Unit 18
LEAVING THE DOCK
Basic terms
-
Dock Pilot
River Pilot
tug-boat
transverse thrust
effect of the screw
singling up
mooring ropes
skipper
handling of ships
buoys
dolphins
slack water
-
single up
make fast
slack away
heave away
let go
cast off
haul in / heave in
hold on
heave on
keep tightened
stemming the tide
dockside
Deck fittings
bitts
bollard
roller fairleads
bollard
cleat
sheaves and cleats
Unmooring / unberthing /undocking manoeuvre
Aft starboard mooring
Unberthing
Water jets in undocking Unmooring
In the docks the Dock Pilot is concerned with avoiding other shipping and making
allowance for the transverse thrust of the screw and wind. The River Pilot must think
of tides and currents as well, and his local knowledge of these is of great importance.
Before a Pilot (Dock or Sea Pilot) takes a ship through the basins he will want to know
how she steers (all ships have different characteristics), the working of her engines,
how much power she develops when going astern and her draught. A ship is taken
out mainly by tugs, but she still needs to use her own engine power. Another factor to
be considered is the effect of the screw (or propeller) on the direction of the ship.
Mooring lines (ropes)
headlines
fwd breast lines
fwd springs
aft spring
aft breast lines
stern lines
Some time before the Pilot comes aboard the ship, the Master or the Officer of the
Watch (OOW) has to tell the officers in charge of the Fore and After (Mooring) Station
to single up. Under their control the ratings then cast off all but the essential mooring
ropes (lines) so that the vessel is singled up aft and singled up forward.
In the drawing below the ship is berthed (made fast) port side to/on or port side
alongside (4:2:2 forward and 3:2:2 aft).The ships moorings (fore and aft) before
singling up are usually arranged as follows:
The ship before singling up:
The ship’s moorings after singling up. The ship is singled up to one headline, one
spring forward and one breast line aft and is ready to leave the berth or to start the
undocking (unmooring/unberthing) manoeuvre.
The ship after singling up:
bollard
Other equipment is to be tested and made ready for going to sea: the engine-room
telegraph, the speed log, the ship's whistle, the steering gear and the winches, for
instance. The derricks are to be lowered and secured and all the hatches are to be
closed and battened down. The patent log, or speed log, is to be ready for use, the
depth finder on, the heaving lines to be at hand, the fenders to be ready, and the
mooring ropes are to be clear for coming aboard or carrying along.
We must be sure that there are no lines, small boats, or obstructions which would be
likely to foul the rudder or propeller. A series of blasts on a mouth whistle are
sounded; these are intelligible only to the Pilot and the Skipper (Master) of the tug
who is to carry out the orders. All ropes are cast off.
The Master should be adept at the handling of ships in enclosed waters as well as at
the correct methods of berthing his ship or getting her away from wharfs and quays.
A great deal depends on local conditions: the way the currents run; the set of the tide;
the strength and direction of the wind.
The availability of aids to berthing and leaving, such as buoys and dolphins, also
have an effect on the choice of methods to be used.
There are, however, some general rules to bear in mind. The best time to berth or
leave is at slack water. If, however, there is a tide or current running, the vessel's
stem should be turned into it. This is called stemming the tide or current. The
procedures for getting away from the dockside differ according to whether the ship is
stem on to the tide or stern on to the tide.
Mooring lines and equipment on a US ship:
TYPES AND USES OF WHARF HARDWARE
Ships tie up to wharves with lines fastened to mooring fittings such as bollards, corner
mooring posts, and cleats.
a. Bollards. Whether single- or double-bitt, bollards are steel or cast-iron posts to
which large ships tie up. To prevent ships' lines from riding up off the post,
bollards may have waists smaller than their tops, or they may have caps or
projecting, rounded horns. Double bitt bollards are also known as double
steamship bitts or simply as double bitts. Bollard bodies may be hollow for
filling with concrete after installation. Bollards were once designed to take line
pull loads of about 35 tons. Modern container ports usually have bollards with
100-ton line pull capacities.
b. Cleats are cast iron with arms extending from a low body. The base may be
open or closed. They secure small ships, tugs, and work boats.
c. Fairleads or chocks are usually made of cast iron. They direct lines and snub
lines when working a ship into or out of a berth. A closed chock may be used
for a change in the vertical, as well as the horizontal, direction of the line.
d. Pad eyes are metal rings mounted vertically on a plate to receive a ship's line.
Spliced with thimble and shackle, they are used only for small craft.
e. Power capstans are vertical drums operating on spindles. They are used to
pull long, large wire-rope lines, especially when the lines are attached to
dolphins. Capstans operate electrically or by air.
f. Releasing hooks on the ends of mooring lines are attached to buoys, or to
dolphins reachable only by service boats. Releasing hooks allow the lines to
be detached from the anchors by tripping the hooks with small rope lines
running from the releasing hook to the ship.
g. Dolphins are independent marine structures on shore for mooring ships. They
consist of a group of timber, concrete or steel piles bound at the top with cable
or wire. The term dolphin also refers to any other structure that serves the
same purpose. Successful designs include sheet pile cells, single largediameter steel piles like those employed with the DeLong Barge, and clusters
of small-diameter steel pipe.
IMO STANDARD MARINE COMMUNICATION PHRASES
IV-A/5.7 - BERTHING AND UNBERTHING
5.7.3 - Unberthing
Stand by engine(s).
- Engine(s) standing by.
Are you ready to get underway?
- Yes, ready (to get underway).
- No, not ready (yet) (to get underway).
- Ready to get underway in ... minutes.
Stand by for let go.
- Standing by for let go.
Single up ... lines and... spring fore and aft.
Slack away head/stern/breast line.
Slack away fore/aft spring.
Hold on head/ atern/ breast line.
Hold on fore/aft spring.
Heave on head/ stern/breast line.
Heave on fore/aft spring.
Let go everything forward/aft.
Let go head/stern/breast line.
Let go fore/aft spring.
Let go tug line.
- ... is/are let go.
III/6.2.3.3 - Arrival, berthing and departure
Be ready to get underway.
- I am ready to get underway.
Get underway. Are you underway?
- Yes, I am underway.
- No, I am not underway.
Move ahead... metres.
Move astern... metres.
Pilot ordered for departing vessel for... UTC.
Onboard communications - Unmooring manoeuvre
The officers and ratings are at the forward (bow) and after (stem) station of M/S Lion,
standing by and waiting for master's orders. They are ready for the getting under way.
Orders are made by the Pilot/Master from the bridge, i.e. the wheelhouse or
wheelhouse wing.
PILOT:
Are you ready to get
underway?
MASTER:
Yes, Sir/Pilot. (We are)
Ready to get under way.
PILOT/MASTER: (LION
BRIDGE):
Stand by engine.
CHIEF ENGINEER :
Stand-by engine.
LION BRIDGE:
Lion Bow, Lion Stern. This is Lion
bridge. Stand by for let go.
LION FORE:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Bow.
Standing by for let go.
LION AFT:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion
Stern. Standing by for let
go.
LION BRIDGE:
Lion Bow. Single up to one
headline and one spring.
Lion Stern. Single up to a breast line
and one after spring.
LION BOW :
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Bow.
(Understood.) Single up to one
headline and one spring.
LION STERN:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Stern.
(Understood.) Single up to a breast
line and one spring. Tug made fast
on starboard quarter.
AFTER A WHILE
AFTER A WHILE
LION BOW:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Bow.
Singled up to one headline and one
spring.
LION STERN:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Stern.
Singled up to a breast line and one
spring
LION
BRID
GE:
Lion
Stern.
Let go
all aft.
LION STERN:
Lion Bridge. This is Lion Stern. Let
go all.
After a while
After a while
Lion Bridge:
This is Lion Stem. All gone and
clear.
LION
BRIDGE:
Wheel amidships.
Slow ahead.
HELMSMAN:
Midships. (...) Midships
3RD MATE:
Slow ahead. Sir.
LION BRIDGE:
Stop engine.
3RD MATE:
Stop engine. Sir.
(...)
Engine stopped.
LION BRIDGE :
Half astern. Starboard 20.
HELMSMAN:
Starboard 20.
(...) Starboard 20 on.
Sir.
3RD MATE:
Half astern.
LION BRIDGE:
Midships.
HELMSMAN:
Midships. (...) Midships
on. Sir.
LION BRIDGE:
Stop engine.
3RD MATE:
Stop engine. (...) Engine
stopped. Sir.
LION BRIDGE:
Lion Bow. Let go all.
LION BOW :
Lion Bridge. Let go all.
(...) All gone and clear.
LION BRIDGE:
Slow astern. Hard a port.
3RD MATE:
Slow astern.
HELMSMAN
Hard a port.
LION BRIDGE Stop
engine.
Midships.
HELMSMAN:
Midships. (...) Midships on. Sir
3RD MATE Half ahead.
Sir. (...) Half
ahead.
LION BRIDGE:
Half ahead.
Starboard
10. ... (etc.).
A. Comprehension & vocabulary
A.1 Supply the missing words from the brackets:
• draught • slack water • allowance • singling up • rudder
skipper • derricks • wind • buoys • transverse thrust • dolphins
tide • effect • engine-room telegraph • mooring • ship's whistle
current • steering gear • officer of the watch • loose gear
navigating lights
1. When taking the ship out of the harbour the pilot did not make
______________ for the transverse thrust of the propeller.
2. The main factors affecting the steering of the ship are
_________________ , ____________ , ____________ and
____________ of the propeller.
•
•
•
•
3. The pilot must also know the ___________ forward and aft.
4. The screw has a strong _____________ on the direction of the ship.
5. In ____________ all the mooring ropes should be cast off except
those indicated by the Master or ______________ .
6. The instruments and gears to be checked before getting under way
are: ______________ , the ______________ , the ______________
.
7. Have all the _____________ been lowered and secured for heavy
weather routine?
8. When the leaving dock or departure manoeuvre is finished, the deck
hands are busy tidying up the _____________ and ____________
lines on the forecastle.
9. A fishing line has fouled our _____________ obstructing the
steering of the vessel.
10. The lug or pilot boat _____________ must be familiar with the
signs sounded with the ______________ .
11. The ship could not enter the port because the berthing and leaving
aids such as _____________ and ______________ of sufficient
power were not available.
12. We had to wait for high ____________ in order to be able to get
out of the lock.
A.2 Complete the text he low following the sketches.
Leaving Berth with Tide astern
(See Fig. 1) 1. ___________ to a forward spring and a breastline aft.
(See Fig. 2) 2. ___________ on the breast line and the tide will force
the vessel away from the berth, assisted by 3. ____________ the
rudder hard over away from the berth. (See Fig. 3) When clear of the
berth, 4. _____________ fore and aft.
Tide Astern
A.3 Complete the text below following the sketches:
Leaving Berth Starboard Side to
Single up to a 1. ____________ forward and a 2. ____________ line
aft. Put the 3. ___________ slow ahead and 4. __________________
hard to starboard. (See Fig. 1). Pay out on the stern 5. _________
until the stern is clear of the 6.______________ (See Fig. 2) Stop 7.
___________, half astern and rudder 8. _______________ .
Let go the 9. ____________ and check (stop) on the 10. ___________
. The action of _____________ is to prevent transverse 11. taking the
12. _____________ to port and so forcing the bows on the 13.
____________ . By binding the stern in, the bows are forced off the
14. ____________ .(See Fig. 3) When all is 15. ___________ , stop
engines and let go the 16. _____________ .
ST'B'D Side to --
1. Slow Ah.
Slack away breast line
2. Stop. Slow astern. Let go
spring. Check breastline.
3. Stop. Let go breastline.
Full ahead.
A. 4 Complete the sentences:
Before leaving the port the Master and Chief Mate must check:
a. on a container ship: if / cargo lashings / secure
b. on a ro-ro ship: if / ramp / close and / cargo / secure
c. on a general cargo vessel: if / hatches / batten down, if / derricks
/ lower / secure, if / shore gang / leave / ship
A.5 Find the relevant parts of the reading text and answer the
questions below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the Dock Pilot concerned with in the docks?
What does he have to make allowance for?
What must the River Pilot think of?
What must a Pilot know before he takes a ship through the
basins?
5. What is used to assist a ship to leave the port?
6. Does she need her own engine power?
7. How will you single up aft and forward?
8. Which equipment is to be tested and made ready for going to
sea?
9. What must we be sure of before leaving the dock?
10.
What must the Master be adept at?
11.
What is the best time to berth or leave?
12.
When are we to turn the vessel’s stem into the tide or
current running?
A.6 Ship Handling Terms - Test
1. Write down the names of the four main parts of the ship
2. Which side of the ship is shown by the following arrows?
3. Write down the names of the mooring lines
4. Positions around the ship. Write down the sentences showing where the ships
are in respect of your own ship. Two sentences have been done for you:
L
Stbd Beam
D
C
E
B
F
A
G
J
H
I
Port Beam
K
-
Ship A is ahead of my ship.
Ship B ________________________
Ship C ________________________
Ship D ________________________
Ship E ________________________
Ship F ________________________
Ship G ________________________
Ship H is abaft the beam to port.
Ship I ________________________
Ship J ________________________
Ship K _______________________ (nine o clock)
Ship L _______________________ (three o’clock)
5. Write down the opposite line handling terms:
LET GO
_____________________
_______________
HAUL IN
SLACK AWAY
_____________________
6. Translate the following line handling terms into your own language:
- LET GO (the line)
__________________________
- MAKE FAST
__________________________
- PAY OUT
__________________________
- HAUL / HEAVE IN
__________________________
- HEAVE ON
__________________________
- SLACK AWAY
__________________________
7. CAST OFF THE LINE is the same as __________ THE LINE.
B. Grammar
B.1 Supply a suitable form of the verbs from the brackets:
Verbs used in unmooring a ship
(Cast) 1. _____________ off the breast ropes. (Single) 2.
___________ up to the head ropes and springs. What (go) 3.
______________ ? We (be) 4. __________
Nearly ready to lave. The dock party (cast) 5. ____________ the ropes
of the bollard on the dock side and we (put) 6. ______________ a
couple of turns on the warping barrel of the windlass and (haul) 7.
____________ each wire back on board.
Here (come) 8. ______________ one of the tugs. She (present) 9.
_____________ her stern to us and we (pass) 10. ______________ a
big towing line down to her. The Chippy (bend) 11. _____________ a
heaving line onto the towing hawser and (heave) 12.
_______________ it across. He now (pay out) 13. ________________
the cable as the rope-runners (haul) 14. _____________ it in. The
towing hawser (be) 15. _____________ now on the hook and (make)
16. ____________ fast.
B.2 Supply the following terms as necessary:
(aboard, underway, on the bow, fore, always, aft, fast)
When the ship slips her moorings the order “Stand by 1.
_________ and 2. _________ is given after the ship’s gangway
is hauled 3. ________________ . With his knowledge of local
tides, currents and hazards the Pilot will conduct the operation,
assisted as 4. ___________ by the Captain and his officers. Tugs
are sometimes made 5. _____________ to the vessel, either on
the quarter or 6. ____________ to assist in the handling of the
ship. When the ship has left the port she is 9. _____________ .
A. 6 Supply the with appropriate term from the words below (note
that the term bollard appears three times):
bollard, mooring buoy, roller fairlead,
breast line, bitts/bollards, forward spring, windlass, capstan,
break of forecastle, head line, buoy line
Fatal Mooring Accident
Source: www.atsb.gov.au
The incident
Taharoa Express berthed at the Parker Point ore jetty at 0024 on 10 July 2002, to load a cargo of iron
ore for Japan. The vessel was secured port side to the jetty, heading west, by four headlines, two
forward breastlines, two forward springs, two aft springs and six sternlines to quick release hooks on
the mooring dolphins. After completing the loading of 129,959 tonnes of iron ore at 0109 on 11 July,
Taharoa Express immediately started unberthing on a falling tide.
Ashore, an operations supervisor at the remote console and two process operators, one forward and one
aft, assisted with unberthing the vessel. From the console, the operations supervisor could see the
vessel's lines aft but, as he was unable to see the forward lines, the process operator was standing by to
inform him when those lines had been released. The wind was from the south at about 10 knots and the
tide was ebbing at about 0.3 knots towards the northeast. Two tugs, secured to the vessel, were pushing
square at idling revolutions and the only other vessel in the vicinity, an incoming ship, was about two
miles away.
The pilot instructed the master to slack all headlines and sternlines. He then ordered the operations
supervisor ashore to release the headlines. On the ship, the forward mooring crew was under the
supervision of the mate who relayed the order from the pilot to slacken the breastlines to the bosun.
The mate then moved aft to supervise two crew who were preparing to recover the forward springs.
After the headlines had been recovered on board, the bosun engaged the winch for the breastlines, then
released the brake. A seaman was told to look over the bulwark and to inform the bosun when the
breastlines had been released. About a minute later, the pilot ordered the operations supervisor to
release the sternlines. From the bridge wing, the pilot was able to see that the breastlines forward were
slack. At about 0126, while the tugs were still pushing at minimum revolutions to hold the vessel up to
the jetty, the pilot ordered the operations supervisor to let go the breastlines. The process operator,
watching the forward lines, informed the operations supervisor that the hook for one of the breastlines
had failed to release, but that the line itself was slack enough for him to go down to the dolphin to
release the line manually. The supervisor relayed this information to the pilot on board. However, by
the time the operator reached the dolphin, there was considerable tension in the line.
When the operator reported that the line was taut, the supervisor asked the pilot to have it slackened.
Instead, the line became tighter and tighter. The operator heard the rope crack with tension and noticed
that the hook seemed to be moving.
On the ship, the seaman, looking over the bulwark, shouted to the bosun, in their own language,
'Bosun, wait!'. At this point, the hook released the tensioned breastline. The line whipped back towards
the ship, striking the seaman who had been looking over the bulwark. The seaman collapsed on the
deck with severe head injuries. The injured seaman was taken to the hospital at Karratha and the
vessel's departure was delayed until the next tide. When the pilot asked the bosun what had happened,
the bosun's response was that he had been slacking the breastlines at all times and that the seaman had
been standing on a bulwark stiffener to watch the ropes.
The injured seaman's condition was so critical that he was transferred to a hospital in Perth, but he died
the next day.
Contributing factors
The seaman who was killed was standing almost directly over the fairlead roller for the breastline that
struck him.
Chapter 19, section 4 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) publication 'Accident prevention
on board ship at sea and in port' advises that;
· All seafarers involved in mooring and unmooring operations of any kind should be informed of the
hazards of engaging in such operations.
· A competent person should be in charge of mooring operations and ascertain that there are no persons
in a dangerous position before any heaving or letting go operation is commenced.
· Ropes and wires are frequently under strain during mooring operations and seafarers should always
stand in a place of safety from whiplash should ropes or wires break.
The seaman was not under direct supervision of the mate during the moments leading to the accident.
The mate's position on deck and the bosun's position at the controls of the mooring winch meant that
the mate, and possibly the bosun, did not have the seaman directly in their line of sight.
Conclusions
The following factors are considered to have contributed to the incident:
1. The seaman was standing almost directly over the fairlead roller for the mooring rope and was
not warned that he should have been in a safer position;
2. It is likely that the bosun, thinking that the breastlines had been released, operated the winch to
recover the lines, resulting in tightening of the line that was still attached to the mooring hook.
In addition, although tests on the hook were not conclusive, one or more of the following possibly
occurred;

The initial attempt to release the hook partially altered the position of the release system
resulting in a release of the hook under tension;

Dirt or rust had prevented the mooring hook from being correctly reset;

The mooring hook was not correctly reset.
It is possible that modifications to the remote release mechanism might also have been a factor in the
hook releasing.