Gard Heavy Weather Guidance

Loss Prevention Circular No.
14-08
Anchoring and deteriorating weather conditions
Introduction
Gard has recently seen several severe incidents where anchored
vessels have ended up dragging their anchors. The purpose of
this circular is to highlight some of the issues surrounding
anchoring operations in adverse weather conditions.
Experience from casualties

It is inevitable that vessels may be required to anchor off shore
at more exposed anchorages whilst waiting for a berth to
become available. The vessels may be at such an anchorage for
days or even weeks and will be exposed to wind and waves.
One of the most important factors identified during the analysis of the incidents is the importance of
making the appropriate decisions in time when the weather is deteriorating.
Seafarers are often taken by surprise by deteriorating weather and fail to prepare their vessel for
such a situation. Several important lessons can be learned from the two incidents described below.
Collision at anchorage
A bulk carrier (vessel Alpha) recently collided with another bulk carrier (vessel Bravo) while dragging
its anchor in strong winds. The two ships were anchored at an exposed off shore anchorage.
During the morning in question, a southerly weather front came through the anchorage – changing
the wind direction from off- to onshore. At 0900, the OOW on board vessel Alpha noticed that the
ship was dragging the anchor. The master was informed and he decided to weigh anchor and depart
the anchorage at 0913.
However, vessel Alpha’s crew encountered difficulties in weighing anchor. During the anchor retrieval
process the vessel drifted towards vessel Bravo, which was anchored to the north.
At 0935 vessel Alpha pitched heavily, resulting in the propeller coming clear of the water and the
main engine being shut down by the overspeed trip. Vessel Alpha’s main engine was restarted;
however, it was too late to avoid a collision and at 0939 the vessel collided with vessel Bravo. The
two ships moved apart and then made contact a second time before vessel Alpha finally made its
way clear of the other vessel.
The following causes contributed to this incident:

(1) The ships in the anchorage were anchored too close to each other.
(2) Vessel Alpha’s OOW did not use all available means while keeping anchor watch. This lead to
him failing to identify the change in the ship’s position until 40 minutes after the ship had begun
to drag its anchor. The decision to leave the anchorage therefore came too late.
(3) Vessel Alpha’s master did not increase the scope of cable laid out, either prior to or on the day of
the incident despite the weather reports and the changing weather conditions at the anchorage.
Grounding following dragging of anchor

A strong gale passed through an exposed anchorage in the southern hemisphere, producing 50 knot
south easterly winds and 7 metre waves. The gale created dangerous and difficult conditions at the
anchorage, particularly for lightly ballasted large bulk ships with limited manoeuvrability.
For more information please contact: Loss Prevention Manager Trygve C Nøkleby, email trygve.nokleby@gard.no,
The information is provided for general information purposes only. Whilst we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy and quality of the
information provided at the time of original publication, Gard AS can accept no responsibility in respect of any loss or damage of any kind
whatsoever which may arise from reliance on this information. www.gard.no
© Gard AS, September 2008 gardyourship

Loss Prevention Circular No. 14-08
The day before the incident occurred there were 56 ships at anchor waiting to enter the port. In
response to the forecast gale force winds two ships decided to depart the anchorage. Later that day
and during the night further ships put out to sea. By the next morning there were only 9 ships out of
the original 56 left at the anchorage. At least 3 ships experienced difficulties in manoeuvring or were
dragging their anchors during that morning.
One ship was driven ashore by the weather and grounded. Another had great difficulties
manoeuvring whilst only 0.7 nm away from the shoreline and nearly ran aground. A third ship was
unable to weight anchor and dragged towards the shoreline.
The investigation undertaken by The Maritime Authority of NSW found that the grounding of the bulk
carrier resulted from a series of erroneous judgements and decisions made by the master. The most
significant being:
(1) the master’s failure to realise the potential impact of the weather forecast for the anchorage for
that particular day;
(2) an initial decision to ride out the gale force winds at anchor; and
(3) a decision not to ballast the ship for heavy weather.
Recommendations and Lessons Learned

A good anchor watch should always be maintained and main engines should always be available for
use when at exposed anchorages. Weather conditions may deteriorate at short notice.
The following are important factors when at anchor:

• Regular position checks using all available means including visual aids, GPS, ECDIS and
radar
• The time available to react based on the limitations of the anchorage and nearby hazards
• The weather forecast
• Communication watch and registration of information received from shore
• The level of experience of the bridge team
• The load limitations of the anchoring equipment
In the event that rapidly deteriorating weather is forecast, the Master must make timely decisions
whether to:
• take on heavy weather ballast before conditions deteriorate
• deploy an extra anchor
• pay out more anchor cable
• weigh anchor and depart the anchorage
• slip the anchor cable if necessary
• call for tug assistance
• monitor the situation and let the vessel drag in a controlled manner through the anchorage.
Recent incidents indicate that deteriorating weather conditions are an increasing challenge to the
crew. Gard would like to emphasise the importance of detailed planning and risk assessment of the
operation when vessels are anchoring. Knowledge of the ship’s manoeuvring characteristics and the
particulars of the anchorage are very important. It is also important to continuously evaluate the
changes in the situation and if necessary to change the initial plan.
For more information please contact: Loss Prevention Manager Trygve C Nøkleby, email trygve.nokleby@gard.no,
The information is provided for general information purposes only. Whilst we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy and quality of the
information provided at the time of original publication, Gard AS can accept no responsibility in respect of any loss or damage of any kind
whatsoever which may arise from reliance on this information. www.gard.no
© Gard AS, September 2008 gardyourship

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Loss Prevention Circular No.

Anchoring and deteriorating weather conditions

Experience from casualties

The following causes contributed to this incident:

Grounding following dragging of anchor

© Gard AS, September 2008 gardyourship

Recommendations and Lessons Learned

The following are important factors when at anchor:

© Gard AS, September 2008 gardyourship

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