Vessels In Distress Research Articles

The Radiocommunication Support Decision System to Use in Distress Situations for Captains of Small Non-conventional Vessels Operating in the Caribbean Sea Area

The paper presents the concept of a Radio Communication System to support the decision of the captain of a small non-conventional vessel including a yacht sailing in the waters of the Caribbean Sea in a dangerous situation requiring a call for RCC assistance. This is important to enhance boating safety in the area, where, due to the reduced and non-overlapping accessible areas of the A1 and A2 communications zones, calling for RCC assistance using common VHF/MF radio equipment is limited. In the event of danger to life and property on a yacht, the ability to contact Marine Rescue Centers is a primary concern. This paper presents a model of an intelligent system for supporting the captain in making the right navigation decision, in a dangerous situation, based on the method of artificial neural networks ANN. The article presents an example of numerical simulation of operation of the discussed system of Radio Communication decision support, assuming a specific position of the small non-conventional vessel in distress, with reference to the existing communication areas A1, A2 in the Caribbean Sea. The result of the simulation is related to the calculation of the distance to the nearest zone, enabling the establishment of communication with the marine Rescue Center to distress call, the value of the new corrected course of the small non-conventional vessel and the time of arrival at the above-mentioned zone.

Оптимальное маневрирование судна к аварийному объекту

The article considers the review of planning for the search of a vessel in distress as a tactical method of conducting a search and rescue operation, which is a set of organizational and technical measures that contribute to the detection of the coordinates of the location of the vessel in distress. It has been proved that the effectiveness of the considered planning method depends on the a priori given area, in which the search and detection of the person in distress is conducted. Modern vessels are equipped with such technical means of navigation and communication that clearly solve the problem of uncertainty in the current location of the emergency vessel. The well-known tactical methods of conducting a search and rescue operation can be expanded by organizing the rescue vessel’s getting to a given point in the shortest time interval, which makes it possible to increase the probability of saving the lives. Provided that the technical means of navigation and communication ensure the constant data transfer on the location of the emergency object, there is developed a model of quick approaching the rescue vessel to the emergency object. When drawing up the model of the method, it was assumed that the coordinates of the emergency vessel are constantly broadcast, and the emergency object itself under the influence of external factors (wind, current) drifts rectilinearly and at a constant speed. In the course of evaluating the method effectiveness the performance criterion was used as an efficiency indicator. To determine the minimum time of the ship's leaving the zero point of the Cartesian coordinate system, when the velocity vector of the ship coincides to the positive direction of the abscissa, for the emergency object, it is sufficient to choose the optimal trajectory, according to the Pontryagin maximal principle. The conditions that ensure the application of the Pontryagin principle are met, and therefore the boundary value problem under consideration for a given ship’s dynamics, boundary conditions, and given constraints has the only solution that allows maneuvering of the rescue ship to be carried out in the minimum time (with maximum speed) and with a high probability ratio of life saving equal to 1.

Old Regulations Never Die: Featherbedding and Maritime Safety After the <i>Titanic</i>

Is regulatory reform inevitable? Or does an inefficacious regulation more plausibly endure until it is no longer a binding constraint? Experience leads me to believe that regulation normally outlives what it regulates. I propose here the folk theorem that “old regulations never die.” It extends the standard predictions of public choice theory when a regulation directly benefits a discrete faction while burdening a diffuse and unorganized constituency. Once installed, such a regulation will endure, regardless of its demonstrated inefficiency, until the regulated activity becomes irrelevant or obsolete because of exogenous changes in demand or production technology. In October 1987, when I was the young and earnest deputy general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a question concerning an obscure regulation landed on my desk. Still on the books was a statutory mandate — section 353(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, which expanded legislation first enacted in 1912 in response to the sinking of the Titanic — that required that any U.S. cargo ship with a radiotelegraph auto alarm also carry a radiotelegraph operator possessing six months of experience acquired aboard a U.S. ship. The FCC in 1981 began to interpret section 353(b)’s six-month experience requirement so as to exclude a radiotelegraph operator’s experience acquired onboard a U.S. Navy or Coast Guard ship, because U.S. government ships were typically not equipped with (obsolete) radiotelegraphy equipment. The absurdity of the FCC’s interpretation was breathtaking. By the 1980s, section 353(b) was obsolete. The U.S. maritime industry was necrotic, and a U.S. cargo vessel’s safety — and its ability to function as a potential lifeboat for another vessel in distress — no longer depended on radiotelegraph communications. Even in 1937, when Congress enacted section 353(b), the principal effect of this provision was to create a barrier to entry in the market for radiotelegraph operators under the guise of promoting maritime safety. It is the nature of public choice that the specifics of this particular regulatory intervention are likely to interest only the discrete factions benefiting or suffering from that intervention, along with the legislators and bureaucrats whose handiwork empowers the process of rent creation and income transfer. But one could say the same about the plethora of equally obscure rules that fill nearly 200,000 pages of the Code of Federal Regulations. In the aggregate, that multitude of regulatory commands can significantly impair social welfare and make it worth considering, in microcosm, something as obscure as the federal licensure of radiotelegraph operators on U.S. cargo ships in the century following the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

The Duty to Assist and Its Disincentives: The Shipping Industry and the Mediterranean Migration Crisis

The role of commercial ships in the Mediterranean migration crisis is little-noticed in the media and by the general public, and largely disregarded in the EU’s political responses to the crisis. Whereas large-scale national and regional actions such as the Italian-administered Mare Nostrum and the EU’s Frontex-administered Triton operations have become part of the vocabulary surrounding the crisis, the rescue of 42,000 migrants by commercial vessels in 2014 – and the implications thereof – is rarely commented upon. More importantly, the commercial shipping industry is rendered invisible in the EU policy responses to the Mediterranean migration crisis, which disregards both the efforts and challenges experienced by the industry. For this reason, this profile zooms in on the migration crisis from the point of view of commercial shipping, and argues that it is of fundamental importance that European policy responses to the crisis tackle the multiple disincentives experienced by the commercial shipping industry towards upholding the duty to render assistance to vessels in distress at sea. The concrete policy actions suggested here answer to the challenges experienced by the commercial shipping industry; aid the industry in its efforts to undertake its legal and moral duty to render assistance; and, in effect, save more lives at sea.

Potential Places of Refuge (PPOR): San Francisco Bay & Coast

Decision-making for vessels in distress needs to be rapid but also operationally feasible and protective of sensitive ecological, cultural and economic resources. The San Francisco Bay and Delta Area Committee (SFBDAC) uses a Potential Places of Refuge (PPOR) approach which includes site selection, operational & resource data input to a statewide PPOR database and incorporation of resource trustees/managers into the PPOR process.

The U.K. Marine and Coastal Access Bill—A missed opportunity to enhance protection from marine environmental pollution?

Abstract The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, when it becomes law, may well be considered a welcome addition to the legislation protecting the marine coastal environment. It is argued, however, in this paper that the Bill could have addressed a number of issues including the matter of shipowners’ privileges, locus standi, the designation and setting up of an environmental fund, and the difficulties associated with places of refuge for vessels in distress.

M/V TONG CHENG: SAFE ASSURANCE, SAFE HAVEN, SAFE RESULTS

ABSTRACT On January 12, 2007 the MIV TONG CHENG, a 485 ft. Chinese flag break bulk vessel loaded with cargo and 130,000 gallons of oil, en route to the Panama Canal, notified Coast Guard Sector Honolulu that it had suffered damage to its #2 cargo hold and the hold was full of seawater. Located 700 miles from the nearest port (Honolulu), the vessel'S pumps were unable to keep up with the flooding, and with 26 personnel on board, the vessel advised it was diverting to Honolulu for emergency repairs. As the vessel proceeded toward Honolulu, its decreasing speed, the presence of two additional cargo ships in escort and the discovery of an oil sheen trailing the vessel raised significant concerns over the threat this posed to Hawaii. At stake in allowing the vessel a safe haven were the pristine shorelines of the Hawaiian Islands and potential crippling of the port'S vital lifeline to commercial marine traffic, its only source of sustenance. A myriad of issues had to be addressed as the vessel made preparations to come into Honolulu Harbor and a multi-agency, international Unified Command was established. The Unified Command, using the Incident Command System, managed the various contingencies from search and rescue of the crew if the ship were lost, to the potential discharge of 130,000 gallons of fuel. A risk-based decision process was employed to weigh the off-shore response challenges against the near-shore risks while taking into account the remoteness and sensitive marine environment of the Hawaiian Islands. This paper provides insight into the dynamic and complex response and the incident management teams decisions regarding allowing this vessel in distress to enter a critical and environmentally sensitive port. The vessel was successfully repaired and allowed to depart Hawaii. This case is a classic example of proper decision making and risk balancing for a critical safe refuge request.

Offering refuge is better than refusing

Historically, there is a long tradition of granting vessels in distress a place of refuge, particularly for humanitarian reasons, but more recently there has been a growing apprehension of coastal states to grant refuge. This apprehension has mostly centred upon the risk of pollution damage. The liability of the shipowner for damage to third parties, the existing liability regimes and the sufficiency of the existing compensation mechanisms, particularly bearing in mind the shipowner’s right to limit liability are reviewed. Against this background the paper analyses different options of decision making regarding whether refuge is granted or not. The conclusion is that the interests of the coastal state and the vessel need to be balanced against each other and that that balance in the majority of situations should result in gran ting a place of refuge.

VHF Direction Finding: An Effective System for the Location of Ships in Distress

The latest statistics on maritime accident alerts are again demonstrating a high percentage of false alarms from Emergency Position Indicating Beacons (EPIRBS) in Spanish waters. Of a total number of 243 received distress alarms, only three were real and 123 were never identified; a very similar situation exists in the rest of Europe. To address this problem, as well as IMO Resolution A.814(19)/23.11.95, there is a Spanish proposal to install a receiver (121-5/243/406 MHz) on board ships, so that the seafarer can detect accidental activation of an EPIRB. The installation of EPIRBS, which had seemed to be sufficient to solve the problem of locating vessels in distress, apparently needs the help of other tools. One such tool could be the very high frequency radio direction finder (VHF/DF) proposed in this paper. Recent experiments using VHF/DF carried on board the ships Salvamar Tenerife and Punta Salinas, in conjunction with the traffic control tower of the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), demonstrated a number of advantages which are described in this paper.

Implementation of Free-Fall Lifeboats on Ships

The free-fall lifeboat is quickly becoming a common lifesaving appliance on ships and offshore facilities. Although a free-fall lifeboat has never been launched from a vessel in distress, free-fall lifeboats were successfully launched and recovered in a seaway during two separate maritime rescues. Discussed in this paper are the basic behavior of free-fall lifeboats, considerations when using free-fall lifeboats on ships, the relative economics of free-fall lifeboat systems compared with conventional davit-launched lifeboat systems, and anticipated improvements in safety afforded by free-fall lifeboats during an emergency.

The Development of Cape Town's Waterfront in the Earlier Nineteenth Century: History and Archaeology of the North Wharf

In 1836, prominent shipowners, merchants and others concerned with the commerce of the Cape Colony and the safety of passengers and crews of ships, petitioned Governments to improve maritime conditions in Table Bay. This action resulted in approval for the construction at the seaward end of Bree Street of the North Wharf, started in 1839 and officially opened in 1842. Until the wharf became operational there were no services offered to ships in the bay and no effective means of taking cables and anchors through the surf to vessels in distress. In winter, gales and heavy seas were perilous; in summer, strong south-east winds delayed the loading and unloading of ships arriving or departing from Cape Town. The North Wharf was extended and repaired many times during its term of service. Archaeological excavation located and exposed the original iron and wooden framework of the jetty and the water pipe used to service the ships, and confirmed archival records of additions and modifications.

Vessels in distress: ‘Safe havens’ for crippled tankers

The recent rise in marine pollution incidents has jeopardized the traditional right of access to ports in cases of distress. Although numerous maritime conventions contain provision to this effect, the nature of the right remains controversial. The existing infrastructure, however, on the international and regional level might facilitate the adoption of a pragmatic approach and the designation of ‘safe havens’ to prevent pollution and permit the salvage of crippled vessels.

Vessels in Distress

Vessels in Distress

Pollution at Sea by Discharge of Oil

IN July last, the British Government, stating that representations had been made to it that the pollution of the coasts of the British Isles by the discharge of oil and oily matter outside the territorial limits by ships was increasing, suggested that the matter be referred for preliminary examination to the Communications and Transit Organisation of the League of Nations, with the view of concluding if possible an international convention. At the last Assembly, this view was further explained by the British representative and it was decided that an initial inquiry should be undertaken. Experts from Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and Great Britain were invited to Geneva by the chairman of the Advisory and Technical Committee on Communications and Transit. These experts agreed that oil pollution caused the destruction of sea-birds, the wings of which become saturated with oil so that they cannot swim, fly or dive; of fish, particularly shellfish, and of the marine grasses which form the staple food of fish and sea-birds. The pollution of sea-beaches by oil results in harm to bathers and depreciation in value of seaside resorts, and constitutes a menace to public health; finally, the accumulation of oil drifting into harbours offers a serious risk of fire. These evils exist to a varying extent in many countries and the object in view is to provide, by international agreement, some means whereby oil-burning and oil-carrying ships may be prevented from polluting, through the discharge of oil and oily mixtures on the high seas, the coasts to which the matter is liable to drift. Some causes of pollution such as collision, or the pouring of oil on to the sea during storm to assist vessels in distress, cannot be prevented, but it is possible by co-operation to guard against voluntary discharge outside territorial limits, and the Committee of Experts recommend that an appropriate international convention should be concluded.

A New Inextinguishable Storm and Danger Signal Light

THIS new Signal, possessing most remarkable properties, has now been brought before the public. It was first exhibited at the President's meeting of the Royal Society on 22nd April, when it attracted great attention. The peculiarities of the Signal Light are, that it is self-igniting when placed in water or thrown on the sea. Contact with water being the only means of igniting the lamp, it is inextinguishable when once ignited; neither wind nor storm has any effect upon the flame. The light is of intense brilliancy, and of great duration, and can be seen for a great distance in the open-air. Photographs may be taken by the light of this new signal. Experiments were tried on the evening of 25th April, at ten o'clock, in the presence of some scientific gentlemen, to determine its brilliancy as a signal. A lamp was placed in a bucket of water on the top of Primrose Hill, and the light was so intense that after the signal had been burning for twenty minutes small newspaper-print could be distinctly read at a distance of seventy feet, notwithstanding that the night was thick and foggy. This new signal light will burn for oyer forty minutes. In construction the lamp is exceedingly simple, and so contrived that when once burnt the whole may be thrown away. The chemical preparation contained in the lamp is a solid, hard substance, free from danger; not affected by heat, and so non-explosive; and the signal is comparatively inexpensive. Its applications for marine signals are numerous. In case of shipwreck a few lamps thrown on the sea would illuminate the entire scene, and enable assistance to be promptly and efficiently rendered. For rocket-line apparatus it is equally valuable, as, bursting into a flame on falling into the sea, it would indicate the position of the rocket-line. In connection with life buoys it would be a mark to the drowning sailor. In life-boat services it would be a signal to the vessel in distress, and the brilliant light would greatly assist in the rescue. In cases of salvage, ships' signals, tide and harbour warnings, the duration of the light renders this new invention of great value. As a railway signal, to be used by the guards and station porters in cases of accident, it is equally available, and will be of great utility. The difficulties of preparing the chemical compound have been entirely overcome by Messrs. Albright and Wilson, of Oldbury, the contractors for the manufacture of the lamp for Mr, Nathaniel Holmes the patentee.