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 or noxious
liquid substance 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
or noxious liquid substance 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, noxious liquid
substances 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 have on hull stress and stability.
.2 Spills 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
3 . These checklists must be tailored to
the specific ship and to the specific product or product types. Especially for the
ships certified to carry NLSs, the checklists or other means e.g., "Characteristics
of Liquid Chemicals Proposed for Marine Transport in Bulk" (Data Sheet), should
identify physical properties, special protective equipment or unusual response
techniques in a format consistent with the requirements of section 1.4.4 of these
Guidelines. Reference may be made to Data Sheet or similar documents that identify
characteristics of NLS. A copy of such document should be kept with the plan, but
need not be part of the approved plan. 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 dangerous reactions of
cargo (for ships certified to carry NLSs);
.2.8 other dangerous cargo release (for ships certified to carry NLSs);
.2.9 loss of tank environmental control
(for ships certified to carry NLSs);
.2.10 submerged/foundered;
.2.11 wrecked/stranded;
.2.12
cargo contamination yielding a hazardous condition (for ships certified to carry
NLSs); and
.2.13 hazardous vapour
release. ___________
3 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 paragraph 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 broad topics.
.1 In responding to a 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. 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 (see paragraph 1.4.7).
.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 discharge. When bottom damage is sustained,
hydrostatic balance will be achieved (depending on physical properties) fairly
rapidly, especially if the damage is severe, in which case the time available for
preventive action will often be limited. When significant side damage is sustained
in the way of fuel/lubrication and/or cargo tanks, bunkers or cargo 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 bunkers or cargo is displaced by
water flowing in under the bunkers or cargo. When the damage is fairly limited and
restricted, for example, to one or two compartments, consideration may be given to
transferring the substance involved internally from damaged to intact tanks. When
considering the transfer of oil or noxious liquid substances from a damaged tank to
an intact tank, the master should consider (see paragraph 1.4.7):
.3.1 the extent of the damage;
.3.2 hydrostatic balance;
.3.3 the ship's ability to transfer cargo; and
.3.4 the physical properties of the substance(s) (for ships
certified to carry NLSs) involved such as:
.1 solubility;
.2 density;
.3 water reactivity;
.4 solidification; and
.5
compatibility.
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 noxious liquid substance 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.
Additionally, in the case of ships certified to carry NLSs, consideration as to the
compatibility of all substances involved such as cargoes, bunkers, tanks, coatings,
piping, etc., must also be considered before such an operation is undertaken.
.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.
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:
.1 protective equipment; and
.2 threats to health and safety.
.3 physical properties of the substance (for ships certified
to carry NLSs) involved such as:
.1 solubility;
.2 density;
.3 water reactivity;
.4 solidification; and
.5
compatibility
.4 containment and other response techniques
(e.g. dispersing, absorbing, neutralization);
.5 isolation procedures;
.6
decontamination of personnel; and
.7
disposal of removed oil, noxious liquid substances and clean-up materials.
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.
2.6
National and local co-ordination: Quick, efficient co-ordination between the ship
and coastal State or other involved parties becomes vital in mitigating the effects
of an oil or noxious liquid substances pollution incident. The Plan should address
the need to contact the coastal State for authorization prior to undertaking
mitigating actions (see paragraph 1.4.7).
2.6.1 The identities and roles of various national and local authorities
involved vary widely from State to State and even from port to port. Approaches to
responsibility for discharge response also vary. Some coastal States have agencies
that take charge of response immediately and subsequently bill the owner for the
cost. In other coastal States, responsibility for initiating response is placed on
the shipowner. In the case of the latter the Plan will require greater detail and
guidance to assist the master in organizing this response.