Harbour masters in ‘the Chain’

In former days, a vessel used to stay longer in port, and there was more time after work to swap experiences. But not anymore. The turn-around time of vessels has decreased from weeks to hours, making it impossible to dine or drink together and exchange experiences and knowledge. In the past there were many people with a nautical background. Now fewer and fewer, on board as well as ashore. It is a well known fact that the number of people working in ports with a nautical background is decreasing rapidly. On top of that the vessel’s crew is no longer always familiar with the port or terminal due to a huge turnover of crew, a diminishing degree of experience in general and an increased spot market, resulting in calling at many different ports.

 Harbour masters came to believe that with better information, better communication and improved planning, the nautical chain can be seriously strengthened. The way to achieve this is by starting to create awareness. Awareness of the effects of individual operations on the nautical chain and awareness of the importance of sharing information and knowledge. Such awareness and best practices in the end will lead to a better knowledge of everyone’s day to day work when receiving a vessel in a port, to a better mutual understanding and a better understanding of the common interests in optimising the functioning of the maritime chain.

This is the subject of a 16 min leader film “the Chain”, produced by the European Harbour Masters’ Committee (EHMC). The leader connects to eight modules that each zoom into a specific part and occupational group in the nautical chain.

Harbour Masters’ module

Reducing emissions in ports by good voyage planning

One of these modules is the one of the Harbour Master, highlighting how a Harbour Master can contribute to CO2 reduction. For vessels to be able to reduce their CO2 emissions, they must be able to have good voyage planning. For this it is crucial to have available good and up-to-date port and terminal information, data that a Harbour Master can and must provide. Good voyage planning is also in the hands of terminal operators and shipping agents. They may not always be aware of the fact that a master can decide to reduce his sailing speed days before arriving at the port when he is informed that the berth will be occupied for another two days. Let’s take two Aframax tankers as an example, sailing from Gibraltar to Rotterdam, a distance of 1,348 nautical miles. The vessel that chooses to sail at a speed of 12 knots saves about 84 tons of fuel. The other vessel, heading to port at a speed of 15 knots, not knowing of the berth in availability and having to anchor at arrival, consumes this extra 84 tons of fuel, worth about $35,700.

So good preparation forms the basis for a safe and efficient voyage and the first part of this preparation, from the previous port to the pilot station, is the major factor in an economical voyage.

 But in addition faster docking reduces emissions. If a Port like Rotterdam would achieve a 30 mins faster docking per vessel, it would reduce CO2 emissions by 12,000 tons a year.

This time saving may not be as impossible as it sounds. But it requires good preparation of the second part of the voyage. The voyage between pilot station and quay, when the preparation of vessel and crew for docking is done, and a speedy start for loading and unloading is prepared. These preparations require information on tidal windows and on terminal information such as mooring plans, diameter and position of manifolds. But also a correct ETA from the master that makes planning of pilot, boatmen, tugs and terminal operations efficient. Then finally there is also much to be gained in terms of emissions when leaving port. With a still cold engine and turbines still having to get up to pressure, setting the telegraph to full speed ahead straight after departure is not only bad for the engine but also for the environment. And in any case, in the short distance from quay to pilot station only a few minutes can be gained at most, but the gain for the port environment is much greater.

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