MSC.1/Circ.1620
24 December 2020
GUIDELINES FOR INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF MOORING EQUIPMENT
INCLUDING LINES
1 The Maritime
Safety Committee, at its 102nd session (4 to 11 November 2020), having
considered a proposal by the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction, at
its sixth session, and recognizing the importance of inspection and maintenance
of mooring equipment including lines, approved the Guidelines for inspection
and maintenance of mooring equipment including lines, as set out in the
annex.
2 Member States are
invited to bring the annexed Guidelines to the attention of shipowners, ship
managers, bareboat charterers and other organizations or persons responsible
for operation of ships.
3 Member States are
also invited to bring the annexed Guidelines to the attention of shipmasters,
ships' officers and crew and all other parties concerned, for providing
guidance on inspection and maintenance of mooring equipment including mooring
lines.
ANNEX
GUIDELINES FOR INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF MOORING EQUIPMENT
INCLUDING LINES
1 General
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide recommendations and
guidance for maintenance and in-service inspections of mooring equipment
including lines and tails, criteria for identifying worn-out lines and tails
for removal from service before failure, and criteria for selection of
replacement mooring lines and tails.
1.2 Application
These Guidelines apply to all ships. Certain provisions are
intended for reference by shipboard personnel, and other provisions are
intended for Company personnel responsible for selecting and procuring
replacement mooring lines.
2 Definitions
For the purpose of these Guidelines:
2.1 Bend radius (D/d
ratio) means the diameter, D, of a mooring fitting divided by the diameter,
d, of a mooring line that is led around or through the fitting. The D/d ratio
is used by mooring line manufacturers to specify the minimum radius of a
fitting around or through which a mooring line of diameter "d" should
be led, in order to reduce or mitigate bend loss of strength of the mooring
line.
2.2 Company
means company, as defined in SOLAS regulation IX/1.2.
2.3 Line Design
Break Force (LDBF) means the minimum force that a new, dry, spliced, mooring
line will break at. This is for all synthetic cordage materials.
2.4 Mooring
arrangement means the configuration of the mooring equipment and fittings
and other design features of the ship related to the mooring operation, i.e.
lighting and communication equipment.
2.5 Mooring boat
means the boat handling mooring lines between the ship and ashore mooring
facilities during mooring and unmooring operations and does not include harbour
ship assist tugs (see the Guidelines on minimum training and education of
mooring personnel (FAL.6/Circ.11/Rev.1)).
2.6 Mooring
equipment and fittings means items such as winches, capstans, bollards,
bitts, fairleads, rollers, chocks, etc. and also includes mooring lines.
2.7 Mooring line
configuration means all components of an individual mooring line, including
tails, eye splices, etc. Any change or replacement of a component is a change
to the line's configuration, unless a component is replaced by a part having
the same specification as in the original configuration.
2.8 Mooring
operations means normal mooring and unmooring of the ship, including
associated in-harbour towing movements.
2.9 Mooring
personnel means personnel tasked to assist in the activity of mooring and
unmooring ships, either ashore or from mooring boats, carried out within the
framework of port marine services.
2.10 Rotation of
mooring lines means periodical change of mooring lines for respective
mooring drums to equalize the wear of mooring lines.
2.11 Ship Design
Minimum Breaking Load (MBLSD) means the minimum breaking load of
new, dry, mooring lines for which shipboard fittings and supporting hull
structures are designed in order to meet mooring restraint requirements.
2.12 Towing and
mooring arrangements plan means the plan as described in section 5 of the
annex to the Revised guidance on shipboard towing and mooring equipment
(MSC.1/Circ.1175/Rev.1).
This plan presents specific information regarding the towing and mooring
fittings aboard the vessel, the mooring lines, as well as the arrangement of
mooring lines and the acceptable environmental conditions for mooring.
3 Safe use of
mooring equipment
3.1 Safe use of mooring
equipment and fittings
Throughout its operational life, mooring equipment should be
maintained and operated in accordance with the original design concept, if
available, including when replacing parts and lines. In order to ensure all
mooring equipment functions as designed, the Company should establish
procedures for mooring operations, inspection and maintenance of mooring
equipment, including mooring lines, taking into account appropriate references
listed in paragraph 7 of these Guidelines.
3.2 Protection and storage
of mooring lines
To preserve the design life of mooring lines, the following
practices should be followed during mooring operations:
.1 smooth contacts at
turn-off points with large angles and/or eye splices; and
.2 using covers/mats at
ship side to protect against any friction damage.
3.3 Control of mooring
lines
3.3.1 The Company should
establish procedures to allow the identification and control of mooring lines,
tails and associated attachments when on board and to facilitate inspection and
maintenance of mooring lines. Such procedures should include:
.1 providing a means of
recording the number, type and location of mooring lines, tails and associated
attachments. Such records may be included in either the towing and mooring arrangements
plan or with records of inspection and maintenance or an alternative
established by the requirements of the Company; and
.2 providing a means of
linking specific mooring lines, tails and associated attachments to the
relevant records and a manufacturer's certificate, if available.
3.3.2 Any defect
discovered to the mooring lines during mooring operations should be immediately
reported to the Master by all parties concerned including shore-based mooring
personnel. If no actions are taken as appropriate the competent authorities
should be informed, as necessary.
4 Inspection and
maintenance of mooring lines
4.1 Inspection of
mooring lines
4.1.1 To prevent the
deterioration of mooring lines to a condition which may result in the failure
of the line during mooring operations, the periodic inspection of mooring
lines, mooring line tails and associated attachments should be included in the
onboard maintenance plan or equivalent maintenance management system. The
maintenance plan may be computer based.
4.1.2 The requirements for
inspection of individual mooring lines will be specific to the type of mooring
line used on board. In general, onboard inspection of mooring lines will be
based on manufacturer recommendations and by visual inspection of the outside
of the mooring line to identify excessive wear or damage, e.g. external
abrasion, external cut, kink, heat damage such as fusion and slackening or
fraying of eye splices. Such visual inspections should be based on:
.1 the recommendations
of the mooring line and/or tail manufacturer, particularly the criteria
provided for the assessment of mooring line condition;
.2 operational
experience regarding the performance of the mooring line and/or mooring line
tail during previous mooring operations; and
.3 the environmental
conditions to which the mooring lines and/or mooring line tails are routinely
exposed.
4.1.3 In the case of
jacketed synthetic fibre mooring lines, detailed visual inspection of the
condition of the synthetic fibre line may not be possible. The condition of the
external jacket is not an accurate indicator of the condition of the
load-bearing synthetic fibre material within the mooring line.
4.2 Maintenance of
mooring lines
The Company should establish the maintenance procedures as
required in paragraph 3.1 of these Guidelines. The maintenance procedures
should specify replacement of in-service mooring lines and may include the
rotation of mooring lines.
4.3 Criteria for
condemning worn-out mooring lines
4.3.1 The replacement of
in-service mooring lines which have been assessed as no longer suitable for use
should be based on the removal prior to failure and in accordance with criteria
provided by the manufacturer.
4.3.2 For visual
inspection and replacement of mooring lines, additional advice is provided in
industry guidance on mooring line and mooring line tail inspections.
4.4 Inspection and
maintenance of equipment and fittings
4.4.1 Equipment and
fittings should be properly inspected and maintained, based on the
manufacturer's recommendations. Mooring equipment and fittings should be
included in the onboard maintenance plan or equivalent maintenance management
system. The maintenance plan may be computer based.
4.4.2 Maintenance should
include the preservation, by appropriate means, of the clear marking of
information on equipment and fittings, including Safe Working Load (SWL) and
winch control instructions.
4.4.3 Records of
inspection and maintenance of equipment and fittings should be available on
board.
4.4.4 Records of the
original design concept, equipment, arrangement and specifications should be
retained on board through the life cycle of the ship.
4.4.5 To preserve the
design life of mooring lines and reduce the potential for failure during
mooring operations any storage provided for additional (loose) mooring lines
should minimize the exposure to harmful environments (e.g. UV light, water,
chemicals, cargo, extreme temperature).
5 Selection of
replacement mooring lines
5.1 When replacing
mooring lines, compatibility with the mooring equipment and fittings on board,
as specified in the mooring arrangement plan, should be taken into account.
This should be achieved by selecting a replacement mooring line which meets the
designed specifications. In cases where this is not possible, the following
properties should be taken into consideration and the towing and mooring
arrangement plan updated accordingly:
.1 breaking strength;
.2 environmental conditions to be used (e.g.
temperature);
.3 linear density;
.4 tenacity;
.5 D/d ratios;
.6 compression fatigue; and
.7 stiffness.