In Swedish2009
”Better control rooms must be pushed through with new rules”
Too much focus on technology and too little on the people who work with it. That is a general problem in control rooms, as shown by new research.
Ulf Milberg’s prize-winning trolley makes descaling easier
Thanks to the needle guns being fastened to a specially constructed trolley, able seamen on the Ortviken can now walk upright when they are at descaling surfaces. The simple but ingenious idea was hatched by able seaman Ulf Milberg and one of his colleagues last year.
Interesting observations after fire
To extinguish the fire the ship’s engineer was going to activate the local fire extinguishing system, which covered all engines. However, he was not able to do this before the control room was so filled with smoke that it had to be evacuated.
Poor lookout resulted in fines
A Swedish ferry ran aground some time ago while entering an area of skerries and the case has now been tried in court. A mate, who was occupied with duties other than navigation, was given a fine of about 20,000 SEK, while the lookout was fined about 10,000 SEK.
Devastating mix-up of controls
The inspector realised that something was wrong when the CO2 alarm sounded and was able to leave the machine room in time. The situation could have become fatal since CO2 will exclude oxygen and suffocation may result.
From Insjö
By using simple clicks it will be possible to see factors that affected a particular event and what consequences they had.
Eight months of paternal leave welded family together
After eight months of leave, father Fredrik and his son Axel have grown close and the family has become even more united. But combining a job at sea with the role of father to small children is no easy match.
Seamen’s wives icon status on Åland
– Seamen’s wives are credited with a number of characteristics and are identified through their husband’s profession in a way that no other women are. To a certain extent this picture is true, and the characteristics of seamen’s wives are often used to describe Åland women in general.
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Seamen’s priest: Families need to meet to support each other
The seamen’s priest in Göteborg wants to make the church into a natural meeting place for seamen’s families. He believes there is a need to meet and exchange experiences.
Christer Sjökvist: Safety officers can draw advantage from each other’s knowledge
The Grand Hotel is not that bad, but he enjoys being at sea most of all. Christer Sjökvist is the bartender on Silja Galaxy and right now he is involved in updating work after re-flagging to Swedish standards.
Criticism of survival suits’ fitting qualities
Poorly secured cargo, hard weather and lack of knowledge among officers sank the Swedish RORO ship Finnbirch, on which two seamen died, according to the report of the Swedish Accident Investigation Board. The survival suits used were also criticised.
Learning from mistakes – a high price for knowledge
After a long delay, the report of the Swedish Accident Investigation Commission on the Finnbirch disaster, in which two people died, was released at the beginning of December.
New authority to govern shipping
Increased distance to the industry and quality assured inspections. These are the changes that the Director General of the newly formed Swedish Transport Agency wants to achieve in the maritime department.
Fake hydrostatic release units
The Maritime Department is sending out a warning for these counterfeits and encourages anybody in doubt to contact CM Hammar to verify the serial number and production date.
Pilot injured while boarding tugboat
A pilot was about to board a tugboat in the evening, but due to high winds and seas it was decided that the boarding should take place before the normal boarding position. On this occasion the usual pilot boat was not being used, which made conditions more difficult with poorer visibility from the bridge of the pilot boat.
Hawsers in propeller
During mooring work there were two tugboats giving help. The after boat was connected with a towing hawser which had a gantline in its end; it had been used to take onboard the tail rope on the ship’s poop deck. When the hawser was to be released, the gantline fell in the water and was sucked down and got tangled in the propeller.
Poor scuppers cause serious danger
On many ships with RORO decks there are above-deck valves known as scuppers for drainage. The aim is that any water flowing onto the deck, for example when extinguishing a fire, is able to drain off. Scuppers can be closed using maneuverable valves, but in the event that these are not closed in time there are also non-return valves to prevent water from entering from the outside.
