TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY NEWS No. 17/2018 – Technical
NEW OCIMF GUIDELINES ON MOORING
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT PLANS
Relevant for owners and managers of gas carrier, chemical tankers or oil tankers.
October 2018
The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has introduced new guidelines for
the safe mooring of tankers and gas carriers at terminals. A Mooring System Management Plan
(MSMP) is part of the requirements to ensure risks are managed through the safe design and
operation of mooring systems. Learn more about the MSMP in this technical news.
If the vessels’ management of mooring lines is not as per the
policy and/or as outlined in the Line Management Plan (LMP),
an observation will be recorded by the vetting company.
Please refer to the updated SIRE Vessel Inspection Questionnaire
(VIQ7), Ship Inspection Report, OCIMF, 17 September 2018.
MSMP is an OCIMF and not a class guideline or
requirement
Incidents of mooring lines breaking in port has led to numerous
fatalities throughout the years – and many more accidents –
and mooring continues to be a high-risk operation. Against
this backdrop, the OCIMF is now introducing new best practices
for safe mooring at terminals: Mooring Equipment Guidelines
Edition 4, MEG4, OCIMF, 2018.
However, there may be cases where the new OCIMF guideline will require a breaking load of mooring lines exceeding
what is or has been guided by class according to exisiting
requirements. Should this be the case, we recommend that you
discuss with class on how this may be handled.
We have received several requests for support and we see
the need to share some news on this topic.
DNV GL can assist owners and managers in establishing a
mooring equipment design philosophy, performing mooring
force calculations, optimizing mooring arrangements, determining the necessary number and strength of mooring lines,
and preparing the MSMP based on the MEG4 guidelines.
What is the MSMP?
Recommendations
The MSMP should contain the following:
Part A – General ship particulars
Par t B – Mooring equipment design philosophy
Part C – Detailed list of mooring equipment
Part D – Inspection, maintenance and retirement strategies
Par t E – Risk and change management, safety of personnel,
and human factors
Par t F – Records and documentation
Part G – Mooring System Management Plan Register (MSMPR)
DNV GL recommends to implement the OCIMF guidelines
on MSMP as soon as possible. The MSPM will be subject to
vetting control.
References
 Mooring Equipment Guidelines 4th edition (MEG4), OCIMF 2018
 Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) Programme, VIQ7, OCIMF 2018
 Safe mooring service page
The MSMP should be kept on board at all time, and should be
available for vetting inspection.
Impact on operation of tankers and gas carriers
All new ships should comply with the MSMP requirements.
Existing ships should undertake the necessary due diligence
to collect the required information and align their operating
procedures with the safe mooring principles, as far as practicable.
CONTACT
Class related issues (for customers):
DATE – Direct Access to Technical Experts via My Services on Veracity.
Otherwise:
Email us at Ship Lifecycle Management
DNV GL – Maritime, Brooktorkai 18, 20457 Hamburg, Germany, Tel: +49 40 36149 0, www.dnvgl.com/maritime
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