Climate change brings a prognosis of more frequent and heavier storms, accompanied by high winds. This in combination with growing shipsizes, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges felt the necessity to be prepared by introducing a bi-lateral “Storm-Procedure” for its critical berths. This “Storm-Procedure” should ensure all relevant parties are alarmed and incentivized in taking necessary measures.
The procedure starts with an automated warning-message by a governmental forecast when forecasted wind conditions exceed predefined parameters with warnings issued up to 48 hours in advance. These warnings are send to the Port Authority and the Coordination Center where a human assessment will decide on the activation of the Storm-Procedure. Upon activation, a message is distributed to the shipping agencies, which are required to take the appropriate actions, such as arranging Shore Tension, based on the predicted windspeed, gusts, direction and size of the vessel.
Measures could include a combination of:
- Extra mooring lines
- Adjustment of mooring configuration with crossing lines to give a more breast-line focused configuration
- Stand-by tugboat if availability allows
- ShoreTension® on the breast lines (most preferred for larger vessels): ShoreTension® is a sustainable dynamic mooring system that can be deployed to reduce a vessel’s movements along its berth caused by swell, strong wind, current or passing vessels by up to 90%.
- Extra vigilance and stand-by on the right VHF-channel in order to call for swift assistance if necessary.
Where such adjustments are not feasible, the terminal shall indicate this, after which the associated risks will be jointly assessed and adjusted measured proposed. Notwithstanding these measures, the responsibility remains with the vessel’s master to ensure that the ship is properly moored at all times, and where Shore Tension is not available, appropriate alternative measures must be taken.