Dedicated to the welfare of the mariners who serve on the ships...

April 2003
Safety Bulletin
IN THIS ISSUE
What is Synergy
Anyway?
THE SALVAGE
TEAM
IF Reports
The Jury is Out
Celebrating
Operational Excellence
ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC
Sharing Lessons Learned
Reports
We hear this word anywhere and every-
where. Everyone loves to use it, proba-
bly because it sounds so unique. It is
used in many contexts, and every person
has his or her own vision of its meaning.
For instance, if we ask a doctor what it
means, he would likely reply, Synergy
in medicine is the cooperative action of
two or more drugs, muscles, or organs
whose combined action is more power-
ful than their simple effects added
together. In the dictionary Synergy
is defined as, The working together
of two or more things, people, or
organizations, especially when the
result is greater than the sum of their
individual effects or capabilities.
YEARS OF INCIDENT FREE
NAME SERVICE YEARS
U. Adam 35 34
E. Dias 25 25
K. DSouza 15 14
J. T. Balczewski 15 15
M. Cabajar 10 10
M. Patrick 10 10
A. Saul 10 10
P. Tandel 10 10
P. M. Seager 5 5
ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC
April 2003
Volume 65, No. 4
Safety and Environment Team
Editor Richard Holder
Please direct your questions, comments
or suggestions to:
ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC
P.O. Box 6027
San Ramon, CA 94583-0727
phone 925.973.4181
fax (within U.S.) 877.673.9272
(outside U.S.) 631.514.3057
email L9Safety@chevrontexaco.com
service
Safe.
Always!
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APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
WITHOUT INJURY
Articles:
What is Synergy Anyway?
Ashutosh Karkhanis, 2O, Virgo Voyager
THE SALVAGE TEAM, Matt Turns
The Jury is Out, Paddy Shrimpton
IF Reports, Richard Holder
What
is
A very good example of synergy can be taken from migra-
tory geese. As winter approaches, these birds migrate to
warmer climates where the food is more plentiful. The
geese fly in a V-shaped formation, which enables all of
the geese, except the leader, to take advantage of the
updrafts generated by the flapping wings of the lead
goose. The geese take turns leading, changing positions
so that every bird gets an advantage, which results in less
overall fatigue in the flock during the long exodus. The
geese also help their partners flying alongside by mutually
flapping their wings at a certain angles to make each
others flight easier. After long journeys over water, these
birds have landing sites where they refuel and rest to
continue their voyage. Once on the ground, if any bird
is too weary at least two birds will safely escort the
exhausted goose to protect against predators.
To sum it up, this
phenomenon of synergy
can be described in one
simple term: TEAMWORK.
To accomplish almost any task, it is imperative that we
work together as a team. Fortunately, we are equipped
with tools to strengthen safety and measure the perfor-
mance of our teamwork. We have Behavior Based Safety,
Near Miss Reporting, and many other active safety pro-
grams. In particular, a BBS program is very much a part
of Synergy. We help each other identify barriers and
develop solutions to overcome obstacles. By passing on
this knowledge to others, we ensure that these barriers do
not hamper our teamwork. As individuals, we dont have
to make all the mistakes ourselves to learn from it!!
In todays world we cannot afford to make mistakes. We
must find the safest and most efficient methods to suc-
cessfully complete any task. Though finding or reporting
shortcomings was not common in the olden days, it is
now considered a core requirement for any team to be
successful. For some, this was a sudden shift in paradigm.
Everyone else has taken it in stride, especially the senior
members of teams who are experienced veterans. That
just might be a reason why our teams work so well at
any time, and all the time.
We are teams of people from all four corners of the world.
We have different languages, different cultures, different
nationalities, different religions, different past experi-
ences, different etiquettes, and different perceptions.
And, this is precisely what makes us so successful!
During any task performed by a team, we know that
everyone is looking out for each other. We leverage an
advantage with a wide spectrum of viewpoints, and that
takes quite a load off so we can safely focus on our part
of the task while ensuring that our team members are
doing the same.
Hardly do we realize that synergy is actually working very
well for us! We can look back with pride and a sense of
achievement at our accomplishments. Lets keep up the
good team work. Being a team player equates to a safer
environment and an overall higher level of safety onboard
every vessel!
SAFE. ALWAYS!
APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
3
by Ashutosh Karkhani, 2O, Virgo Voyager
Synergy Anyway?
THE SALVAGE TEAM
by Matt Turns
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APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
Do you know what to do
if your ship suddenly heels
25 degrees to starboard in
heavy seas?
According to ABS, the Master of the Prestige
faced just such a dilemma. The Prestige is
only the most recent high profile disaster to
affect the shipping industry. This article aims
to look at ABS Technical Analysis
1
of the
Prestige and see what lessons can be learned
from the salvage efforts reported by ABS.
According to ABS, the Prestige was an older,
single hull tanker that was using No. 2 & 3
wing tanks as dedicated ballast spaces.
Reports from the vessel indicate that after the
initial damage the ship probably heeled 25
degrees to starboard and that the No. 2 & 3
wing tanks on the starboard side were possi-
bly completely flooded. To compound the
disconcerting amount of heel, the vessel was
in high seas and reportedly sustaining damage
to the manifold drip pans and was leaking oil
from butterworth holes.
Considering the possibility of leaking oil, dam-
age to the gangway and manifold drip pans, it
is understandable that the Master would want
to do something to try and correct the list.
Reportedly, the Master subsequently ballasted
No. 2 & 3 port wing tanks to reduce the heel,
thus stopping possible cargo leakage and
further damage to the vessel.
What the Master may not have appreciated
is that after the vessel suffered the initial
damage the still water bending moment
was 125% allowable, according to the ABS
Technical Analysis
1
of the incident.
After corrective action, the hull bending
moment increased to 154% allowable, accord-
ing to the ABS Technical Analysis
1
of the inci-
dent. At such a high bending moment it
would have been only a matter of time until
the vessels structure would fail given the
prevailing sea conditions. It was remarkable
that a vessel could have remained afloat for
six days in the overloaded condition reported.
Admittedly, it would put a Master in a very
difficult spot having to balance leaking oil,
continuing damage to the vessel and 25
degree heel on one side against an over-
loaded vessel on the other. Fortunately,
ChevronTexaco ships have excellent support
from the home office that includes a technical
salvage team that can evaluate a ships
condition and suggest corrective actions.
1
Technical Analyses Related to the Prestige
Casualty, ABS, February 28, 2003.
Photo: ABS
...see what
lessons can
be learned
from the
salvage
efforts
reported
by ABS.
APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
5
Who are the technical
salvage team?
The technical salvage team is composed
of five engineers from the Marine
Services Group with over 115 years of
collective experience. The team is on
call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in
the event of an emergency.
continued on next page
Why call the salvage team?
The technical salvage team is in place to provide a quick analysis of the
ships strength, stability and oil outflow immediately following an incident
and to suggest and support corrective actions. The salvage team can
potentially let you know if there is any immediate danger to your vessel.
In addition, the salvage team will check any corrective actions that have
been taken.
For instance, if an incident similar to the Prestige were to occur to a CTS
vessel, the salvage team would be in a position to recognize the high
bending moments caused by counter ballasting and would work to find a
potential solution that best minimizes oil outflow, bending moment and heel.
One of the major benefits of having the salvage team is that multiple
corrective actions can be modeled and the best option found before the
vessel takes action.
Courtesy: HSSI
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APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
What can the salvage team do?
The salvage team has computer models of every
vessel in the fleet. These models are much like the
ones used in the loading computers on the vessels
except they have the following additional features:
Modeling of local structural damage and the
affect on global strength
Modeling of flooding of damaged tanks and
affects on ship strength and stability
Modeling oil outflow from damaged tanks
including effects of hydrostatic balancing
Model vessel grounding
These tools can be used to get an accurate picture of
the vessels current state and determine if the vessel
is in any immediate danger.
What does the salvage team
need from the vessel if there
is an incident?
The salvage team can best help if it has the following
information:
Initial condition at the time of the incident includ-
ing the amounts of cargo/ballast/fuel in each of
the tanks
Description of damage including location and
extent as far as practicable.
Damage condition: Drafts, heel, trim, flooded
spaces, etc.
Lessons Learned
The ChevronTexaco Shipping salvage
team is an important part of the total
Immediate Response Plan in the event of
a vessel casualty. The salvage team may
help ensure the safety of the vessel and
crew by:
Checking vessel stability
Checking vessel strength
Confirming that corrective actions
do not adversely affect stability and
strength of the vessel
Suggest corrective actions to minimize
oil outflow and potential for further
damage to the vessel
If you have any doubt whether to activate the techni-
cal salvage team during an incident please activate
us. We would much rather be called and not needed
than needed and not called. The technical salvage
team can be activated through the Vessel Response
Plan.
THE SALVAGE TEAM continued from page 5
Courtesy: HSSI
APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
7
A New Tool to Share
Lessons Learned
by Richard Holder
ChevronTexaco has developed a new tool,
called an IF Report, to share lessons
learned in a simple format. The purpose is
to distill the information into a single page
summary that clearly communicates essen-
tial details about the event and how to
avoid repeating it. There are three sec-
tions in the report: Incident Description,
What Went Wrong, and Lessons Learned.
The goal is to capture the readers atten-
tion by relating a brief description of an
event in a way that employees throughout
ChevronTexaco can understand.
An IF Report may be developed and dis-
seminated whenever it is useful to share
lessons learned concerning a recordable
injury, significant near miss, first aid case,
spill, leak, or property damage. The report
typically contains bulleted statements and
pictures; any people or facilities affected
by the incident are not identified.
On occasion, IF Reports may be shared
with CTS that were issued by other busi-
nesses in ChevronTexaco. The Safety Team
will disseminate IF Reports appropriately.
Posting these reports on a bulletin board
placed in a conspicuous area, such as the
main passageway, is an effective way to
communicate the message. It also a good
idea to discuss these reports at daily safe-
ty meetings to make sure everyone under-
stands the lesson presented.
We encourage everyone to help create
IF Reports to share with others in the
corporation. The IF Report is developed
by those who work in the place where the
incident occurred. The Safety Team will
work with the originator to write a report
that shares practical information about
the event. The Safety Team will also
initiate the corporate process to approve
the report and enable company-wide
distribution.
A standard IF Report posting board is
currently under development. In the
future, all vessels will have a similar
posting board available. Until then and
after, everyone is encouraged to share the
knowledge gained from your experiences!
Sharing lessons learned is often
an effective way to help manage
risk. Others can avoid bad expe-
riences that occur elsewhere in
ChevronTexaco by communicat-
ing the events leading up to an
incident or significant near miss.
However, in order to be effective
one must have a clear under-
standing of what went wrong
and how to fix it.
Reports
For generations rigging has been a major factor in
every day life aboard maritime vessels. When rig-
ging fails (and it could if used improperly) it can
have severely undesirable impacts.
We use rigging in our daily jobs quite often. We
have rigging components on our masts, gangways,
lifeboats, accommodation ladders and cranes.
Whenever wires, ropes and shackles are delivered
to our vessels they are rigorously tested and are
always accompanied by a qualifying stamp or cer-
tificate indicating their Safe Working Load (SWL).
They are processed this way for a particular reason
and that is to ensure they are used in a safe man-
ner for which they were intended. When
rigging is altered either intentionally or
by mistake it essentially voids any safety
factor that was previously associated
with the rigging. In a case such as this,
instead of knowing exactly what you are
dealing with, you end up with a JURY
RIG.
I often hear from Superintendents that
shackles are often noted as having their
original pins replaced by bolts.
In the attached pictures you have two very
distinct risks.
The Jury is Out!! NO JURY RIGS!!!
by Paddy Shrimpton
2. The bolt is threaded and can damage
any sling that is used inside the shackle.
1. The (SWL) of the bolt is unknown and
is not designed to go with the shackle.
Any shackles that have this configuration need to
be discarded immediately. When using rigging to
lift an object remember that all the components
that are used need to be checked so that they all
meet the safe working load requirements for the
load that is to be lifted.
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APRIL 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN