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Monthly RoRo/RoPax Bulletin

November 2013

Photograph from Stena Mediabank taken by Aged Des

I know there are other issues at play but it is your responsibility to take care of the detail and not let inspectors find any issues

on board the ships.

Senior Stena Executive.

Gothenburg, Sweden. October 2013

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RoRo/RoPax Monthly Bulletin

FAO Senior Management Teams,

This is the first monthly RoRo/RoPax bulletin. The intention is to share relevant information on a

monthly basis to help improve the standards on board. Significant findings and trends from Port

State Control, Host State, Flag State, Class and Port Health will be highlighted and analysed in order

to prevent recurrence. Relevant accidents, incidents and industry information will also be

highlighted for the purpose of continual improvement.

Current NMM Fleet Profile

There is some room for improvement in the current Port State Control and Host State inspection

performance within the fleet. We understand that some factors are beyond the control of the

Shipboard Management Team, but it is vital that we do not get picked up on deficiencies that are

within our control. The results of inspections for each vessel will be shared so that we can all learn,

avoid repeat deficiencies and improve our Company PSC/Host State risk rating, but most

importantly, we need to ensure the vessels are operating at the highest level of safety.

Paris & Med MOU Results Last 12 Months

Name Number of

Deficiencies No. of

Inspections

12Mth Ave. No. of

Deficiencies

Detention or Prevention of

Operation

STENA ALEGRA 41 4 10.3 YES x 1

STENA SCOTIA 6 2 3.0 YES x 1

NORMAN ASTURIAS 25 2 12.5

ARK FORWARDER 17 3 5.7

STRAIT OF DOVER 3 1 3.0

STENA FERONIA 9 3 3.0

STENA FREIGHTER 2 1 2.0

STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR 1 1 1.0

STENA FORECASTER 1 2 0.5

MONT VENTOUX 0 1 0.0

STENA CARRIER 0 1 0.0

STENA FLAVIA 0 2 0.0

STENA FORERUNNER 0 1 0.0

STENA FORETELLER 0 2 0.0

STRAIT OF MESSINA 0 2 0.0

WATLING STREET 0 1 0.0

STENA HIBERNIA 0 1 0.0

AVERAGE 3.50

Source: Paris and Med MOU databases

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The table above shows the results of Port State Control inspections and RoPax inspections from the

Paris MOU and Mediterranean MOU databases (very recent inspections may not have been

entered yet by the inspector).

You can see that 47% of the RoRo/RoPax fleet have achieved zero deficiencies throughout the last

12 months. This is a good result and shows that keeping a clear record is achievable. At the other

end of the scale we have 2 vessels that have been detained. The Company Detention Index is

currently in the Average range, while our Deficiency Index is in the Good range. This means that

our overall Company Performance, according to the Paris MOU calculator, is Medium. When the

Company has a Medium rating, it means that no ship can be classed as a Low Risk Ship, which in

turn means more inspections and more findings.

It is essential that we do everything we can to keep the ships at a standard where they are not

detainable. The diagram below shows how a Companys risk profile can degrade.

Every inspection counts!

We need to ensure we do not fall into this trap. Better inspections, means less inspections in

future.

The standard required on board for a Port State or Host State Inspection is the minimum standard

we should maintain at all times. These inspectors are looking for the minimum acceptable level on

board nothing more. If we are struggling to achieve that, then we are not performing as we

should be.

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November Inspection Update

Name Flag Type Age Date of Inspection

Type of inspection

Port of inspection

Number of Deficiencies

STENA FLAVIA

United Kingdom

RoPax 7 30/11/2013 Expanded Inspection

Travemunde/ At Sea

0

STENA HIBERNIA

United Kingdom

RoRo 17 29/11/2013 Targeted Belfast - UK 0

STENA BALTICA

United Kingdom

RoPax 6 25/11/2013 More detailed

inspection

Sweden - Karlskrona

9

STENA BALTICA

United Kingdom

RoPax 6 22/11/2013 More detailed

inspection

Poland - Nowy Port/Gdansk

9

NORMAN ASTURIAS

Italy RoPax 8 05/11/2013 More detailed

inspection

United Kingdom -

Poole

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The first inspection in November took place in Poole on Norman Asturias. The vessel had just

arrived in the UK to start a new run from Poole to Santander when the MCA attended for an

inspection. Despite the high number of deficiencies, the vessel was not detained. However, as

there were ISM deficiencies noted, it means that the vessel will require an additional internal audit

within 3 months. Some of the more serious deficiencies are noted below:

Inadequate position fixing frequency on arrival

Emergency escapes padlocked shut

Incomplete passage plan from berth to berth

Flammable items stowed underneath stairwell

Inaccurate bridge checklist entry Inadequate fire drill

Partially blocked scuppers Inaccurate Hours of Rest

Hand spanners missing from fire hydrants

When vessels change run, there is an increased level of scrutiny by inspectors, especially where

competing flag states are involved. It is also true that the wording of deficiencies can often seem

much worse than the real situation. The vessel had experienced heavy weather on passage to

Poole and everyone was busy preparing for the new run. However, many of these deficiencies

should not be present. We need to ensure that the standards on board in all areas are maintained,

so that we are running ships at the highest level of safety. Port and Host State inspectors should

not be finding items that the Senior Management Team is not already aware of and doing

something about.

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Stena Baltica is a new RoPax into management that will run between Gdynia and Karlskrona. This is

why it has had 2 More detailed inspections recorded by the 2 Host States, the first one took place

in Poland and the follow up inspection took place in Sweden. Both inspections identified a few

deficiencies. Some of the deficiencies noted have been identified previously on RoPax vessels, such

as:

Fire detection system issues

Fire doors not closing properly

CSR originals not on board

PA system not overriding TV sets

Lifeboat remote lowering wire not working fully

Rescue boat painter tensioning arrangement not operational

It was encouraging to note that the inspectors were very happy with the drills and the way that the

delivery was being managed. Some of the physical issues have been inherited from previous

managers and are being dealt with now.

The month ended on a very positive note with Stena Hibernia being inspected by Port State Control

in Belfast with zero deficiencies found. Stena Flavia had an expanded inspection on passage

between Ventspils and Travemunde, again with zero deficiencies. Well done to everyone involved!

Accident and Incident Update

You may have heard about recent navigational incidents involving our vessels. These events are still

under investigation, but we can share the following information with you to help prevent similar

incidents.

Event

1. Stena Scotia struck the breakwater foundation on departure Mostaganem, Algeria causing

hull damage.

2. Stena Feronia made contact with the breakwater while the relieving Master was

undergoing familiarisation with the vessel handling during departure Tanger Med

3. Stena Alegra remained at anchor in severe weather conditions, dragged anchor and was

stranded on a lee shore outside Karlskrona, Sweden

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These incidents serve as a strong reminder of how a situation can change from the normal day to

day operation to an emergency situation when effective bridge team management, departure

planning and watch-keeping lapses, even momentarily. All 3 incidents are related to Human Error

to some degree and we are conducting detailed investigations into each in order to implement

robust actions to prevent similar occurrences. These will be shared with the fleet when they are

concluded. The next section is specific to the Stena Alegra stranding incident.

Heavy Weather Actions

We have recently had cases where adverse weather has damaged vessels and in most cases this has

been completely avoidable. There are four fundamental points in this respect;

1. In cases of heavy weather at sea you must slow down. It you are even thinking of slowing

down then the decision is made; do it. If required then you must heave to. Especially on

larger vessels, be very wary of increasing speed during hours of darkness. You cannot

properly assess swell conditions at night time.

2. When in port you have to be aware of the forecasted weather. In cases where a severe

weather is predicted to pass close to your vessel, then take early action to avoid it. This will

generally mean leaving the port and getting well away from land.

3. Do not remain at anchor when severe weather is forecast. This is even more crucial where

the anchorage is congested, when you are anchored close to danger or where you are going

to be set onto a lee shore.

4. In all cases of heavy weather, your heavy weather checklist is to be followed; the vessel is to

be secured for the conditions forecast and hatches battened down, with loose gear secured,

with increased inspections of internal spaces and announcements made to warn passengers

and crew.

Dont hesitate when decisions are required. As always NMM are here to assist. Contact any of us

in the office at any time when in doubt. You have the contact list do not hesitate to use it. It is a

team effort and the Company relies upon our senior vessel management to make the necessary

decisions to keep the crew, passengers, vessel and cargo safe.

RoRo/RoPax Senior Officers Seminar

We held a RoRo/RoPax Senior Officer Seminar in the Clydebank Head Office. It was an interesting 2 days

where some of the key issues noted above were discussed at length, with a mixture of presentations,

workshops and Q&A sessions. There was an excellent level of participation and lots of good suggestions as

to how we can all move forward to improve our Safety and inspection performance.

One of the topics discussed was the creation of a new 2nd Officer (Safety) role on board the RoPax vessels.

This is an additional officer who will focus on the vessel safety compliance. They will assist the Senior

Management Team to ensure any areas for improvement are identified and dealt with in order to prevent

recurrence. The creation of this position was welcomed by the RoPax senior officers.

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The next seminar will be held in January and we aim to take the feedback from the first group to make it an

even more rewarding exchange.

Action Points

All topics in this bulletin are to be discussed and action taken as appropriate by the Master and the other

members of the SMT.

1. Use the SFOPS 74 as required to find potential deficiencies and take action

2. Masters to discuss the above incidents and navigational deficiencies with the bridge team

3. Navigational Advanced Coaching Tool CBT to be completed in Coaching mode for all

Masters and deck officers

Northern Marine Management 4th December 2013