Ingangsdatum: 13-03-2000
2.5.1 Ship personnel will almost always be in the
best position to take quick action to mitigate or control the discharge of oil
from their ship. The plan should provide the master with clear guidance on how
to accomplish this mitigation for a variety of situations. The Plan should not
only outline action to be taken, but it should also identify who on board is
responsible so that confusion during the emergency can be avoided.
2.5.2 This section of the Plan will
vary widely from ship to ship. Differences in ship type, construction, cargo,
equipment, manning, and even route may result in shifting emphasis being placed
on various aspects of this section. As a minimum, the Plan should provide the
master with guidance to address the following
.1 Operational spills : The Plan should outline the procedures for
safe removal of oil spilled and contained on deck. This may be through the use
of on-board resources or by hiring a clean-up company. In either case the Plan
should provide guidance to ensure proper disposal of removed oil and clean-up
materials.
.1.1 Pipe leakage : The
Plan should provide specific guidance for dealing with pipe leakage.
.1.2 Tank overflow : Procedures for
dealing with tank overflows should be included. Alternatives such as lowering
cargo or bunkers back to empty or slack tanks or readying pumps to transfer the
excess ashore should be outlined.
.1.3 Hull leakage : The Plan should provide guidance for responding
to spillage due to suspected hull leakage. This may involve guidance on measures
to be taken to reduce the head of cargo in the tank involved either by internal
transfer or discharge ashore. Procedures to handle situations where it is not
possible to identify the specific tank from which leakage is occurring should
also be provided. Procedures for dealing with suspected hull fractures should be
included and they should carry appropriate cautions regarding attention to the
effect corrective actions may gave on hull stress and stability.
.2Spills resulting from casualties:
Casualties should be treated in the Plan as a separate section. The Plan should
include various checklists or other means which will ensure that the master
considers all appropriate factors when addressing the specific casualty
9 . These checklists must be tailored to the specific ship and to
the specific product or product types. In addition to the checklists, specific
personnel assignments for anticipated tasks must be identified. Reference to
existing fire control plans and muster lists is sufficient to identify personnel
responsibilities. The following are examples of casualties which should be
considered:
.2.1 grounding;
.2.2 fire/explosion;
.2.3 collision (with
fixed or moving object);
.2.4 hull failure;
.2.5 excessive list;
.2.6
containment system failure;
.2.7 submerged/foundered;
.2.8 wrecked/stranded;
.2.9
hazardous vapour release.
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9
Reference is made to the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, Section 8.
2.5.3 In addition to the checklists
and personnel duty assignments mentioned in 2.5.2, the Plan should provide the
master with guidance concerning priority actions, stability and stress
considerations, lightening and mitigating activities.
2.5.3.1 Priority actions: This section provides some
general considerations that apply to a wide range of casualties. The Plan should
provide ship-specific guidance to the master concerning these topics.
.1 In responding to the casualty, the
master's priority will be to ensure the safety of personnel and the ship and to
take action to prevent escalation of the incident. In casualties involving
spills, immediate consideration should be given to measures aimed at preventing
fire, personnel exposure to toxic vapours, and explosion, such as altering
course so that the ship is upwind of the spilled cargo, shutting down
non-essential air intakes, etc. If the ship is aground, and cannot therefore
manoeuvre, all possible sources of ignition should be eliminated and action
should be taken to prevent toxic vapours or flammable vapours entering
accommodation and engine-room spaces" (see paragraph 1.4.7). When it is possible
to manoeuvre, the master, in conjunction with the appropriate shore authorities,
may consider moving his ship to a more suitable location in order, for example,
to facilitate emergency repair work or lightening operations, or to reduce the
threat posed to any particularly sensitive shoreline areas. Such manoeuvring may
be subject to coastal State jurisdiction.
.2 Prior to considering remedial action, the master will need to
obtain detailed information on the damage sustained by his ship. A visual
inspection should be carried out and all cargo tanks, bunker tanks, and other
compartments should be sounded. Due regard should be paid to the indiscriminate
opening of ullage plugs or sighting ports, especially when the ship is aground,
as loss of buoyancy could result.
.3
Having assessed the damage sustained by the ship, the master will be in a
position to decide what action should be taken to prevent or minimize further
spillage. When bottom damage is sustained, hydrostatic balance will be achieved
fairly rapidly, especially if the damage is sever, in which case the time
available for preventive action will often be limited. When significant side
damage is sustained in the way of oil tanks, cargo or bunkers will be released
fairly rapidly until hydrostatic balance is achieved and the rate of release
will then reduce and be governed by the rate at which oil is displaced by water
flowing in under the oil. When the damage is fairly limited and restricted, for
example, to one or two compartments, consideration may be given to transferring
oil internally from damaged to intact tanks.
2.5.3.2 Stability and strength considerations: Great care in casualty
response must be taken to consider stability and strength when taking actions to
mitigate the spillage of oil or to free the ship if aground. The Plan should
provide the master with detailed guidance to ensure that these aspects are
properly considered. Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating a
requirement for damage stability plans or calculations beyond those required by
relevant international conventions.
.1 Internal transfers should be undertaken only with a full
appreciation of the likely impact on the ship's overall longitudinal strength
and stability. When the damage sustained is extensive, the impact of internal
transfers on stress and stability may be impossible for the ship to assess.
Contact may have to be made with the owner or operator or other entity in order
that information can be provided so that damage stability and damage
longitudinal strength assessments may be made. These could be made within the
head office technical departments. In other cases, classification societies or
independent organizations may need to be contacted. The Plan should clearly
indicate who the master should contact in order to gain access to these
facilities.
.2 Where appropriate, the
Plan should provide a list of information required for making damage stability
and damage longitudinal strength assessments.
2.5.3.3 Lightening : Should the ship sustain extensive structural
damage, it may be necessary to transfer all or part of the cargo to another
ship. The Plan should provide guidance on procedures to be followed for
ship-to-ship transfer of cargo. Reference may be made in the Plan to existing
company guides. A copy of such company procedures for ship-to-ship transfer
operations should be kept with the Plan. the Plan should address the need for
co-ordinating this activity with the coastal State, as such operation may be
subject to its jurisdiction. (see paragraph 1.4.7)
2.5.4 In order to have the necessary information
available to respond to the situations referred to in paragraph 2.5.2, certain
plans, drawings, and ship specific details such as, a layout of a general
arrangement plan, a tank plan, etc. should be appended. The Plan should show
where current cargo, bunker and ballast information, including quantities and
specifications, are available.
2.5.3.4 Mitigating activities: When the safety of both the ship and
personnel has been addressed, the master can initiate mitigating activities
according to the guidance given by the plan. The plan should address such
aspects as:
.1 assessment and monitoring requirements;
.2 personnel protection issues:
.2.1 protective equipment; and
.2.2 threats to health and safety
.3 containment and other response techniques (e.g. dispersing,
absorbing,);
.4 isolation procedures;
.5 decontamination of personnel;
and
.6 disposal of removed oil and
clean-up materials.