first issue, the storm surge, and she told me that they are working on a program to allow one to see graphically what the potential storm will look like at your particular location.

I complemented her and NOAA for understanding the power of being able to visualize the foreseeable surge would have on people trying to decide if they should evacuate. Seeing your house flooded to the second floor has a powerful effect on those in denial that they are in danger.

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The second issue, loss of power, was the more interesting dilemma. It really revealed the vulnerability of the city and was the main hurdle to quickly recovering from the storm. Outages related to fallen overhead wires were expected, but flooding at the Con Edison 14th Street substation and the impact on Lower Manhattan were not. This extraordinary breach caused the shutdown of the station and blacked out the area below 39th Street for nearly 5 days. Frustration followed – without power, gasoline stations were closed, which left no source for gas for generators, dewatering pumps, transportation, etc. Lack of power also limited fresh water availability to high-rises since they use lifting pumps, and not to mention, lighting and heating, made especially severe since the New York area was hit with winter weather shortly after the storm. Improving resiliency or hardening existing power systems will be a real challenge for the city.

A port specific topic discussed at length was the desire to redirect cargo to other ports. When I asked them if anyone from industry was asking for this assistance, they looked at me like an adversary. But I pressed them on the issue saying my belief is industry doesn’t want the government (non-business types) telling them how to recoup or salvage their logistic supply chains. What they want is accurate, timely information from the government so they can make their own business decisions. I added that industry also wants to be involved in prioritizing and solving issues. I then touted our Port Coordination Team (PCT) concept to them and explained how the PCT was very effective channel for a Captain of the

The Port Bureau congratulates new PHA Commissioner Mr. Clyde Fitzgerald on his appointment.

Clyde was the 2010 GHPB Maritime Person of the Year and has dedicated his life to working the waterfront in the Houston port region. Clyde also serves as the District President for the South Atlantic & Gulf Coast District International Longshoreman’s Association.

Port to communicate, coordinate and evaluate options with industry as partners.

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It has been a while since Hurricane Ike roared ashore with its 15 foot storm surge in September 2008, but the Coast Guard’s approach towards partnering with industry in crisis management through the PCT is an effective approach. If you don’t know much about the PCT, or want to know who your representative is, call CAPT Steve Nerheim at the CG Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Houston at (713) 678-9090 and he can give you a better, more complete description then my space permits. As Steve says, “It is how we manage chaos Texas-Style.”

BARGING AHEAD ever so politely.

B

Buffalo Marine Service, Inc.

www.BuffaloMarine.com Greater Houston Port Bureau | 3

Member FDIC

June 2013 Commerce Club Featuring

Mr. Mike Fitch President/CEO JSW Steel (America)

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Page Left: Top-Left: Nolan Richardson, The Richardson Companies, and Mark McCullough, Whitney Bank; Top-Middle: Niels Aalund, West Gulf Maritime Association, and Capt. George Pontikos, Odfjell; Upper-Left: Attendees grab lunch before the luncheon; Upper-Middle: Jesse Moore, Jaeckel, Munds & Bruns LLC; Ralph D’Onofrio, D’Onofrio Management Works, and Tyler Brown, AllTrans Port Services; Upper-Right: COL Mark Vincent, Jordan Frisby, and Stan Swigart, Port of Houston Authority; Lower-Left, Rich Brazzele, Coutinho Ferrostaal, and Bob Blades, Blades International; Lower-Middle: Peter Wurschy, Texas Terminals, Greg Grichmeier, Briggs Equipment, and Duane Hinchcliffe, Kinder Morgan; Lower-Right: Mr. Mike Fitch, President/ CEO of JSW Steel (America) and Krish Shukla, The Richardson Companies.

Page Right: Lower-Left: Members and guests network before the luncheon; Lower-Middle: Peter Wurschy and Robert Schwarz, Texas Terminals, and Steen Pedersen, Biehl & Co.; Lower-Right: Capt John Peterlin, Port of Galveston, and Kevin Morley, Branch Banking & Trust Company (BB&T).

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WHERE DID ALL THE CARS COME FROM? Port Watch - Tom Marian, Buffalo Marine Service If one is not too absorbed fighting the armada of trucks while crossing the upper Houston Ship Channel on the I-610 bridge, a daring driver can gaze beyond the snarl of traffic and marvel at the sea of cars being disgorged at the Port of Houston. Indeed, it has been some time since so many vehicles have entered the port and reflects the region’s ever-increasing demand for new goods.

In some respects this is consistent with May’s exuberance on Wall Street as housing starts remained solid and all but one of Texas’ ports saw more vessel arrivals in May as compared to April.

The odd port out in May was Freeport which saw a monthly decline of nearly 8%.

Yet, this was not enough of a decline to drag it into negative territory for the year as it remains up by 1.4%.

Brownsville broke even

on a month-to-month basis and remains well into positive territory for the year to the tune of 24%. Corpus Christi was one of three Texas ports where May’s arrival numbers were the highest for the year with a 9.6% increase which kept the year-todate numbers 20% over 2012’s running total. The other two ports that excelled in May were Sabine and Houston chalking up monthly gains of 11.6% and over 8% respectively; however, while Sabine remained in the “black” for the year by an impressive 23%, Houston was down by 2.4%. Texas City found itself in a similar position as Houston with a monthly rise of 4% which paled in comparison to its 10% year-to-date wane. Finally, Galveston was up for the month by 5% adding some cushion to its 2.5% improvement over 2012. All told, Texas ports welcomed nearly 8% more vessels in May and over 3% more for the year.

Tows plying the Houston Ship Channel could not claim similar accolades for the month as evidenced by 2.7% fewer movements for an annualized downward yield of 6%. A fair portion of this is attributable to excessive queues at locks undergoing repairs on the lower Mississippi River but it could also reflect a faltering demand for commodities bound for overseas destinations. Nonetheless, May’s brownwater statistics were certainly out of sorts with Houston’s

May given that a majority of the vessel categories that call upon the Bayou City were the highest for the year. Hence, tankers bringing crude into the port jumped over 14% and LPG arrivals surged 16%. Of course, in the case of tankers, a month of plenty cannot undue a year of paucity since arrivals are still down more than 16% compared to 2012. On the other hand, LPG is up almost 4% for the year. General Cargo and Bulkers also joined the best-of-the-month club with double digit gains of 16% and 12% respectively and continue to enjoy a more productive 2013 by nearly 4% and 6%. Both container terminals in Houston enjoyed a robust May by a monthly margin of 7.6% and chemical tankers narrowly missed achieving a best-month mark when 2 less vessels called upon the port. This equated to a 1% monthly decrease but chemical tankers are still up 10% for the year. Houston’s Ro/Ro count has been languishing in 2013 with a year-to-date decline of 18%.

What of car carriers? May’s ship count for this category was nearly double that of April’s at 13. At a minimum, this bodes well in the short term since a percentage of those raw materials used in manufacturing being exported from Houston are finding their way back into finished exports – shades of Mercantilism? Yet, as noted in previous months, the will-of-the-wisp optimism behind consumer confidence surges and stock

market rallies appears to be ephemeral. In fact, it is already evident that there is no June swoon in terms of vessel movements throughout the major ports in Texas. It could simply be another pre-lull surge or perhaps the effects of the most recent Super Moon.

Whatever the explanation, the fact that the Port of Houston is still losing ground against 2012’s arrivals is not indicative of a full-fledged recovery. Then again, what difference does it make if you are enjoying the intoxicating smell of “eau de voiture”! -Tom Marian, Buffalo Marine Service

Providing marine services to vessels along the Gulf Coast for over 20 years. We own and operate USCG approved liquid vacuum trucks, a 10,000 bbl Tank barge for marine pollution (Marpol) waste, a 10,000 bbl tank barge for carrying industrial wastewater, a 10,500 bbl tank barge for carrying clean chemicals and a 1800 horsepower Tug for removal and transportation of various material.

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PHA Represents Houston at a Subcommittee Hearing: “Threat, Risk, and Vulnerability: The Future of the TWIC Program” On Tuesday June 18, Captain Marcus Woodring, Managing Director for Health, Safety, Security and the Environment at the Port of Houston Authority testified in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security on the TWIC program and its implementation in the busiest port in the nation. Also testifying were RADM Joseph Servidio, USCG, Assistant Administrator Steve Sadler, TSA, and Director Stephen Lord from the GAO’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Services Office.

After statements by legislators opening the session, RADM Servidio explained the value of TWIC as a representative of DHS: “TWIC is one part of the layered approach to port security and establishes a minimum, uniform, vetting and threat assessment for mariners and port workers across the country”. Noting that the TWIC was designed to promote security and standardization, RADM Servidio also pointed out that “[TWIC] ensures that workers needing routine, unescorted access to secure areas of facilities and vessels are vetted against a specific list of terrorism associations and criminal convictions and it provides a standard baseline for determining an individual’s suitability to enter the secure area of a MTSA regulated vessel or facility” After describing the Houston region’s impact and scope, CAPT Woodring explained what TWIC means to the Port of Houston Authority. “Having a TWIC is just one part of the regulated access control. I have a TWIC, but that does not give me unfettered access to any restricted port in the country. I must 8|

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also have a valid business reason to be there. Management of that validation is left to terminal operators. ... On a given day, we average over 3,000 names in [PHA’s Visitor Management] System, all that have a valid business reason for being onboard our facilities and overall, we have more than 35,000 TWIC cards registered with our credentialing office. The key takeaway is that the possession of a T W I C itself is just a piece of the overall security process.”

Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI), questioned CAPT Woodring on the use of the TWIC program after his testimony, “You mentioned in your observa -

tion that the TWIC card currently is... a very expensive flash pass... let me just ask you: do you think the TWIC is really a critical component of security at your port?”

Highlighting the screening provided by DHS, Captain Woodring responded: “The TWIC card gives me comfort that a background check and threat assessment has been done against the terrorism database which I cannot do. “ He went on to explain that the TWICs can be coded to perform other validating functions such as validating access to specific facilities or gates.

Port of Houston Authority TWIC Statistics Cost: $10 million (apx.)* Access Points: 350 Biometric Access Points:

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Registered TWICs: 35,000 Daily Average Visitors:

As Captain Woodring finished his testimony, he noted that continued federal funding was critical to keeping ports ready for incidents. “The Port of Houston Authority has received over $60 million in port security grant funding, and it continues to be vital to our security posture. We are in the process of making application for the 2013 port security grants, one of which will request handheld TWIC readers.” At the same time, he reminded the committee about the origins of the TWIC program: “the initial intent of the Transportation Worker Identification

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*majority from the Federal Port Security Grant Program Credential program was to credential all transportation workers in all transportation modes. It was envisioned as a nationwide solution to be used at airports, seaports, rail, pipeline, trucking, and other mass transit.”

Congresswoman Miller agreed, while noting “that probably was the original vision of Congress... but what has happened has become rather unrecognizable from what our original vision was.” -P. Seeba, GHPB

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Co-Presidents, Chipolbrok America

Capt. Marek Orent

The Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, or Chipolbrok, has a six-decade history of moving breakbulk, heavy-lift, and general purpose cargo. For more than half a century, Chipolbrok offered services between Europe and China, but a decade ago, the company began their US operations, and Co-Presidents Captain Marek Orent and Mrs. Stella Ge offer a snapshot of the reasons for their market penetration and continuing tradition of customer service.

Born in Sopot, Poland, Captain Marek Orent has spent his life on the water. “I was connected with the sea from the beginning - I raced a little bit on the water when I was young, and was always very much interested in working at sea.” After high school, Marek went to the Merchant Navy Academy in Gdynia and went to sea. “At the time, I worked for Polish Ocean Lines, the biggest Polish carrier. At its peak, they had nearly 160 ships.” In 1989, as the Iron Curtain fell across Europe, Captain Orent began evaluating his options. “After the transformation, we were allowed to look for work abroad, and because of the differences in the Polish job market and the foreign market, I left Poland to work, mainly on German carriers for about five years.”

Coming ashore - to the great relief of his wife Hanya - Captain Orent found a job with Chipolbrok. “At the time, we had no captains in operations, I was one of the first that we had. Later on besides operations I was also responsible for our captains’ employment, training and safety.” He worked in the Gdynia office for a period before realizing that “I actually found more interest in our commercial activities, so I went to university for foreign trade studies as a post-graduate.” Soon afterwards, he studied and received his MBA, and ran the operations department in Poland before being transferred to China to work as the company’s operations and commercial manager.

“Then, we had a new challenge: in 2004, Chipolbrok decided to open an office in Houston, and I, together with my first Chinese partner, Captain Dong, were transferred here

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with the task to open our office in the United States.” At the time, Chipolbrok sailed between Europe and the Far East exclusively, however “on the way back, we were lacking good-paying cargo. The market at the time was a bit different and there was very little project cargo out of Asia to Europe, so we had very sophisticated ships with heavy cranes moving stones and ore and bulk cargo.”

Analyzing the market, the company decided to route their services to Europe through the Panama Canal. “At the time”, Captain Orent explained, “Panama was at least half the price of Suez, so basically if you sailed from Eastern China or Korea, you were adding three or four days, but you were saving half of the canal cost. At the same time, going through the Panama Canal allowed us to add a new market.”

Taking charge of a new office and a new mandate for the company, Captains Orent and Dong were able to set up services to allow vessels to come from Asia, discharge top cargo to the United States, and continue on to Europe with bulk materials. “Then the situation changed: China became a major player in the project market. So with more export cargo out of China, we found that we could shorten our trip, complete discharging in the US Gulf, and instead of heading on to Europe, try to send the ship via Panama to the Far East. The rates were comparable, but we were able to offer tremendous service at lower cost to the company.”

In his free time, Marek enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, windsurfing and sailing, “If I had enough time, I would charter a yacht and make a trip around the world”, he recently told the Houston Business Journal.

&

Mrs. Stella Ge

Born in Shanghai, Stella Ge’s ties to the waterfront begin with family; “My father graduated from the Dalian Maritime University, and much like Captain Marek, worked on the sea until moving ashore. He worked many years in the shipping industry and is now retired and living at home in Shanghai.”

Recruited by Chipolbrok when she graduated from Shanghai Maritime University with a degree in International Shipping in 1991, Stella spent three years working at the company’s headquarters before being transferred to Poland.

Arriving in Gdynia, Stella assumed the position as the Chipolbrok’s manager of booking and chartering in the shipping division “This is when I first met Captain Marek at that time, he was manager of operations also in Gdynia.”

With responsibility for regular liners between the Far East and Europe, Stella and Captain Orent were responsible for 15,000-25,000 ton Multi-Purpose Vessel movements that ranged from bulk cargo and steel to machinery and project cargo.

After a successful tour in Gdynia, Stella briefly accepted a promotion that found her back in Shanghai before leaving Chipolbrok and returning to Poland in 1997 to work for a trading company in Poland. “Trading knowledge is critical to shipping”, Stella reflected in 2013, “I believe the shipping industry should always try to understand what a trader knows because without cargo, you would have no need for transportation.”

After eight years in Poland, Stella returned to Shanghai and after a brief stint as the senior representative of the wood-based products industry, she returned to the Chipolbrok group as the shipping director for the Shanghai CP

International Ship Management & Broker Company. “We managed three owned vessels for Chipolbrok and worked the liner services from the Far East to the East Coast of South America - Brazil and Argentina. It was a hard time for the shipping industry, so we actually ended up offering free tonnage on some routes at this time and used our large vessels to take project cargos to West Africa. Because of the economic crisis, we had to be very creative to stay effective.”

In 2013, Stella joined Chipolbrok America as the CoPresident of the company’s US operations. “I had not come to Texas before and the state gives a new arrival a great fresh impression. In the time since I’ve come, I’ve also had a chance go visit New York and Philadelphia, and look forward to seeing more.”

Stella is married and her husband, a trader in the garment industry lives in Shanghai. Their son, aged 13, is soon to join her in the United States where he will attend classes next fall.

Opened in October 2011, the new Chipolbrok building is a cutting edge facility located near Houston’s Bush Airport

I believe the shipping industry should always try to understand what a trader knows because without cargo, you would have no need for transportation.

Greater Houston Port Bureau | 11

Maritime Awareness, Security, and Terrorism Training Regional Law Enforcement Shares Best Practices at Annual Meeting On Tuesday 19 July, law enforcement officers, corporate security and facility HSSE personnel met at the Lotz Education Center in Galena Park for the 2013 Maritime Awareness Security Terrorism Training (MASTT) Port Security Training Course. With presentations focusing on cyberforensics, active shooter procedures, regional piracy, smuggling and trafficking, as well as regulatory updates on CFATS, MTSA, and the National Ammonia security program, participants received detailed information about a multitude of threats and various techniques to begin addressing them. The group also received an update on the Houston Ship Channel Security District from HSCSD Chairman Robin Riley.

The morning began with a detailed brief of different techniques that cyberforensic analysts can use to assist case officers using information on a subject’s mobile device, personal computer, internet history and other electronic means. “With over 1.8 zettabytes of information and 300 trillion emails generated in 2012, I challenge anyone here to come up with a crime that’s so simple that electronic evidence can’t assist you”, challenged FBI Cybercrime Lab Director Ovie Carroll. When one officer jokingly suggested jaywalking, Director Carroll reminded attendees that if an application utilizing GPS on a subject’s cell phone was active, for example when using a mapping program, the incident may have been inadvertently recorded using the suspect’s own device.

After brief regulatory updates on a number of programs and a maritime terrorism update from LT Jennifer McKay from USCG Sector Houston-Galveston, Mr. Rich Retz of the Mayor’s office of Public Safety and Homeland Security gave an in depth look at the statistics behind active shooter incidents in the United States.

“You know, most people think that it’s always a disgruntled employee, or angry 18 year old that comes back into the office after he’s been fired, but when you look at the statistics, 12 |

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that’s not always the case. In fact, only 11% of all incidents since 1966 occurred in an office building.”

During the presentation, Rick showed a video put together by the Mayor’s office of Public Safety of Homeland Security utilizing grand funds from the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program to help educate building managers, corporate security and the general public about what to do in case of an active shooter incident. “We actually looked at how successful training children to ‘Stop, Drop, and Roll”, was and boiled down the options in order as something easy to remember: Run, Hide, Fight. What we’re trying to combat is the natural impulse of someone under tremendous stress to just freeze with indecision and become an unnecessary target.”

The video is available for download or public viewing at www.readyhoustontx.gov/videos.html.

During the 8-hour training session, participants were encouraged to network and share notes during breaks as well as question and answer sessions. “You’re all here because you’re going to be responding to incidents that cover multiple jurisdictions and potentially large costs to the community” explained John Manganaro, a Port Security Specialist for Sector Houston-Galveston. “We’d rather you meet here and share best practices in a learning environment before you’re in a situation where you’ll have to on the street.”

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GHPB Members Ferr

Carriers in Houston

rying Cargo to the Nation’s Busiest Port

Project Cargo Never Loading the Same Way Twice As the nation’s largest breakbulk/project cargo port, Houston offers many advantages to shippers looking to move their high and heavy cargo. Read about how GHPB Members Chipolbrok, Hansa Heavy Lift, Intermarine, and Rickmers Linie offer their customers tremendous flexibility in moving a variety of cargoes. The technical skill and experience offered by these carriers ensures that major commercial sectors such as oilfield services, mining, construction and manufacturing are able to get the equipment they need to operate.

The Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, or Chipolbrok is a well established shipping line with over 61 years of service. Honing their expertise running a regular liner service between Europe and China for more than half a century, Chipolbrok now offers routes connecting major markets of the Far East, North America, Europe, and the Middle East/India.

Currently, Chipolbrok utilizes 17 modern, triple-deck, multi-purpose vessels including their newest vessel, the CP COSMOS delivered in 2011. This 200 meter long, 20,000 DWT Orkan-type ship strengthened for the carriage of heavy cargoes and adapted for containers on deck joined her four sister multipurpose heavy-lift vessels already in service.

Loading Machinery into the Chipolbrok COSMOS in June 2013

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In addition to the Orkan type vessels, Chipolbrok has seven Rijeka type vessels with 300 tons lifting capacity employed in regular liner service to further enhance frequency, flexibility and to meet client requirements on westbound services (via Panama) or eastbound trips (via Suez).

Chipolbrok’s US Services include: • Regular liner Service with focus on breakbulk and project cargo • Regular calls to Houston, New Orleans, and Camden, NJ • Import from South East Asia and Far East • Export from the US to Europe • Export from the US to Far East and South East Asia either westbound (via Panama) or eastbound (via Suez)

Hansa Heavy Lift developed custom lifting equipment to move this 450 metric ton ship loader from Bremen, Germany and assemble it again in Isla Riesco, Chile.

These two 950 metric ton reactors were chartered by Deugro and are the heaviest cargo ever handled at the Port of Mumbai. This movement required careful preplanning and state-of-the art cargo management to ensure that the vessel could sail during a four-hour window.

Hansa Heavy Lift specializes in transporting heavy and super-heavy lift cargoes as well as project cargoes. Their fleet specializes in efficiency and flexibility: with an average age of two years, the standardized, identically constructed ships (three classes) can guarantee availability at the time of transport while using their combined lift capacity of 1,400 tons to facilitate loading and discharging cargoes around the world - independent of local infrastructure.

“Our Houston office is a self-sufficient office that can provide timely quotes, fix bookings, and provide all manner of cargo and engineering information, including stow plans, lift plans, securing plans, and method statements, all in-house” notes Head of Americas Kirk Hoffman. “ We look for opportunities to add value to our customer’s project beyond what would normally be expected, and have developed some nice partnerships with top-notch companies in the Americas so far. We look forward to expanding on those successes in the coming months and years.

The Hansa America staff of sales, chartering, engineering and operations management personnel are located in the Galleria area and have offices/affiliates in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

Hansa moved this 1,100 metric ton dismantled oil rig from the UAE to Ukraine in three super-heavy-lift shipments: no other competitor could move it in fewer than four.

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Rickmers-Linie by the Numbers Employees Ashore 180+ Worldwide Vessels 18 in Permanent Operation Offices 16 Offices + 50 Agencies Worldwide The Rickmers Group by the Numbers Employees 3000+ on Board - 480 Ashore Vessels 90 Managed Vessels Rickmers-Linie (America) offers specialized vessels for heavy-lift and project cargoes. With two Superflex Heavy MPC 20,000 DWT vessel with onboard cranes featuring a combined lifting capacity of up to 800 tons, rounding out a fleet of vessels that serve the ports of North America, South America, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa, Rickmers is dedicated to high quality, reliable transportation services that create lasting values for customers, employees and shareholders. Moving transformers, generators, locomotives, brewery tanks, and yachts, Rickmers provides a network of liner services designed to exceed expectations. In addition to project cargo, vessels of Rickmers-Linie are also equipped to carry containers so that shippers can move project parts, spares and accessories.

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One example of Rickmers’ dedicated to innovation is the worlds first 3-D Cargo Management System. The RICSIM (left) can calculate vessel stability, perform feasibility studies and simulate loading/lifting operations.

This system allows rickmers to perform testing and simulations with greater precision, less interference with port routines, and with reduced risk of damage all while optimizing lashing and incorporating findings into the construction phase of a project cargo unit.

Intermarine brings a great deal of variety and versatility to the breakbulk market in Houston as a self-described “global leader in the transport of project and breakbulk cargoes” . Using their five core businesses, including an Americas Service, Africa Service, US Flag Service, Worldwide Chartering and Industrial Terminal Complex, Intermarine controls an international fleet of 45+ vessels with lifting capacities up to 800 metric tons.

Intermarine’s Americas Service offers “the most regular breakbulk service in the industry” between the USCG and the North Coast of South America, sailings every two weeks between the USCG and the West Coast of South America, and twice-monthly sailings from Intermarine’s Houston terminal to the East Coast, from the Amazon River to the tip of Argentina.

Industrial Terminals, located on the Houston Ship Channel integrates multiple deep water berths specifically designed for heavylift cargo and more than 80 acres of dedicated cargo marshaling capacity. With direct rail access and a barge terminal featuring rail support, the onsite integrated command center coordinates more than 20,000 tons of cargo per week.

Intermarine moves four Rolls Royce turbine packages from Houston to Niteroi, Brazil. Weighing in at 202 metric tons each, the turbines were destined for the P56 Petrobras offshore deepwater oil development project under construction in Brazil. The transport of the turbines and accessories was made in three separate shipments. Intermarine offers service to Brazil every two weeks from its own terminal in Houston so it was very convenient to stage and schedule the moves.

In October 2012, the Industrial Diamond successfully delivered two EMD Locomotives from Houston to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela – about 200 miles up the Orinoco River. The locomotives, each weighing 180 MT, loaded direct from rail at Intermarine’s Industrial terminal. The Industrial Diamond, with 2 cranes each capable of lifting 250 MT, discharged the locomotives directly to rail in Puerto Ordaz.

The industrial Eagle loads wind energy components on its maiden voyage in Santos, Brazil for Houston. Designated as the Eagle class vessels, these 10,000 DWT ships feature dual 250 metric ton cranes that may be combined for 500-ton lifts. With an overall length of 139 meters and beam of 20 meters, the ships have a similar hull design as the seven Century and six Diamond class vessels operated by Intermarine services, but with increased cargo carrying capacity.

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Containers Malcom McLean’s Boxes Growing steadily since the Ideal X tied up at the City Docks in 1956, intermodal containers now carry most seagoing nonbulk cargo, and the Port of Houston is responsible for nearly 70% of containerized vessel cargo in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mediterranean Shipping Company was founded in 1970 in Switzerland as a small conventional ship operator.

Now, as the world’s second largest container carrier with over 430 vessels with a carrying capacity of over 13.2 million TEUs, MSC operates some of the largest container ships in the world. The company’s “New Panamax” ships like the MSC Beatrice and MSC Danit can hold nearly 14,000 TEUs, and MSC services 162 countries in 6 continents with over 480 agency offices, and 37,500 employees spread over 316 ports of call.

Locally calling as part of MSC’s Western Mediterranean, South Atlantic/Gulf, US Gulf/Brazil, and Butterfly routes, SC brought in over 150 vessels to the Bayport Container Terminal’s 3 and 4 docks in 2012, including the 95,000 gross ton MSC Rania. In April 2011, MSC brought in the largest container ship ever seen in Houston, the 8,000+ TEU MSC Maeva whose 90,000 horsepower engines and containers stacked 17-across can draw up to 47’6”.

In 2013, MSC announced an east-west service network initiative called P3 which would see the carrier joined with Maersk, and CMA CGM to operate 255 vessels with a capacity of 2.6 million TEUs over 29 service loops spanning AsiaEurope, trans-Pacific, and trans-Atlantic routes. The arrangement includes a joint vessel operations center, however the three lines will “have fully independent sales, marketing, and customer service functions” to ensure compliance with EU and US anti-trust regulations.

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You work in real-time.

Shouldn’t your information?

Real-time Schedule Changes.

Accurate Information.

(713) 678-4300 — http://www.txgulf.org/harborlights.php Greater Houston Port Bureau | 21

Tankers Or: Why Houston is the Petrochemical Capital of the Western Hemisphere With over 20,000 deep-draft vessel movements annually, Houston is the busiest port in the United States. When more than half of those movements are liquid bulk tankers, Houston holds its own as the North American capital of chemicals, crude, and liquid cargo. Read about the Port Bureau Members responsible for moving it safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.

Formed in 1915, shipping activities were originally begun by the Odfjell family in Bergen, Norway. Because initial shipments were focused at transporting timber, Jo Tankers’ vessels are still named after trees.

Jo Tankers’ chemical tanker fleet with parcel tankers vary in size up to 37,000 DWT and are designed to safely carry nearly any kind of liquid product ranging from specialized chemicals and acids, to edible oils and potable alcohols. Each vessel has up to 40 fully segregated cargo tanks the majority of which are constructed from stainless steel. With offices in Bergen, Rotterdam, Houston, Singapore, Manilla and Dundee, the company’s main trade lanes are currently advertised as trans-Atlantic and crossAfrican routes Recently, Tokyo Marine Asia Pte Ltd (Tokyo Marine) and Jo Tankers A/S (Jo Tankers) announced that they will establish a pool structure with the aim of integrating the chemical tanker business of both parties. The intent is that a new company, Milestone Chemical Tankers Pte Ltd (“Milestone Chemical Tankers”), which will be jointly established in Singapore with 50/50% shareholdings, will act as commercial managers of the pool vessels. Yoichi Aoki, Managing Director of Tokyo Marine, will assume the position of CEO and Egil H. Giertsen, Managing Director of Jo Tankers, will assume the position of COO of the new company.

Milestone Chemical Tankers will manage the whole chartering and operations for all vessels currently under operations of Tokyo Marine and Jo Tankers. A total of 63 vessels, consisting of 52 vessels from Tokyo Marine and 11 from Jo Tankers, are planned to participate in the pool. Regional offices will be set up in Bergen, London and Houston for better services at closer locations to worldwide customers.

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Odfjell Tankers is a “fully integrated, leading global provider of ocean transportation” for bulk liquid chemicals, acids, edible oils, and other special products.

With a fleet of 96 chemical tankers ranging in carrying capacity from 4,000 to nearly 50,000 DWT, the majority of Odfjell’s ships are controlled, crewed, and technically managed by the company.

Originally set up in 1914, Odfjell pioneered the development of the chemical tanker trade in the late 1950’s and in 1960 expanded into tank terminal storage. Now, with a global pattern of tankers and a network of terminals in Houston, Rotterdam, Singapore, Sohar (Oman), Onsan (Korea), Antwerp, BIK (Iran), Dalian, Jiangyin and Ningbo, the company is able to provide combined shipping and storage services along major shipping lanes for bulk liquid products worldwide. Odfjell is also building new terminals in Charleston and Tianjin.

Greater Houston Port Bureau | 23

Nordic Tankers is a ship-owning company operating close to 120 chemical tankers in the sub-25,000 DWT segment of the global marketplace. Presently, Nordic Tankers operates close to 120 chemical tankers and has approximately 1450 employees at sea as well as 214 ashore at the headquarters in Denmark and overseas offices in France, USA, Colombia, Singapore and Latvia. Since April 2012, Nordic has been owned by a company controlled by the investment fund Triton.

Nordic Tankers balances its vessel portfolio by owning tankers, chartering chemical tankers and commercially managing other chemical tankers. As part of a consolidation strategy, the vessels are operated in two pools: The Nordic Tankers 19,000 DWT stainless steel pool and the Nordic Womar pools operating coated vessels in the 10-25,000 DWT range. Nordic has a relatively high contract coverage for a chemical tanker company, balancing its risk in the cyclical and volatile market.

As a company proud of its roots, Nordic Tankers is a consolidation of a number of tanker companies of Nordic origin. Most recently herning shipping, started in 1963, became part of the Nordic Tankers brand in 2012. In addition, the companies Wonsild & Son (established in 1904) Copenhagen Tankers (established in 1992) and the Clipper Group in 2005, are an integrated part of Nordic Tankers since 2012.

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AET, originally a subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines, and formerly known as American Eagle Tankers was established in Houston in 1994 to serve the US Gulf lightering market. From a fleet of just three Aframax tankers, three mooring masters and a support staff of just six people, today, the company dedicates around 30 Aframax tankers, employs 16 mooring masters and over 100 support staff working from its newly built shore facility at Galveston.

Acquired by MISC Bhd in 2003 the group expanded to serve the Atlantic Basin, Arabian Gulf, an Far East, in 2007, the company’s operations around the world were brought together under a single, global brand - AET. AET performs comprehensive lightering operations and are USGC Market leaders in managing the transfer of crude oil from VLCCs to smaller Aframax tankers serving US refineries.

While AET’s double-hulled VLCC and Suezmax tankers are managed from London and are mostly on time-charter contracts with blue-chip charterers, the company’s fleet of Aframax vessels - all double-hulled with an average age of less than ten years - form the core of AET’s crude oil activities. In addition to lightering in the US gulf, AET conducts lightering operations off the coast of Uruguay (reaching the 10 million barrel milestone in 2012) and operates their own dedicated fleet of support vessels which were purpose built to maximise service standards, safety, and crew comfort.

ABS certified, ISM compliant, and SOLAS classified, these vessels support AET and the company recently completed its 10,000th lightering operation (June 2013) Recently, AET entered into the clean product market, and operating dynamically positioned shuttle tankers, is working with Norwegian international energy company Statoil to work the Goliat field - located in the deep and challenging waters of the Barents sea - beginning in 2014.

Greater Houston Port Bureau | 25

Asleep on Watch The M/V Beaumont Runs Aground

At 0308 UTC on 12 December 2012, the dry cargo vessel Beaumont ran aground on Cabo Negro on the north Spanish coast while on passage from La Coruña to Avilés.

At the time of the grounding she was proceeding at full speed, and the officer of the watch (OOW) was asleep.

An inspection of the vessel’s internal compartments quickly established that, despite being driven hard aground on a rocky ledge, there was no breach of the hull. Nine hours later, with the assistance of a salvage tug, Beaumont was successfully refloated and continued to Avilés under her own power, where she was further inspected before departing for a repair yard.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch, a British government panel examining and investigating all types of marine accidents on board UK ships or in UK territorial waters identified that the OOW had fallen asleep soon after sending his night lookout off the bridge. Available bridge resources, that could have alerted the crew and/

or awoken a sleeping OOW were not used, resulting in Beaumont steaming at 11.5 knots with no-one in control on the bridge for over an hour.

Since the accident, the vessel’s manager, Faversham Ships Ltd, has amended its Safety Management System (SMS) to include mandatory use of lookouts during hours of darkness, effective use of all navigational aids and compulsory use of bridge navigational watch alarm systems (BNWAS), an onboard alerting system which monitors bridge activity to detect operator incapacity.

The system works by requiring the OOW to either reset the system regularly or operate navigation equipment within certain time intervals. If the system is not reset as required, visual and audible alarms are generated on the bridge. If the OOW still does not respond, the alarm is transferred to other areas of the vessel to notify crew members of the OOW’s incapacity. In addition, Faversham Ships has reemphasized the need for masters to assert their power of overriding authority to delay sailing if necessary, and to use available manpower equitably.

INCIDENT SUMMARY This investigation was conducted with the cooperation and assistance of the Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes e Incidentes Marítimos.

FACTUAL INFORMATION Beaumont was a 2545 gross ton dry cargo vessel registered in Faversham, UK. She was owned by Atlas Navigation Ltd, managed by Faversham Ships Ltd and was classed with Germanischer Lloyd. The 26 |

June 2013

vessel’s length was 88.6m and her draught in ballast was 3.7m aft. Beaumont sailed with the minimum permitted safe manning of six, and at the time of the accident her bridge equipment included: •

Relevant paper charts (primary means of navigation).

•

An electronic chart system (ECS) with cross-track error set at 1 cable either side of the planned route.

The audio cross-track alarm was barely audible.

•

Two global positioning systems (GPS) interfaced with the ECS and radars.

•

Two radars. One of these was set on the 6 mile range scale, the other on the 12 mile range; no guard zones were set on either radar.

•

Echo sounder, which was switched off.

•

BNWAS, which was switched off.

•

Autopilot, switched on and with audible off-course alarm set.

•

Two VHF radios. One unit was set on VHF Channel 12, the other on Channel 16

The vessel’s two navigating officers, the master and chief officer, shared navigational watches equally, with the master on watch between 0600 – 1200 and 1800 – 2400. The environmental conditions at the time of the accident were benign, with light offshore winds and a

moderate swell; it was dark with good visibility, and high water occurred 1 hour 13 minutes before the grounding.

Beaumont’s bridge environment was described as ‘pleasant’; it was quiet, and the starboard bridge wing door was about 75mm ajar to provide some limited ventilation.

The 44-year old master had been employed by Faversham Ships Ltd for 8 years and was on his fourth trip as master of Beaumont. He held a UK-issued STCW2 class II/2 Master’s Certificate of Competency.

The 49-year old chief officer held an STCW class II/2 Master’s Certificate of Competency obtained in Poland and endorsed with a UK Certificate of Equivalent Competency. He had worked for Faversham Ships Ltd for 4 years and had sailed as chief officer on Beaumont twice previously. In addition to the navigational watchkeeping, the chief officer was responsible for overseeing loading and discharging of cargo.

Greater Houston Port Bureau | 27

The chief engineer had worked for Faversham Ships Ltd for many years and had served as engineer several times on board Beaumont. He had sailed with both the master and chief officer previously. The vessel carried three Filipino deckhands, who regularly worked for Faversham Ships Ltd. The deckhands’ duties included general upkeep of the vessel, referred to as ‘day work’, and assisting with the loading and discharging of cargo. Two of the deckhands were dedicated night lookouts The

third deckhand was the vessel’s cook, but he was available to act as a lookout if required.

NARRATIVE At 2350 on 9 December Beaumont anchored at Betanzos anchorage after almost 4 day’s passage from Ghent. At 1545 the following day she was moored alongside in La Coruña. Once alongside, the vessel was secured for the night and, following a brief trip ashore, the master and chief officer had a full night’s rest, as did the rest of the crew.

Complete discharge of Beaumont’s cargo of rapeseed meal commenced at 0700 on 11 December and was completed at 1245. The discharge was overseen by the chief officer and carried out by stevedores, assisted as required by the deckhands who were carrying out routine deck work. While the cargo was being discharged, the master carried out administrative tasks and, since the chief officer was busy on deck, he completed the vessel’s passage plan to their next port of Avilés, 120 nautical miles from La Coruña.

At 1517, Beaumont departed La Coruña in ballast for Avilés. Soon after departure, the chief officer relieved the master on the bridge, leaving the deckhands to continue cleaning and preparing the holds for their next cargo.

The master went to his cabin to rest before taking over from the chief officer again at 1800.

Following handover of duties to the master, the chief officer went below and, at around 1900, went to bed. By that time the

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deckhands had completed their preparation of the cargo holds and at about 1930 the master’s night lookout (deckhand 1) joined him on the bridge. During his watch the master monitored Beaumont’s progress along the navigational track using the ECS, and he plotted the vessel’s position on the paper chart every 2 hours. The vessel’s course was maintained by the autopilot. Both radars were operational but no guard zones had been set.

Neither the echo sounder nor the BNWAS was switched on.

The 1800 – 2400 watch was uneventful with little traffic and good sea conditions and visibility. Just after 2200, the master, cognisant that deckhand 1 would be needed to assist the Avilés pilot on board around 0300 and for subsequent mooring and cargo loading operations, dismissed him to the mess deck to rest but on the condition that he remained ready to return at short notice if required. The master was alone on the bridge from just after 2200 until handing over to the chief officer at midnight.

The chief officer awoke at 2330 and arrived on the bridge at about 2350 to take over from the master. During his handover, the master drew attention to the content of his written night orders, which included requirements to observe general watchkeeping duties and compliance

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with Faversham Ships’ SMS standing orders. In particular, the master emphasized the need for the chief officer to call the Avilés pilot by radio 2 hours before Beaumont was due to arrive at the port, and to call all hands 30 minutes before the pilot’s arrival. The chief officer’s night lookout, deckhand 2, had not arrived on the bridge by the time the watch handover was completed and the master expressed concern at his absence, suggesting that the chief officer might wish to call him. The chief officer indicated that he did not need a lookout as the environmental conditions were fairly benign. The master made a slight correction to Beaumont’s course before leaving the bridge. No further

corrections were made during the chief officer’s watch, despite it being visibly apparent that the vessel had breached the ECS’s cross-track error boundary. Deckhand 2 arrived for his lookout duties a few minutes after the master had left the bridge.

At about 0055, the chief officer was required to call the Avilés pilot to provide information about Beaumont’s expected arrival time, but it slipped his mind. Around 0130, the chief officer, like the master before him, sent his lookout below to rest in the mess deck. When deckhand 2 left the bridge, the chief officer was seated on the comfortable port side bridge chair and the starboard bridge wing door was about 75mm ajar. At 0308, Beaumont ran aground on Cabo Negro, at a speed of 11.5 knots.

Following the accident, the chief officer recalled attempting to call the Avilés pilot at 0155 and again shortly after 0200, receiving no reply. No calls from Beaumont were heard by Avilés pilot station.

The vessel’s position at 0200 was recorded on the chart. The chief officer thought he fell asleep shortly after 0200.

on the bridge until the situation was stabilized.

It was quickly confirmed by the crew that Beaumont was held fast forward while her stern was in deep water. She was not pounding and not believed to be in imminent danger of breaking up as the tide fell. The master transmitted by radio a ‘Pan Pan’ urgency call giving Beaumont’s circumstances, and this was received by the Gijón Coast Guard which deployed SAR assets to the scene.

At the first available opportunity the master contacted Faversham Ships Ltd’s designated person ashore (DPA),

Sea & Shore Ship & Store

GROUNDED Beaumont’s crew, with the exception of the chief officer, were awoken by the vessel running aground. The master ran to the bridge, where he found the chief officer still asleep.

Rousing the chief officer, the master simultaneously placed the engine control to neutral. The chief officer awoke confused and was shocked to find that the ship was aground. There was no indication that the chief officer was under the influence of alcohol or other narcotic.

The Odfjell Group is one of the leading players in the global market for seaborne transportation and storage of chemicals and other speciality bulk liquids. The Odfjell fleet comprises of approximately 90 ships, which trade both globally and regionally. The tank terminal division consists of 12 tank terminals and is part of a network of another 12 tank terminals partly owned by related parties. The tank terminals are strategically located at important shipping hubs around the world. The Odfjell Group’s headquarters are in Bergen, Norway, and the Group has more than 20 offices internationally. Odfjell employs around 3,500 staff and posted annual gross revenue of USD 1.2 billion in 2012.

The master sounded the general alarm and, as the crewmen mustered, gave them instructions and duties designed to establish the vessel’s condition. In view of the chief officer’s state of shock, the master insisted he remain with him Please visit www.odfjell.com for further information

Greater Houston Port Bureau | 31

informing him of the situation and he, in turn, liaised with all necessary parties.

After ballast water had been pumped out, further internal inspection revealed that although Beaumont’s double-bottom tanks and bow thruster compartment had been damaged, the vessel was not holed.

As daylight broke and the tide continued to fall, Beaumont’s situation became more apparent, with much of her underwater hull visible. During the early morning, the tug Maria de Maeztu arrived on scene and passed a tow line to Beaumont. Low water was at 0806 and as the tide rose Beaumont began to refloat. At 1216 Beaumont came free of Cabo Negro with the use of her own engines and the assistance of Maria de Maeztu. Refloating did not appear to have caused any additional damage to the vessel and, following an inspection by the Avilés harbour authorities, Beaumont was given permission to enter the port.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS The SMS confirmed the master’s overriding authority for the vessel’s safety. In particular, it stated that “The Master may delay any sailing or passage …which in his judgement might affect the safety of the vessel or its

personnel.” An internal audit of the vessel in January 2012 had specifically noted that this master was aware of the concept of a master’s overriding authority.

The SMS referred to the International Chamber of Shipping’s Bridge Procedures Guide (BPG), the STCW Code and the COLREGS4 as the models for watchkeeping.

Additionally, it specified that the OOW should make use of radar and the echo sounder, and stipulated the need for lookouts in various operational conditions, such as congested waters and restricted visibility. The SMS did not specifically require lookouts to be posted during the hours of darkness.

As required by the SMS, the master produced his own dedicated standing orders and written night orders.

HOURS OF REST The chief officer recorded 14.5 hours of rest for the day preceding the accident, including meal breaks. For the same period, deckhand 1’s recorded rest hours were 13, while deckhand 2’s were 16. These figures were inaccurate as examination revealed their actual rest hours were nearer 8 and 11 respectively. The cook’s hours of rest for the preceding day were recorded as 15.5.

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ANALYSIS Beaumont ran aground after the chief officer fell asleep on watch due to lack of stimulation and probable fatigue. Lack of stimulation occurred as a result of being alone in a quiet, cosy bridge environment where none of the available safeguards had been utilized. The chief officer’s fatigue would appear to be a result of the change to his pattern of work and rest on the day preceding the grounding.

The effect of the vessel running aground was such that it woke all of the crew except the chief officer, who had to be roused by the master. This depth of sleep suggests that he might have been asleep for longer than he believed, and casts doubt on whether he did attempt to call the Avilés pilot by radio or fix the vessel’s position at 0200. In any event, the Avilés pilot did not hear any radio transmissions from Beaumont, despite the shore station being well within radio range and continuously manned. Had the radio calls been made as indicated, the lack of response should have prompted the chief officer to become increasingly concerned, leading to a high state of arousal. His attention should have been further focused by the fact that the ship was then only 50 minutes away from the pilot station, and in 20 minutes he was due to call the crew to prepare for pilot embarkation.

(when he would normally be on watch) and work through from 0700 to 1200, (when he would normally be asleep).

It is likely that this change of routine impacted upon his quality of sleep during the night in port. He did have over 4 hours’ rest before taking over the watch from the master at midnight on 11 December, and appeared to be fit and well at that time. However, within 1 hour of taking the watch the chief officer failed to call the pilot station, despite specific instructions in the master’s night order book (which he had signed) and the master’s verbal reminder to him at the watch handover. This suggests that

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Taking the above into account, it is likely that the chief officer fell asleep within 2 hours of taking over the navigational watch from the master.

In the days leading up to the accident, the chief officer had maintained the 0000 to 0600 watch. However, for the 24-hour period preceding the accident this routine was reversed. While the vessel was alongside, he was the duty night officer but was expected to rest from midnight

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weariness was already affecting his cognitive ability.

Faversham Ships Ltd’s SMS relied on the STCW Code to provide a reference for its crews on the requirement for lookouts to be posted during the hours of darkness. This Code also stipulates that lookouts should be well rested before keeping a watch, and only exceptionally working up to 14 hours a day. Had deckhand 1 remained on the bridge until midnight, he would have worked 16 hours in total that day.

EFFECTIVE USE OF BRIDGE RESOURCES The chief officer was in contravention of the STCW Code when he sent the lookout below at 0130. However, the master had also sent his lookout below during the previous watch, and had not insisted that a lookout was present on the bridge before leaving it at midnight.

Sending lookouts below during hours of darkness was not uncommon on Beaumont as, without such informal arrangements for compensatory rest, the deckhands would have been unable to carry out prolonged day work in port. By sending their lookout’s below, both the master and the chief officer removed an important control measure for maintaining a vigilant watch.

On 11 December the cook had worked about 8.5 hours, so could have taken a watch as a lookout to enable

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the other deckhands to get more rest. Alternatively, the master could have exercised his overriding authority for the vessel’s safety and not sailed from La Coruña until he was satisfied that the watchkeepers and lookouts were adequately rested.

Beaumont was also equipped with navigational aids fitted with alarm functions that, if used effectively, could have provided additional stimulation to prevent the chief officer from falling asleep: •

Both radars had guard zone facilities which could have been set to alarm if targets such as land or vessels came within a predetermined range.

•

The echo sounder, which the SMS stipulated was to be used, was not switched on. It too had an alarm function which could have been set to activate if the under keel clearance reduced to less than a predetermined setting, as it would have done as the vessel approached the shore.

•

The ECS’s cross-track error facility detected when the vessel strayed more than 1 cable distance from her planned route, prompting audible and visual alarms.

The ECS alarm was sounding and flashing at the time of the accident but the volume had been adjusted to render it barely audible.

Notwithstanding the benefits of these systems, it is possible that the chief officer could have slept through these alarms, given the depth of his slumber. However, though not required by regulation at the time of the accident, Beaumont was also equipped with a BNWAS, specifically designed and fitted to alert or draw attention to an incapacitated OOW. However, the vessel’s managers did not require the BNWAS to be in operation at sea and consequently it was seldom, if ever, used by the bridge watchkeepers.

•

The vessel was equipped with a BNWAS. However the ship’s managers did not require that this equipment was used at sea and it was seldom, if ever used by the bridge watchkeepers.

This report was provided by the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch and is a Serious Marine Casualty Report from June 2013. The material is Crown Copyright, and photography is provided by Faversham Ships LTD.

CONCLUSIONS The chief officer fell asleep on watch as a result of insufficient stimulation and probable fatigue following a change of work and rest pattern.

•

There was no lookout on the bridge, as required during the hours of darkness, allowing the chief officer to fall asleep unnoticed.

•

It was not unusual for lookouts to be dismissed from the bridge during the hours of darkness.

•

By including the AB/cook on the look-out duty roster, there would have been sufficient manpower for a dedicated lookout to be maintained during the hours of darkness, whilst ensuring personnel did not work excessive hours.

•

Beaumont’s master did not exercise his overriding authority for the safety of the vessel to delay sailing from La Coruña until his watchkeepers and lookouts were adequately rested.

•

Navigational aids were not used effectively to ensure a vigilant and effective watch was maintained at all times.

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