ANCHORING GUIDELINES — A RISK—BASED APPROACH

One of the most common and critical operations on any vessel is the anchoring. It is felt, however, that in some cases the designs of the anchoring arrangement that are currently in use, do not fully satisfy the demands of the modern shipping industry. When performing the identification of the challenged normally associated with the ship anchoring, it become clear that there is a need for the review of the current standards governing the construction of the windlasses, considering the fact that the ships tend to get anchored at the water depths well above their lifting capacities.

It is therefore very important to mitigate the safety risks involved, as well as to do the best for eliminating any possible risk to the human life and environment pollution. This document was released by the Intertanko with the intention to highlight the major concerns together with the recommendations including but not limited to the system designs which is considered the most vulnerable part.

The identification of the above stated challenges complements the available guidance with respect to the operation ad routine maintenance of the subject shipboard equipment. Through mainly targeted at operators, these guidelines will also be of practical use for all people engaged in the design, manufacturing, operation and technical maintenance of the shipboard anchoring systems.