99030 Should this Vessel be at Sea

Should this Vessel be at Sea
Report No. 99030

Although this ship is only fifteen years old it is not in very good condition and the crew are not of a high calibre. The port radar is non-functional and probably cannot be repaired due to its extreme age and lack of available parts. The starboard radar is also of extreme age and barely functional. The ARPA is non-functional and the electronic bearing marker is about 20 degrees out. The heading marker in the North-up position requires constant adjustment to give a correct reading. The PPI is almost completely worn out, making it difficult to see under any lighting conditions. The functional range is only about 12 miles and according to the officers, it has been repaired many times. To summarise, in order for this ship to continue operating in these waters, both radars should be replaced immediately.The ship did not have all the required charts, even though the officers knew that they would be making a coastal passage. It appeared that only the bare minimum number had been purchased. The multinational crew did not function very well together. There were difficulties with the chain of command in the engine room. I was advised by the Captain that the engine was fully manoeuvrable. While at "Half Ahead", The order was given for "Slow Ahead". This order took approximately 6 minutes before being acted upon. Apparently, the Second Engineer, who was on watch, had to telephone the Chief Engineer who then proceeded to the engine room to act upon the order.

When the OOW was asked to call the Captain it took him more than 10 minutes to appear on the bridge. It was lucky that it was not a critical situation. It was observed that the forward crane blocks had not been secured for sea and were sliding around on the hatch covers. It was realised that the hatch covers could be damaged and this was pointed out to the OOW. He said that he would have them secured straight away but they never were.

While waiting to disembark, we observed the Mate kicking the top of the gangway which had been lowered. He seemed to be trying to make some adjustment before letting us off. However, the top of the gangway broke adrift and it fell into the water, luckily missing some people on the catwalk. The gangway was left hanging vertically by its lifting wires. One can only speculate what would have happened if we had been descending the gangway at that moment.