The Art of Dredging

Standing orders for calling the master are a compulsory in every wheelhouse. Those standing orders are written by the master and should be read (and signed) by the watchkeeping officers..

This one (hereunder) is partially based on the "Bridge procedures Guide", but contains some personal pet subjects, and it is written specifically for a trailer dredger.

Navigation- and control desk onboard TSHD "Brabo"

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The officer of the watch has been delegated responsibility by the captain.  

He shall call the captain immediately:

1. in case of doubt
2. in any kind of emergency: collision, grounding, flooding, major oil spill with the potential of threatening the environment, etc.. 
3. in case of grounding, even if not perceived as an emergency                     
4. on receiving a distress signal (of any kind) in the vicinity 
5. if restricted visibility (of any kind) is encountered or anticipated (default the limit of visibility for which to call the captain is 3 miles, unless otherwise stated in specific orders) 
6. if traffic or other ship's movements cause concern 
7. on breakdown of  one or more main engine(s),  
8. on any breakdown that may or might impair the manoeuvrability of the vessel, including all thrusters, rudders, steering, pitch control, indicators, ballasting, etc... 
9. on any breakdown degrading the operational abilities of the dredger, on which has not yet been taken proper action by the respective departments 
10. on breakdown or malfunctioning of navigation instruments, including GPS, radars, gyros, echo-sounders, GPS, ... 
11. on irregular or faulty signals in the survey system, breakdown of the whole  or  part of  the system, and on loss of redundancy 
12. breakdown or malfunctioning of communication equipment of any kind 
13. when expecting or encountering heavy weather 
14. on breakdown or malfunctioning of dredging equipment, causing delay or improper operations, this is including jet-pumps, all valves, STPM, DLM, main indicators, etc, etc, etc ... 
15. on sending false alarms on GMDSS 
16. when a ballast-tank cannot be completely emptied 
17. when a ballast-tank does not retain its contents of ballast-water 
18. on noticing unexpected large changes of draughts 
19. when soundings of tanks or void spaces show unexpected results, or results deviating from values displayed from automatic sounding sensors 
20. on finding or having been reported major leaks (water ingress, oil, fuel, hydraulic oil, chemicals, …) 
21. on observing angles of list larger than 4 degrees 
22. on observing signs of H²S gas during dredging 
23. if any vessel security concerns arise 
24. on faulty or unacceptable behavior of crew or visitors onboard 
25. when behavior of auxiliary boats (crew launches, tugboats, multicast, barges, etc…) causes concerns (lousy communications, dangerous maneuvers, etc…) 
26. when moored or anchored: when mooring or anchors are ineffective or concerns arise on them being ineffective. 
27. when the relieving watch is incapable to relieve,  
28. when doubts arise on the capabilities of the relieving watch 
29. when the relieving watch is absent from duty

Marc Van de Velde