The maintenance of mooring equipment on ship
Mooring equipment on ship is arguably the most often used hardware. Whether you’re tying your boat down at the dock or putting it away for the night in its permanent spot, the equipment you use is very important and crucial to the stability and security of your boat.
Mooring accidents usually happen mainly due to the lack of concentration and factors that can be avoided. The crew must be familiar with safety precautions and have an in-depth understanding of deck machinery. So that they are able to avoid the accidents happening.
Mooring equipment is a set of accessories and mechanisms aboard a ship, used to warp and secure the ship when it is moored on a dock, lock wall, buoys, or another ship. Equipment includes mechanisms, such as winches and capstans that are used to take in and payout mooring lines, which are ropes or steel cables. It is also including bollards, anchors, fairleads…
Mooring equipment on ship maintenance
The correct operation of the mooring equipment on ship is indeed important for the overall safe operation of a vessel in port. Mooring, being such a critical operation. In order to be safe and avoid life threats, it’s necessary for ship personnel to maintain high standards of equipment integrity. It has the ship’s planned maintenance system.
1.Make checks prior to mooring, ensuring not any physical damages to the mooring mechanism. All control devices, connecting rods, and operating rods have been oiled, lubricated, and free/easy to use. Make sure that all the brake drums and brake linings are properly dried and free of salt deposits.
2.Frequent lubrication of moving parts – all rotating parts of mooring equipment, including rollers, fairleads, winch drums, deck supports, etc., must be moved and lubricated frequently…
3.Carry out regular visual inspections: ensure that synthetic mooring ropes, undulating ropes, slings, etc. are regularly inspected to see if there are any damages, scratches, kinks, and loose ends.
4.Smooth walkways: An important part of the mooring operation is to make the deck completely free of obstacles and oily residues. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the deck clean and dry and apply non-slip paint on the deck surface when necessary.
5.Maintenance of Steel Wire Mooring Ropes – It is essential to grease and lubricates the steel wire mooring ropes at regular intervals as rust will reduce the strength of the wire in a very short period of time
After the mooring process, it is still equally important to check the load on the mooring ropes and the rope conditions. No one of the mooring ropes exceeds 55% of its maximum breaking load (MBL) to prevent the rope from jamming and causing accidents. Changes in the ship’s ballast conditions require that the pipeline be tightened accordingly. These are just some of the factors to be considered during mooring operations. This process requires all relevant personnel to be very diligent, and the mooring equipment on ship must be efficient to prevent mooring accidents.