How can vessel operators best prepare for the winter season?

Ships are designed and built to withstand tremendous forces but the risk of damage (to vessel and cargo such as losing containers overboard), grounding and crew injury increases during the winter months as the weather gets harsher. Think heavy rolling in precipitous waves, violent storms with gusting wind, driving rain or snow, or navigating in ice and freezing fog. “The November to February period is the primary heavy weather season especially in northern climes, with climate change expected to increase storm severity due to rising sea temperatures and increased evaporation leading to more moisture in the atmosphere, in turn leading to more extreme effects on the shipping industry,” says Amy Buhl, Marine Group Operations General Manager at Weathernews Inc (WNI).

Proactive risk reduction

Storms are part and parcel of the natural cycle and every seafarer can expect to experience a few hairy ones during their seagoing career. In the absolute worst case, storms can drive a vessel aground while severe rolling even capsize a ship. “So, it is extremely important to be proactive to reduce the risk of weather-related safety incidents, especially at a time when the trend towards slow sailing to reduce fuel consumption is increasing voyage duration and potential exposure to extreme weather events,” says Buhl.

Protecting crew

While damage to the vessel or cargo is the major concern, it is often easy to overlook the direct physical risk to seafarers in extreme weather. Moving about inside a vessel during a heavy storm is a demanding balancing act, with the added risk of injury from by portable objects that have not been stowed properly, while out on deck there is little protection from the elements. Winter storms also increase the risk of work-related hazards due to low visibility and wet, icy or snow-covered surfaces. Practical actions crews take to minimize risk include avoiding upper deck areas, ensuring safety lines and hand ropes are rigged appropriately, while securing all machinery and moveable items inside and outside. Cargo should also be suitably secured.

Limiting risk

Keeping steering and engine power in order is paramount in a storm. It the ships stops it will automatically go broadside and be at the mercy of the waves. It is always best to let the bow receive the impact in heavy seas and the master will make every effort to maintain stability to avoid excessive stress on the hull. He or she will also adjust the vessel’s course and speed anexecute whatever maneuvers are necessary to minimize the risk of damage from excessive rolling, even if it means arriving late at the destination.

“However, proactive prevention is the best defense so vessels don’t get caught in adverse weather in the first place. Predicting storms beforehand means ships can either delay a port departure or alter their route or speed accordingly if already underway. We put all our experience and knowledge into providing highly accurate weather forecasting as the surest way to protect the crew and the asset and avoid potential cargo losses. Developments in observation — physical networks and remote sensing — high resolution modelling and data assimilation have radically improved weather forecasting over recent years. Ship-specific performance models and AI are also enhancing our expertise in helping ship operators to optimize voyages and limit risk,” says Buhl.

Human expertise and digital tech

She explains that Weathernews’ Navigational Assessment and Routing (NAR) service was specifically developed to support countermeasures against grounding incidents, one of the most serious types of marine accidents. “Using NAR in combination with our Optimum Ship Routeing (OSR) service is the best means of proactive prevention not only during the winter season, but all year round. Our unrivalled team of meteorologists and sea-planning experts in our operations centers around the world provide a unique combination of automated solution and human know-how to support optimal decision making both for individual vessels and across fleets,” Buhl adds.

Passage risks also included

The NAR service has been updated with new high-resolution weather layers and automatically detects and sends out notifications to shoreside operators/managers and related organizations on the risk of grounding. It also transmits customized alerts based on shipping route data when a ship is planning to or actually approaches or navigates towards high-risk areas like shallow waters or areas with fishing fleets, or when it drifts from a planned route. “We’ve also expanded the service to support countermeasures against various passage risks such as anchor dragging due to strong winds and hull rocking during stormy weather. Safety is top priority and this kind of real-time navigational support lessens the risk of human error due to fatigue and increased workload,” says Buhl.

Unmatched data accuracy

Keeping shoreside operators and managers informed of grounding and passage risk is a major step forward. Previously it was difficult to pick out which ships are at risk from the many vessels out there at any given moment. “Using our original route data NAR monitors the ships before and during the passage and its position in real time. Combining high-precision weather and oceanographic including wind, currents and waves around the world with navigational data and our grounding risk area database, it automatically detects drifting from the passage plan to safeguard against grounding in advance,” says Buhl.

Grounding risk is linked not only to safety but also protection of the marine environment, with the NAR forming part of Weathernews’ updated green platform of real-time support services for environmental operations promoting emissions reduction in line with IMO targets. “Please reach out to your local regional sales team to find out more about how NAR, OSR and our other cutting-edge services can make your life easier, promoting business sustainability and safety especially at this time of year,” Buhl concludes.