Part B.

Mooring equipment design philosophy

Goal of this Chapter is to provide comprehensive details of the ship’s

original design philosophy and to show how the philosophy
demonstrates that the ship can be effectively and safely moored against
standard environment criteria.

The design philosophy is based on sound engineering principles and

many years of experience gained by mooring system owners, operators,
designers, fabricators, suppliers and certifiers. In no case any specific
recommendation, which is included into ship’s manuals that could not
be accomplished by presently available techniques, human resources
and equipment. Consideration is given in all cases to the safety of
personnel, compliance with existing regulations, and prevention of
pollution.

Mooring system designs vary considerably with regards to their

configurations, purpose and vessel size/type. Configuration decisions are
driven primarily by the need to meet functional requirements, project
schedule, and cost competitiveness against other viable configurations.
Risk to personnel, environment, and investment is a vital consideration
for all decisions.

It is well understood that different types of ships within Company Fleets

will have different mooring systems installed on board with regards to its
design, size, quantity of equipment, MBL, mooring lines types etc.
However it is necessary that only ship-specific data to be stored inside
Mooring System Management Plan in order to always have source of up-
to-date information and maintenance records for machinery and
associated gear installed on board of this specific vessel.
Mooring system user should always be aware of system design
philosophy and sure that these philosophy standards are met and
consistent safety level is applied on board.

Subchapter B1. Design considerations

Critical components should be designed under a weak link design

philosophy, such that a mooring line or bearing failure shall not
compromise the integrity of the equipment and moreover safety of
personnel involved.
The hull and deck structures should be designed for forces which occur
during all building project phases including construction, transportation,
installation and de-commissioning phases.
The initial structural design should consider the possibility of accidental
events including collision, fire, explosion, and flooding. Damaged
conditions shall include consideration of reduced structural capacity of
deck plate deteriorating with the age of the vessel and higher equipment
material fatigue.

Safety considerations play major role in design of the mooring systems

worldwide.
Ship personnel should always feel safe during mooring operations based
on mooring system design and risk analysis carried out for specific vessel
equipment and operations.
Deck plate structure should be designed as strong enough to withstand
forces occurring during mooring operations in line with SWL of the
mooring equipment such as bitts, chocks and rollers etc.
Mooring system design should allow visual inspection of major elements
of the system (such as bearings, brake lining, 4-way valves, gears etc.) in
order to timely find, investigate and fix any possible issues, which can
lead either to equipment breakdown or, what is worse, to personnel
injuries.
Proper consideration should be given to the vibration of the ship’s hull
and forces acting on it during ship movement in bad weather
(reinforcing brackets installation during yard stage in order to avoid
excessive fatigue of deck supporting structure).

Wastage of steel due to corrosion is a major consideration for structures

operating in the marine environment, and requires special consideration
for existing structures to withstand long-term sea water counteraction
and to ensure long trouble-free service. The suitability of the existing
steel to meet the requirements of the intended service at a specific
location should be taken into consideration.
Potential for corrosion wastage depends on the fluid (i.e. sea water,
cargo oil, chemicals etc.) steel is exposed to, the type of corrosion
protection system used (paint coating) and its associated maintenance.

Specific structure areas that are to be considered for corrosion

protection are:

 Outer surface of mooring equipment (drums, motors, deck supports

etc.)
 Inner parts (shafts, gears, bearings, etc.)
 Mooring wires used in conjunction with existing mooring system
(ship-specific)

Paint used on board of Company vessels is supplied by Chugoku and

provides proper protection against sea water and any other fluids
provided proper maintenance carried out on board of the vessel in line
with Planned Maintenance System and common sound visual
inspections of all parts of Mooring System.
Regular greasing of inner gear and mooring wires (ship-specific) will
definitely extend service term of the equipment.

Design criteria are closely related to the nature and frequency of the
operations and the type to which the ship belongs. The designer should
note that local regulatory requirements may exceed those specified in
initial calculations, therefore due consideration should be given by
personnel in order not to damage any elements of mooring system
(chocks, bitts, rollers, etc.).
For a mooring operation with a system, which is restricted for proper
use by any terminal because of its design, special attention should be
given to frequent inspection of mooring system and associated mooring
lines in use.

The extreme environmental condition is the maximum environment in

which the vessel remains moored (with due regard of disconnection
operation requirements).
However, the mooring system should be able to withstand the maximum
design environment specified for permanent moorings (as given in the
operation manual).

Further guidance on design considerations and philosophy can be

obtained in MEG4 (Mooring Equipment Guidelines 4th edition)
subchapter 1.4.

Manual extracts (diagrams, showing design of the system and

appropriate considerations with regards to existing system, any
environmental criteria laid down as restrictions for existing mooring
systems) should be placed attached with this subchapter in order to give
quick reference to mooring system design philosophy.
Subchapter B2. Mooring force calculations

Mooring is the securing of the vessel to a marine facility, terminal, berth

or another ship using mooring lines. Ships may be engaged in a broader
range of mooring operations when undertaking emergency towing, tug
handling, barge mooring, canal transit, STS mooring etc., some of which
may require specialized fittings or equipment on board.

The objective of this subchapter is to provide guidance to the personnel

on assessing the mooring constrains required to control ship motions,
taking into account:

 The environmental forces that a ship may be exposed to at a berth

 The calculation of consequent ship motions and restraint
requirements
 The calculation of ship design MBL
 The calculations of forces on a jetty

This subchapter provides information on calculating the number and

strength of mooring lines required to secure a ship at the berth using a
set of standard environmental conditions to provide the reference
mooring loads.
The calculation of this ship-specific mooring line strength value (known
as the ship design MBL) is the fundamental factor used to ensure that all
other parts of the mooring system are correctly specified.

Ships are designed for world-wide trading and must be able to cope up
with mooring in a wide range of environmental conditions.
Standard environmental condition has been developed by OCIMF as to
assist personnel to understand limitations of the installed mooring
systems.
This condition is designated for all ships with DWT of more than 16.000
(basically all Company vessels do have DWT>16000) intended for
worldwide trading.

The mooring restraint available on board of above-mentioned ships as

fixed equipment should be sufficient to satisfy the following conditions:

60 knots wind from any direction simultaneously with:

3 knots current at 0 or 180 degrees, or
2 knots current at 10 or 170 degrees, or
0.75 knots current from the direction of maximum beam loading

For oil tankers, water depth to draught ratios (Wd/T) for these conditions
is to be taken as 1.05 when loaded and 3.0 when in ballast.
For gas tankers above 150 m in length the Wd/T should be taken as 1.05
for all conditions (both loaded and in ballast), since draught of these
ships changes little during normal cargo operations.

Environmental conditions that are greater than the standard

environmental condition criteria will need to be managed operationally.

The use of an effective mooring system is essential for the safety of the
ship, its crew, the terminal and the environment.
The most important principle of mooring is that no mooring system or
arrangement has an unlimited capability, therefore it will be necessary
to understand precisely what the mooring system of the ship is expected
to encounter and then design philosophy used during construction
stage.

In order to know how to optimize the moorings on board so they can

resist the various forces, which will act upon the ship (which will impact
the effectiveness of the mooring system on board), we need to know
calculation methods of mooring forces acting to the vessel while she is
moored.

The moorings of the ship must be able to resist the forces due to some,
or possibly all, of the following factors:

 Wind
 Current
 Tides
 Interaction from other ships
 Waves/swell
 Ice movement
 Changes in draft, trim or list of the ship

Once the design process is completed, mooring forces should be

calculated for each ship in order to understand limitations for the ship’s
mooring system (if any).

It is however recommended that after each mooring operation Chief

Officer uses guidance from MEG4 publication in order to assess mooring
forces acting on the ship.
Mooring forces calculation along with mooring pattern diagram should
be attached to this subchapter whenever they are calculated for mooring
operation.

Chief Officer should copy and attach to this subchapter ship-specific part
of MEG4 Appendix A for easy assessment of standard environmental
conditions at any standard mooring pattern.

Further guidance on mooring forces acting on the ship and its maximum
recommended values can be obtained in MEG4 (Mooring Equipment
Guidelines 4th edition) chapter 3.3 and Appendix A.
Subchapter B3. Mooring restraint calculations

Once the environmental forces acting on the ship are known, the
strength and number of mooring lines required to balance them, can be
calculated.
To calculate mooring restraint, the following must be used:

 The three-dimensional coordinates of all ship and terminal mooring

points (known or assumed).
 The stiffness of mooring lines and compression of the fenders in use.
When calculating mooring line stiffness, the full length of the line
from winch to the shore bollard should be used.

Stiffness of mooring line is a measure of its ability to stretch under load

applied. Stiffness plays an important role in the mooring system.
Low stiffness lines (such as polypropylene lines) can absorb higher
dynamic loads, but same time will elongate thus posing additional
danger for mooring arms connections.
Basic idea is that lines of similar stiffness and MBL should be used on
board of a ship in order to reduce operational hazards.
Mixed mooring scenarios/patterns or different length line mooring
should be avoided as to ensure vessel is always safely moored to the
terminal or other vessel.

Wire mooring lines are very stiff. Typical elongation of a wire line under
load is just 1% of wire length. Under equivalent load, a polypropylene
line will stretch around 10% of its length, therefore when wire takes all
load of the system, synthetic line carries practically none.
Therefore bigger vessels are using mooring wires in conjunction with
synthetic tails as to remove larger loads from the wire and to ensure line
strength and to extend its service life.
Computer simulations/calculations are the most effective way to test the
mooring system of an existing or planned ship at a terminal known to
have unusual environmental conditions or mooring layout.

Restraint value should be divided by number of mooring lines planned

for installation in order to get Ship design MBL value (in case when all
mooring lines will be similar).

In case of new vessels delivered after MEG4 came in force, these

restraint calculations will be part of Winch manual in order for the
Operator to be able to choose proper strength and number of mooring
lines for the vessel.

In case of existing vessels as mooring system BHC and fittings SWL are
already included into various manuals on board, OCIMF
recommendation is to set mooring winch BHC rendering point as 60% of
ship design MBL.

As an example for new-building Chemical Tankers, if mooring winch

design BHC from manual is 30.6 MT, therefore mooring ropes in use
should be with LDBF of at least 38.25 MT, however it should not exceed
40.2 MT (100 to 105% of Ship Design MBL).
Therefore Operator should take in account below when ordering
mooring lines for new-building ships in order to meet standard
environmental criteria.

Ship design MBL = Winch design BHC * 100% / 80% = 1.25 * Winch
design BHC
Ship design MBL = Mooring restraint / quantity of similar mooring lines
LDBF of the mooring lines = 100-105% of Ship design MBL
Further guidance on mooring forces acting on the ship and its maximum
recommended values can be obtained in MEG4 (Mooring Equipment
Guidelines 4th edition) chapters 1.5, 3.4.1 and table 9.1 (on page 205).

Subchapter B4. Design loads, safety factors and strength

In addition to the maximum design loads, that mooring system is

capable to withstand, the user must define the mooring station
performance requirements for the maximum threshold and normal
conditions. The following types of environmental events need to be
defined depending on meteorological or interaction conditions:

 Vessels passing in the vicinity

 Snowfalls and thunder storms passing in the vicinity
 Currents affecting terminal
 Ice accumulation
 Frequency data of wave height/wave period and wind for
assessment.

It is important to note that the mooring system response could be

sensitive to a number of environmental parameters, such as:

 Weather directional pattern

 Current profile
 Range of wave periods to be associated with the design wave heights
 Wind spectrum

In calculating accumulated damage or remaining fatigue life, the original

safety factors for fatigue life may be reduced provided that the technical
justifications submitted by the Maker, reflect a reduction of the
uncertainty in the original design, and are subject to the following
conditions:

 No past findings
 Corrosion rate to be within the original design assumption (for
mooring wires)
 Reliable history within the Company or Maker

Following formulas should be used on board for proper planning during

safety factors and line/equipment strength assessment:

Ship design MBL = Winch design BHC * 100% / 80% = 1.25 * Winch
design BHC
LDBF of the mooring lines = 100-105% of Ship design MBL
Brake design load = 80% of Ship design MBL
Brake holding load = 60% of Ship design MBL
Winch pull = 22-33% of Ship design MBL
Drum diameter ≥ 16 x line diameter
Width of tension part ≥ 10 x line diameter
Strength of a mooring line is expressed as LDBF (Line Design Break Force)
and should be taken in account during mooring line selection in order to
comply with SWL of mooring fittings installed on board of the ship.

Strength of shipboard fittings and mooring lines should be enough as to

withstand standard environmental criteria and should be at least
complying with below ratio:

SWL of ship fittings ≥ Ship design MBL

It is well accepted that existing ships may have deck mooring fittings
SWL less than newly ascertained Ship Design MBL value, therefore
proper consideration should be given during mooring operations in
order to use proper fittings in line with reduced tug pulling forces
applied to the vessel.
The design load for the mooring equipment and the supporting structure
is dependent on the breaking strength of the strongest line to be
attached to it (ship design MBL) in addition to the predicted loads from
the mooring arrangements.

Safety factors, which should be taken into account during the selection
stage, are:

 Line strength
 Bend fatigue
 Line linear density
 Line tenacity
 Line stiffness
 Corrosion history
 Ambient temperature
 Cut and abrasion resistance
 Chemical exposure
 UV degradation
 Safety of personnel

More guidance regarding safety factors and strength of mooring lines

and mooring system elements you can find in MEG4 subchapter 5.6.

Ship-specific extracts from manuals or publications should be attached to

this subchapter in order to easily find all required guidance in one Plan.
Subchapter B5. Assumptions on the standard mooring

pattern

The use of efficient and reliable mooring pattern is an edge stone in

successful mooring operation and further ship movement restriction.
The generic mooring pattern is mainly applicable to a multi-directional
environment and to the design of ship’s mooring system.
Various designs of mooring systems are being installed on board of the
ships; however basic mooring pattern, which is used by majority of
terminals in the world, is given below.

Standard mooring pattern will be using headlines, spring lines and stern
lines in order to make fast the vessel to the terminal/berth.
Usually mooring pattern using 3 or 4 headlines, 2 spring lines, 2 breast
lines and 3-4 stern lines will be sufficient as to safely keep the ship
alongside for the whole duration of loading or discharging operations.
Consideration should always be given to the provision of the additional
or higher capacity mooring lines or equipment.
However in case of smaller ships like Company Chemical Tankers Fleet
ship’s design allows only forward and aft mooring lines usage pattern,
excluding spring and breast winch arrangement usage.

To maximize the load capacity of the mooring lines and to minimize the
amount of mooring line tending, which is required to accommodate tide
and draft changes, the following should be considered:

 The vertical angle of a mooring line should be kept below 25 degrees

from the horizontal plane where it is possible.
 Long lines lead to decreased stiffness, which may be dangerous in
keeping the ship’s manifold within the safe working envelope of the
loading arms or hoses.
 Breast line mooring structures should be set back at the sufficient
distance from the fender line in order to limit vertical angle of the
mooring lines at all tide and ship’s draft conditions.
 Spring line mooring structures should be set back at the sufficient
distance from the fender line in order to limit vertical angle of the
mooring lines at all tide and ship’s draft conditions.

Mooring lines should never cross each other as it will reduce its holding
power (personnel will not be able to tighten them properly).
Additionally spare soft mooring ropes should be prepared for both
forecastle and poop deck mooring stations in order to cover any
unpredicted ship winch or shore dolphin/hook malfunctions (falling out
of service).
This practice will help in securing vessel alongside in above mentioned
cases.

The most efficient line lead for resisting any given environmental load is
a line orientated in the same direction of the load.
Personnel on board of the ship should fully understand the basic
difference between spring and breast mooring lines:
 Spring lines restrain the ship in two directions (forward and aft).
They should be orientated as parallel as possible to the longitudinal
centreline of the ship.
 Breast lines are deployed as perpendicular as possible to the ship
longitudinal centreline and restrain against transverse motion away
from the berth.

This subchapter of the Mooring System Management Plan should

contain attached standard mooring patterns used on board of the vessel
for last few years and additional line distribution diagram in order to
ensure that ship is safely moored even in case of unpredicted events
happening.

Subchapter B6. Initial mooring line selection criteria

The decision on the optimum mooring line should be made at the ship
design stage following mooring analysis and discussions between the
shipyard and operators. The type of mooring lines chosen for the ship
can directly influence the design and specifications of other mooring
system elements and vice-versa.
It is recommended that line selection is integrated into the mooring
equipment specification process at the design stage in order to make
sure that the chosen mooring lines and equipment are fully compatible.

Synthetic mooring materials are usually deployed for smaller ship

mooring systems and pose additional design challenges. The increased
elasticity of the synthetic moorings can potentially introduce new
dynamic behaviour, which is not normally encountered in the traditional
steel moorings.
Stiffness of synthetic mooring lines (except for HMSF lines) is low or very
low, thus ensuring relatively safe and easy mooring operations, however
due to increased elongation endangering arm or hose connection in case
of tankers.

In case of steel mooring wires key factors influencing its performance

are strength, bend fatigue, tensile fatigue, corrosion and abrasion, and
finally temperature.

Nowadays majority of bigger ships Operators would prefer usage of

mooring wires in conjunction with nylon (polyamide) tails in order to
balance higher tensile strength with line stiffness.

Company ships are utilizing either mooring wires/tails or synthetic ropes

on board mostly depending on ship size/type and trading pattern.

All mooring lines for Company ships should be purchased in line with
MEG4 Appendix B recommendations.
Line selection process is well described in Figures 5.6 and 5.7 of MEG4
publication.

Subchapter B7. Mooring line service life expectations

Deciding when to safely retire the mooring lines (wires or synthetic

ropes) depends on on-going line inspection and analysis. The aim is to
minimize the risk of any mooring line failing during the service.
Line condition and the nature of the mooring line wear need to be
understood before retirement and discard policies can be created.

This can be achieved through various means:

 Guidance from manufacturers
 References from other operating companies on similar trades
 Data from similar fleets
 Historical data related to that type of mooring line

Proper usage of mooring lines will reduce its unnecessary degradation

and ensure that all mooring lines are operated within their safety
margins over their service life.
If frequent inspections of all mooring lines were carried out as and when
required by PMS (Planned Maintenance System) schedule, all
precautions were taken as to protect the lines from corrosion, UV
degradation, interaction with sea water etc., then expected mooring line
service life can be extended and accordingly lines can be further used
until their residual strength reaches approximately 75% of ship design
MBL (as recommended by OCIMF MEG4).

Mooring wires should be inspected in accordance with PMS schedule on

board and wires to be replaced/discarded in case when:

Inspection criteria Discard criteria

Discard if over 4 in
Number in length of
Visible wire breaks length 6d or 8 over
6d or 30d
30d

Wire breaks at Evidence of broken Remake termination

termination wires or discard rope

Fracture of strand Strand fracture Discard if present

Reduction of rope Discard if diameter

Percentage reduction
diameter decreased by 10%

Abrasion of outer Degree of

Discard if over 7%
wires deterioration (%)

Lantern damage Evidence of lantern Discard if lantern

 damage, which
damage cannot be repaired is
present

Further guidance for inspection and retirement of steel mooring wires is

given in Company QMS Safety Manual Chapter 10.21 and OTOM Chapter
15.2.1.

Our Company has also necessary guidance for synthetic mooring ropes
inspection and retirement in QMS Safety Manual Chapter 10.

Predictive fatigue models for both steel wires and synthetic ropes are
not able to account for the complex and varied conditions, which are
experienced by majority of mooring lines during their service life.
Line manufacturers should be consulted in order to provide on board the
ship updated data in order to predict service life of the mooring lines
and to know when to retire them.

It is recommended that Operators actively build up strength degradation

data, by consulting with line manufacturers or other 3rd parties in order
to establish condition-based monitoring to access line condition.

Designated Persons on board of Company ships (Chief Officers) should

request for required guidance or data from mooring line manufacturer
through Company as to estimate approximate service life of mooring
lines on board based by their visual condition and expected fatigue in
accordance with its working hour’s record/log.
This data should be attached to this subchapter as to provide necessary
guidance for any new joiner, who likes to introduce himself with Mooring
System Management Plan on board.
Subchapter B8. Alternate mooring patterns

Alternate mooring patterns which can be used on board of the ship,

should always be consulted in case terminal cannot present optimal
mooring pattern in use on board due to either out-of-order equipment
ashore (alike mooring hooks, dolphins out of service) or unsuitable
location of shore/terminal mooring equipment (alike breast lines are not
in optimal perpendicular to the vessel; spring dolphins are too close to
fairleads, so cannot propose sufficient holding power etc.).

Terminals should be consulted in advance in order to pre-plan such

alternate mooring patterns in case of non-optimal berth or
malfunctioned ship or shore equipment.

Alternate mooring patterns may be as follows (not exhaustive list):

 Using not designated mooring lines through different

fairleads/chocks
 Using sea side mooring lines in case of lay-by mooring
 Using spare loose ropes instead of drum stored mooring lines
 Using same fairlead for ship borne and shore mooring lines

An example of non-standard mooring pattern is Singapore, where you

can frequently use breast mooring lines as springs due to local berth
configuration and unavailability of spring dolphins far enough away from
fairleads as to make fast the vessel efficiently.

Few alternate mooring patterns should be proposed on board, drawn

using either Excel or other application and attached herewith.
You can of course use ship-specific forms in order to provide full
information for alternative mooring pattern, which can be used on board
of your ship.

Subchapter B9. Limitations and exclusions for mooring

philosophy

Any mooring equipment philosophy will have few exceptions, frequently

because of financial restrictions applied or design mistakes such as:

 Reduction of quantity of mooring equipment (less winches were

installed, alike centre line winch design philosophy, which eventually
makes it harder for personnel to make fast the ship).
 Less tensile material used for construction of mooring fairleads or
bitts (which means that they will not be able to withstand original
strength after certain amount of time due to material fatigue).
 Improper positioning of the mooring equipment (restricted view for
winch operator, which may eventually lead to human error). Also it
can be mooring arrangement that does not provide direct lead or
direct line of sight between the winch and ship’s side fairlead.
 Limited level of lighting, which will preclude efficient and safe
mooring during darkness.
Above examples should always be taken into account by
Owners/Operators in order to balance financial gap and successful and
trouble-free ship’s design.

Few things, which should be considered for successful design of mooring

equipment layout and safety of involved personnel, are:

 The need for sufficient deck space and equipment to enable effective
oversight and supervision of operations, adequate lighting and
avoidance of impairments, which reduce communications capability,
such as from machinery noise.
 The number, location and size of deck winches, mooring lines,
bollards and fairleads to provide an effective, balanced mooring
pattern on board.
 Industry requirements including applicable IMO regulations,
recognised industry standards (i.e. IACS, ISO) and associated industry
guidance and recommendations as they apply to mooring
equipment.
 The application of human factors in the design to ensure
crewmembers are not exposed to avoidable risks during mooring
operations.
 Part C. Detailed list of mooring equipment

Goal of this chapter is to provide detailed information on all of the ship’s

mooring equipment and its elements.
All attached documents should contain information that details the ship-
specific mooring capabilities and limitations for the following equipment
as described in the subchapters of this part.
All information should be well arranged in order to provide easy
reference to ship’s mooring system elements, its description and
records.
Subchapter C1. Permanent fittings / ship-specific part

This subchapter should include detailed and ship-specific information

about following equipment – permanent fittings:

 Mooring fittings
 Rollers
 Fairleads
 Bitts etc.
Subchapter C2. Permanent machinery installations /

ship-specific part

This subchapter should include detailed and ship-specific information

about following equipment – permanent machinery installations:

 Winch motors
 Drives
 Hydraulic piping
 Hydraulic system diagram etc.
Subchapter C3. Loose equipment / ship-specific part

This subchapter should include detailed and ship-specific information

about following equipment – loose equipment:

 Mooring lines
 Mooring tails (if in use on board)
 Pennants
 Joining shackles
 Messenger lines
 Loose ropes
 Heaving lines etc.
Subchapter C4. Critical and specialist equipment / ship-

specific part

This subchapter should include detailed and ship-specific information

about following equipment – critical and specialist equipment:

 Winch brake testing kit (including tools to undertake repairs of the

kit)
 Spare brake linings (with full details of bolts/nuts to be ordered for
replacement)
 Any other mooring system spare parts available on board etc.
Subchapter C5. Performance standards/requirements

Information regarding performance standards of all above equipment

should be provided within this Subchapter.
Extracts from ship-specific manuals, Maker recommendations or
certificates, guidance notes for ship equipment will suffice in order to
cover this part of Mooring System Management Plan (MSMP).
Such equipment will include all ship-specific machinery and
fittings/installations, as described in Subchapters C1 to C4.
It is well understood that existing ships will not be able to provide all
necessary information required by this Subchapter (it is also noted in
MEG4), however new vessels, built after MEG4 entry in force, should be
able to do it.
Subchapter C6. Details of ship structure / deck

strengthening / ship-specific part

0This subchapter should include detailed and ship-specific information

about following areas – ship structure and under deck strengthening:

 Drawings covering under mooring equipment deck part

 Any strengthening of under-deck areas (e.g. installation of 250 T
(SWL) chain stoppers for few tankers) and supporting Class
documentation
 Any other relevant drawings available on board etc.
Subchapter C7. Location of all permanent/fixed

equipment / ship-specific part

Mooring arrangement plan, clearly showing all above equipment and

areas, should be attached herewith.
Usually each vessel has few copies of general arrangement plan, so it
can be used to cover all below requirements.
This subchapter should additionally indicate the following (on the GA
plan):

 Location of all permanent/fixed equipment on board (this should as

minimum include winches and their direct leads and any alternative
arrangements).
 Location of hazardous mooring zones including higher risk areas,
protective locations, details of snap-back zones, optimal viewing and
 sight lines for supervisors and other human element considerations
(as described in MEG4 Section 2).
 Marking of the plan with basic functional information such as ship
design MBL, winch brake holding capacity, mooring line WLL/LDBF,
SWL of mooring bitts, minimum yield load for bow mooring
equipment, location of extra strength bitts for tugs and towing (if
applicable), etc.
 History of any changes of mooring equipment in the past
 Part D. Inspection, maintenance and retirement

strategies/principles

Goal of this chapter is to provide detailed information on the

requirements for inspecting and maintaining all loose and permanent
mooring equipment, as well as the management strategies to test, retire
and replace equipment and interface with the Manufacturer.
Information should be as much as possible ship-specific in order to cover
all elements of mooring system, used or deployed by the ship to achieve
safe mooring.

Each type of mooring line being used on board will need different
maintenance and inspection processes in line with Company procedures
set out in QMS Safety Manual, however common retirement criteria for
operated ships is set in Safety Manual Chapter 10.19 (Synthetic fibre
ropes) and Chapter 10.21 (Mooring wires). Retirement criteria for
mooring tails are similar to that used for synthetic mooring ropes and
also provided in Safety Manual Chapter 10.20.

Mooring winches and associated gear maintenance and inspection

guidance is given in QMS Safety Manual Chapter 10.23 and should be in
line with PMS (Planned Maintenance System) schedule.
General inspection and retirement criteria for mooring wires are always
Company-specific, however it is in line with ISO 4309 (Wire ropes – Care
and maintenance).
Similarly general inspection and retirement criteria for fibre ropes are
provided in CI-2001 (Fibre rope Inspection and retirement Criteria).

Deciding when to safely retire the mooring lines (wires or synthetic

ropes) depends on on-going analysis. The aim is to minimize the risk of
any mooring line failing during the service.
Additional information may be required to the Operator in case new
type of mooring line is introduced within the Fleet (e.g. with better
abrasion/cut resistance or with better tensile strength).

This information can be received through various sources:

 Guidance from manufacturers

 References from other operating Companies on similar trades
 Data from other Company fleets
 Historical data related to that type of mooring line

Proper usage of mooring lines will reduce its unnecessary degradation

and ensure that all mooring lines are operated within their safety
margins over their service life.
If frequent inspections and maintenance of all mooring lines were
carried out as and when required by PMS (Planned Maintenance
System) schedule, all precautions were taken as to protect the lines from
corrosion, UV degradation, interaction with sea water etc. (for instance
usage of canvass cover on the winches), then expected mooring line
service life can be extended and accordingly lines may be further used.

All Company ships are expected to comply with Procedures

with regards to mooring line (ropes, wires and tails) regular

inspections, evaluation of lines condition and further

retirement in case any of the lines reached unsafe residual

condition or whenever deemed necessary in order to avoid

any additional risk during mooring operations.

All vessels should use J-Zors specific form QT-04 in order to fill ship-
specific information, detailing mooring lines condition and status every 3
months (March, June, September and December).
Guidance of how to fill this form is given in QMS Chapter 10.19.3 (for
fibre ropes).
In case vessel uses mooring wires in conjunction with synthetic tails,
please follow similar guidance as to estimate wire rope condition.

Subchapter D1. Detailed list of mandatory and

recommended surveys

Ship-specific information for mandatory and recommended surveys

should be attached in this subchapter in the form of:
 Line Manufacturer guidance notes
 Winch Manufacturer guidance notes
 Class rules and Class Quarterly Listing report, detailing necessary
survey schedule
 Manual extracts
 Industry guidelines (CI-2001 and ISO 4309)

Subchapter D2. Inspections and planned maintenance

schedules
Each mooring operation provides an opportunity for spot inspections of
mooring lines and equipment.
As defined in Key Responsibilities Chief Officer would require support
for spot on-site inspections of Mooring System prior/after mooring
operations in order to timely estimate its condition and to plan for
necessary maintenance or replacement.

The frequency of each type of inspection will be defined in Line

Management Plan (LMP) and are based on mooring frequency, severity
of load conditions and consistency of line configuration as per presently
used mooring pattern.

1. Mooring lines inspection.

Following types of line inspections can be performed on board:

 Deployment Inspection
 Periodic Inspection

Periodic inspection means thorough inspection of the mooring line

including all connections and until the anchored end of the mooring
lines, in line with Manufacturer’s recommendations and QMS guidelines.
This is a visual inspection, done externally and internally (where it is
possible). This type of inspection may result in end-to-end turning or
repair requirements.
Frequency of the inspection is Quarterly, and their condition report is
submitted in the QT-04 module (J-ZORS).

The QT-04 report is scheduled to be submitted in March, June,

September and December of each year. For vessels equipped with wires,
two separate reports are required to be submitted – 1 for synthetic
mooring ropes and 1 for mooring wires and tails. An additional report is
to be submitted in case any mooring line(s) are renewed/replaced.
In addition to the inspection regimes of the Periodic inspection, the
mooring lines required to be turned end-to-end not exceeding the
following periods:

 Frequency of end-to-ending of mooring ropes – 6 Months.

 Frequency of end-to-ending of mooring wires – 30 Months.

Deployment inspection means inspection of in-service length of the

mooring line for any defects, which may impair the performance of the
line. This is typically completed by mooring party during preparations of
lines prior to conducting mooring operations. Results of this inspection
may lead to line retirement (if its condition previously was under
question), or decision not to use particular line during next mooring
operations (in case repairs are required).

Only qualified and experienced person, taking the appropriate safety

precautions and wearing the appropriate PPE, should be responsible for
inspection of mooring lines in service.
Regular training on inspection standards and routines should be carried
out on board of a ship by Senior Deck Officer.

2. Mooring equipment inspection.

The Chief Engineer would be responsible for this section of the Mooring
system management plan. Following list details the items as a minimum
and should be checked by the Chief Engineer every voyage as guided by
QMS chapters Standing Instructions 19.44 and Safety manual chapter
10.23.

Mooring equipment should be inspected for the following:

 Wear and tear of winch gears and bearings

 Diminution of original steel thickness
 Any leaks from winch motors/drives
 Any cracks/through penetrations of mooring fittings
 Any sharp edges on fairlead inner surfaces
 Any abnormalities in their operation etc.

Further guidance for mooring winch inspection and maintenance is given

in MEG4 Chapter 6.4.

Ship-specific information for inspections and planned maintenance

schedules of all shipboard mooring system parts is included into PMS
(Planned Maintenance System), being part of ZORS ( On-board Reporting
System).
The frequency of line inspections will be clearly defined in Line
Management Plan (LMP) – Subchapter 4 in accordance with policies.