Article

Safe working with harbour cranes


by American Harbor & Docking Pilots Association - published on 24 August 2022 2392 -

This article was first published on 07.11.2019
Recently there have again been some accidents with cranes in the port. In view of the current situation, we are once again publishing an article from the American Harbor and Pilots Association on safe working with harbour cranes from 2019.

photo and article by American Harbor and Docking Pilots

For more safety when working with cranes in port

To minimize the risk of a vessel allision with a terminal gantry crane, the American Harbor and Docking Pilots Association recommends that all terminal operators with gantry cranes adopt the following Best Practices:
1) Prior to a vessel’s arrival or departure from a berth, gantry cranes should be positioned close together, near the amidships section of the vessel (avoiding the vessel’s bow and stern flair).
2) Idle gantry crane booms should be topped up over empty berths. If a boom cannot be topped up, tug dispatchers and pilots should be notified.
3) Gantry cranes should not be moved while a vessel is berthing. Moving a crane could put it into an unsafe position, and also disorients and distracts the docking pilot.
4) No personnel should be allowed aloft on a gantry crane during berthing or unberthing operations.

Risks that may occur during loading and unloading of the ship

Anytime a ship is maneuvered near a berth with gantry cranes, a risk of allision exists. If a ship contacts a dock at any attitude other than flat and parallel, portions of the vessel can extend over the dock. Should a gantry crane happen to be in the overshadow area, an allision resulting in significant loss is likely. The best way to manage and minimize this risk is to leave gantry cranes in identified “safe areas” on the craneways. These safe areas will vary from terminal to terminal, but will most often be the craneway areas adjacent to the ship’s flatbody between the spring line bollards.

Gantry cranes boomed down over empty berths risk contact with berthing or passing ships. Modern container vessels are generally too tall to pass safely underneath a lowered gantry boom. Also, new generation gantry booms extend more than 200 feet beyond the dock face, which in many cases is well into the federal navigation channel. In certain cases when a large vessel must pass very close to another on the berth, it may be necessary for cranes to stop work and boom up to permit safe passage.
Idle gantry crane booms should be topped up over empty berths. If operations require a boom down over an empty berth, the tug dispatchers and pilots should be notified of the likely duration and subsequent notification should be made when the boom is raised.

Gantry crane booms should not be moved down the craneway while a ship is berthing. First, any crane movement causes a loss of situational awareness regarding the ship’s motion relative to the berth. Second, the crane’s audible motion alarms interfere with pilot/tugboat communications. Either could cause the pilot to momentarily lose control of the vessel during the critical part of the mooring. If cranes must be moved to clear bollards for the linemen or for any other reason, they should not be moved during vessel approach until after the ship is resting against the dock fenders.

Personnel should not go aloft on a gantry crane during mooring operations Additionally, whenever personnel are aloft on gantry cranes that are boomed down over an empty berth, they must appreciate and evaluate the risks posed by passing vessels.

Copyright © 2018 American Harbor and Docking Pilots, All rights reserved

Join the conversation...

Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
PA
Pinaki Adak India
on 30 April 2024, 06:35 UTC

Good Article . How I can download it
0

Read more...

Article Unofficial internal company timeline report of the ship accident in Busan 6 April 2020

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 14 April 2020

"ONE - MSQ Accident News No. 31": ONE operated 13,900 TEU vessel “M/V Milano Bridge” has collided with gantry cranes and another vessel while approaching berth at PNC #8. This was the first berthing for phasing-in after Dry Dock.

0

Article Investigation report on the crane collision in Antwerp on 09.12.2019

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 2 September 2020

Container ship APL MEXICO CITY broke off her mooring at Doel, Antwerp, in the afternoon Dec 9, drifted across harbor and contacted DP World pier crane. Crane collapsed and was totally destroyed.

0

Article Container vessel MSC MIA took down crane in Valencia, Spain

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 13 September 2020

One of the biggest ships in the world, 23,000+ TEU container ship MSC MIA, reportedly contacted gantry crane while leaving container terminal at Valencia.

0

Video Loud & Clear COMM while berthing vessels

by Nasir Khan - published on 25 April 2022

A video by Capt. Pilot Nasir Khan, Pakistan
Why loud and clear communication is very important.

1

Video Mogadisho harbour pilot on duty

published on 31 January 2021

0

Video Smartship Australia

published on 25 February 2020

Footage showing what the simulators look like and how they can be used to simulate ship movement in various ports.

0

Article Maritime Pilotage and Sustainable Seaport: A Systematic Review

by Seyed Behbood Issa-Zadeh & Claudia Lizette Garay-Rondero - published on 14 August 2025

Article by Seyed Behbood Issa-Zadeh & Claudia Lizette Garay-Rondero

1

Article Book “Remote Pilotage” by Antti Rinkinen

published on 7 January 2022

Finland's first remote pilotage of a cargo ship will take place at the beginning of 2022. The first remote pilotage permits may be issued in 2025.

0

Video Perfect Simulation: Ever Given Accident in 2D plus 3D

published on 21 April 2021

On the 23rd of March 2021 the VLCC Ever Given grounded in the Suez Canal. A strong southerly wind (between 6 and 7 BFT) plus so-called bank shear caused steering issues. This a combined 2D and 3D reconstruction of the incident based on recorded AIS data.

1

Article 2 MOL-operated Vessels Earn 2021 'Best Quality Ship Awards'

published on 4 July 2022

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) today announced that the Japan Federation of Pilots' Association (JFPA) (Note 1) has presented its Best Quality Ship Award for fiscal year (FY) 2021 to two MOL-operated vessels—the LNG carrier LNG SATURN and the bulk carrier TAIYO.

1