That worked out well…
I rest my case.
NURSE!
I believe ECO and the master got in trouble for insufficient manning since they were illegally working 12 hour watches. No one got hammered for having incompetent towing officers though.
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The USCG was providing a lot of oversight but they went a long with a crazy tow plan because Shell had the right expert, former USCG Admiral Buddy Custard
My experience has been before a tow is commenced a surveyor prepares a report for the insurer. The surveyor includes his finding on the experience of the crew and the suitability of the towing vessel and it’s equipment.
30 years ago “Trip ‘n Tow” surveys and “Lash & Load” surveys were common on the West Coast and Alaska. But now it’s quite unusual to see a surveyor.
Why are 12 hour watches illegal?
Have you never read the CFRs?
They are illegal by default and only allowed on certain exempted vessels. The Aiviq is not one of those exempted vessels.
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I didn’t know what a CFR was but I found out on google (I’m not from the US). I don’t think they’re illegal under international regulations like MLC etc.
Interesting to know they’re banned in the US. Is 6 hours on 6 hours off also banned in the US?
That’s a good excuse.
That’s still 12 hours of watch in a 24 hour period. It’s only allowed on certain vessels like small (normal sized) towing vessels and OSVs.
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…on voyages of less than 600 miles.
FWIW, While not aboard the Aiviq when she was working in Alaska, I was on her for awhile when she was on her way to the west coast. From my observations yes they generally worked 12 hours straight but the mates rotated between standing watch and doing other work. I did not see the mates standing a straight 12 hour bridge watch.
If you had asked a mate what their watch was what would they have told you?
“Oh, it’s a cheap Timex. Sorry, I left it in my room.”
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So MSC/Cir1014, Annex Page 92 article 5 doesn’t apply to US flag vessels?? When the USCG does a port state inspection of us foreign flag ships the hours of work is given close attention and in some cases the crew overtime is compared. The maximum is 13 hours of work in any 7 day period. If only a Master and Mate are doing watch and watch then it becomes very difficult to fit in other duties squaring away your house and laundry and eating in the single hour outside a watch is next to impossible.
That is all considered “rest”.
The unfortunate thing is, on the under 200 GRT tugboats, the ratings are only allowed to have 8 hours of watch per day on a voyage over 600 miles, but the master and mate are still allowed to do 12 hours per day. Our friends in Congress passed a statutory provision that allows it.
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How do you figure?
Can’t speak for other company practices, once a voyage was determined to be over 600 miles, two extra crewmembers would board, one an extra mate, and one for deck. For some reason or another an extra engineer wasn’t included to go all 4 on and 8 off.