Volume 10: Number 4: De ce m ber 2003

RISK WATCH
The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited

Parametric rolling an update

The BOXSHIP 2003 Conference, held recently in London, affirmed the general acceptance of parametric rolling as a phenomenon, and gave some useful indications as to how the industry is dealing with it.
Parametric rolling occurs in head, or near head, seas in conditions where wavelength approximates to ship length, where the natural period of roll is twice the wave encounter frequency and where the hull form is such that the ships waterplane area changes considerably with draft i.e. as large waves pass along the length of the vessel. This latter criteria means, in practice, that it occurs in those ships with fine hulls, large bow flare and significant overhang of the stern. Post-panamax container ships notably have been affected but the phenomenon is certainly not limited to such ships. Parametric rolling manifests itself as a vessel pitches downwards, thus significantly increasing the waterplane area and righting forces, at the same time as rolling to one side. As the ship rolls back upright and the bow pitches up thus reducing the waterplane area and righting forces it offers little resistance to the roll continuing through to the other side, whereupon, righting forces again maximise quickly as the ship pitches downward and there is an increase in the waterplane area.

RISK WATCH The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited

Parametric rolling an update (continued)

As far as Masters and seafarers are concerned, the significance of parametric rolling is the sudden onset of a significant roll (up to 40 have been proven) at a time when the ship is already pitching quite heavily. Being a phenomenon associated with ships steaming into head seas it occurs when Masters and seafarers may be least expecting it. In addition, it affects very large vessels which are designed to be, and indeed normally are, very stable working environments. BOXSHIP 2003 was well attended by Classification Societies which all accepted the need to incorporate the phenomenon into the ship design process. However, as a Lloyds Register publication points out, the phenomenon arises when a combination of environmental, operational and design parameters occur and is thus very difficult to combat.What most of the Classification Societies attending seemed to agree upon is that the forces encountered are so severe that mere adjustment of lashing and securing criteria is not an answer to the question of how to prevent containers being lost overboard. A semi-passive ballast system proposed a few years ago to combat parametric rolling seems not to have been taken up by the industry. The system has already been through comprehensive sea trials and hopefully will prove to be of great benefit in the future. In the meantime, it will be the Masters and seafarers awareness of the factors that give rise to parametric rolling which have to be relied upon. Ship design, however, can begin to address the problem, for example, by making adjustments to the hull form in the bow and stern areas, but it is thought that concentration on operational factors might be more productive.This in effect means ships Masters and seafarers addressing the problem. Det Norske Veritas gave an interesting presentation on their efforts to assist watch keepers by producing an on board wave radar and motion sensor based system which continuously analyses the wave formations being encountered.This provides the Watch Officers with a radarlike display which gives the seafarer a real time probability display highlighting the presence of the various criteria giving rise to parametric rolling and providing acceptance boundaries.

Post-panamax container ships notably have been affected but the phenomenon is certainly not limited to such ships.

Medical costs in the USA

Medical costs in the USA are known to be high.The Association is often able to secure substantial reductions in medical bills, but only if given prompt notice of the intention to seek medical treatment for a seafarer at a US port.
One development, that has caused the Association some concern, is the increase in activity by medical brokers, whose practice is to act as a liaison between the ships agent and medical facilities in arranging medical treatment. Generally, the broker will, upon being contacted by the agent, arrange for the seafarer to be collected from the ship on arrival at the port and then either conveyed to a clinic in the case of a minor illness or injury or to hospital if the condition is more serious. The broker will guarantee payment to the medical facility, but will add a substantial commission when forwarding the bills to the agent for payment.The mark-up is usually in the region of 30 or 40 per cent of the face value of the bill. Through the local Club correspondent, the Association can generally obtain a minimum of 10 per cent reduction in medical charges. In some cases much more significant savings can be achieved.The shipowner can The ports where this practice is particularly prevalent are New Orleans and Long Beach. The Association therefore urges the Master to contact the Club correspondent in any US port if any seafarer is in need of medical treatment. If it is the Masters custom to ask the ship agent to perform this service, the Master should instruct the agent to contact the Club correspondent BEFORE contacting an intermediary to make the arrangements. In this way Masters may save the Member substantial sums of money in respect of medical treatment provided to members of the crew without any reduction in the quality of treatment provided. therefore be paying a minimum of 40 per cent more than the true cost of the treatment provided.

RISK WATCH is published by The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited Tindall Riley (Britannia) Limited New City Court 20 St Thomas Street London SE1 9RR Tel +44 (0)20 7407 3588 Fax +44 (0)20 7403 3942 www.britanniapandi.com

The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited is happy for any of the material in Risk Watch to be reproduced but would ask that written permission is obtained in advance from the Editors.

Catalytic fines
The Association has been advised by consulting marine engineers that the accumulation of catalytic fines (aluminium plus silicon), particularly in settling and service tanks, is resulting in excessive wear in marine diesel engines. Coincidentally, DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) has recently reported the analysis of several HFO samples where the aluminium and silicon content has significantly exceeded the ISO 8217 (1996) specification.The efficient centrifuging of all fuels, including those that meet the ISO specification for aluminium plus silicon, is most important to reduce the abrasive contaminants to an acceptable level. Fuel oil bunkers delivered within the ISO 8217 (1996) specification for aluminium and silicon of 80mg/kg can be reduced to about 20mg/kg by the use of shipboard fuel oil separators and filters.This latter figure is often the maximum level set by marine engine manufacturers. The excessive levels of such contaminants found and reported by DNVPS are beyond the capability of fuel oil separators to reduce the fines to acceptable levels and therefore lead to increased wear rates in cylinder units, fuel pumps and valve assemblies. Notwithstanding the efficiency of the separators onboard, catalytic fines can build up in fuel tanks, particularly fuel oil settling and service tanks.These tanks should be drained and cleaned annually or more frequently if bunkers are delivered near, or in excess of, the maximum ISO specification figure. Relying on Class survey intervals of opening up fuel oil settling and service tanks every five years may prove inadequate.

Port of Primorsk
We are advised by the Club correspondents in St Petersburg that in March 2003 the Port Authority of Primorsk implemented new restrictive standards in respect of the oil content in segregated ballast water. Although the maximum oil content allowable is now set at 0.05ppm instead of the previous limit of 0.025ppm, the standard remains difficult to achieve. A number of ships arriving at the port have had difficulties whereby the authorities have alleged ballast water contamination and as a result the ships have had to retain such ballast on board and sail having loaded only part of their cargo.There are no penalties imposed upon the ship by the Port Authority as long as any contaminated water remains on board. There are no restrictions on discharging segregated ballast in other Russian ports. Primorsk is the only Russian port where the authorities require laboratory testing of the ballast water in segregated ballast prior to discharge. It takes about three hours for samples to be taken and test results advised to the ship. Cargo operations cannot commence until the survey results are known. Ballast tank valves and/or sea valves must be sealed where the oil content exceeds the maximum allowed. The correspondents recommend that Masters keep their segregated ballast systems in good condition and take ballast water in deeper waters.They also suggest the appointment of an independent surveyor in order to monitor the Port of Primorsks sampling procedure. The correspondents experience shows that when a surveyor appointed by the shipowner attends on board a vessel on arrival and exercises strict control over the sampling procedure and over the performance of the Environmental Health Officers onboard then, as a rule, there are no allegations of ballast water contamination.