Vessel sustained damages due to inappropriate location of jetty arrangements

There has been a spike in incidents where the vessel sustained damages (deformed railing, indentation of the hull , snagged mooring lines, etc) due to an inappropriate location of jetty fenders, fender securing chains, jagged projection, protruding objects, etc.

In order to avoid recurrence, the following precautionary measure shall be followed;

1. Obtain early information through the local agents prior berthing on the jetty layout including the location of fenders.

2. Discuss with the Pilot, during the Master/Pilot information exchange and obtain jetty information from the terminal operator via Pilot.

3. Confirm that the fenders are adequately positioned to touch the vessel only at the parallel length of the ships hull. Allow for tidal change.

4. In most cases, the risk will only be apparent when the vessel is approaching the berth and within the visible range. Therefore, the officer leading the mooring station must perform a quick visual assessment of the approaching jetty and must immediately alert the Master of any potential hazards.

Master shall immediately abort the berthing operation when it becomes obvious that the vessel is at risk, arising from the incorrect positioning of the fenders or from the presence of any jetty structure. A Letter of Protest must be issued to the Terminal for presenting an unsafe berth and inform all concerned parties thereafter. This Alert shall be discussed in the next Safety Meeting with all crew on board. Any suggestion or best practices followed onboard to avoid recurrence are encouraged.