09/042 - Fatigue in The Channel

Rank / Occupation: ?

Ship Type: Container vessel

Report:
 

Container vessel arrives in the Western Approaches to the English Channel from the west coast of the USA, during it’s time in NW Europe it will visit 3 ports, two of which involve long river pilotages. The Master’s period of duty on the Bridge begins as the vessel passes The Greenwich Buoy in the NE Lane of the Dover Straits TSS. The planned route will take the vessel up to the MPC Buoy where she will cross the SW Lane and proceed up to the Pilot Station. The passage from The Greenwich Buoy to the Pilot, a distance of 107 miles, normally takes 7 hours. The passage from NE Spit to Port 'A' takes 4 hours. Total time on duty 10-11 hours Of course on arrival the Master then has to deal with Customs, Immigration, Agent etc. Estimated time 4 hours. Therefore the Master finally gets some rest at 1000. The present economic downturn has resulted shorter turn-around times, consequently the vessel which in this case arrived at 0530 is ready to sail again at 1400, the Master is called at 1 hours notice. The passage back down to NE Spit takes 4 hours due to the tidal conditions. The passage to the next Pilot Station takes 3 hours and the passage down-river takes another 5 hours. Total duty time 12 hours. On arrival the Master has the port officials to deal with plus a crew change and an ISO Audit not to mention the installation of a new communication equipment that involves the crew rigging lifting gear to bring equipment from the quayside to the Bridge Deck and a session of training with the technician. Meanwhile normal cargo operations continue. During the port stay the Master manages to get 5 hours continuous rest. The vessel sails at 2300 and proceeds up-river, finally reaching the pilot station at 0530 the next morning. The Master has another two hours of departure paperwork to complete before going off-duty. The vessel's passage north to the next port involves crossing the approaches to one of the busiest ports in Europe which, if there hadn't been a Deep Sea Pilot on-board would have forced the Master to remain at the very least on-call for another 4-5 hours. Period: 33.5 hours Rest: 10 hours On Duty: 22.5 hours STCW - out the window. Note: Many fast container vessels on similar trading patterns do not employ Deep Sea Pilots.