April 28, 2014

Dear Sir,

I feel that the public should not be misled by the comments made by the Captain of Powerful and the chief engineer for Marine and Ports.

Firstly, Lloyds is not the shipyard that carried out the repairs, Lloyds is the Classification society that surveys and sets standards of construction and maintenance of commercial vessels. Lloyds is considered one of the leaders in this field along with other classification societies such as Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, Germanischer Lloyds etc.

One of the main functions of a Classification society is to ensure vessels are constructed and maintained to certain standards of strength and safety. Maintaining vessels in their class of certification is usually a pre-requisite for the vessel to remain insured, especially if it is in commercial operation.

If Tug Powerful, slipped out of Class she would therefore risk being uninsurable which for a commercial tug is beyond consideration obviously.

Lloyds surveyors are renowned for being strict on maintaining a high standard of work and repairs whenever a ship is being surveyed. Failure to comply with Classification regulations is a serious issue and can be taken up with the head office in London if the owners consider that the surveyor allowed incorrect work.

While a vessel of the importance of Powerful is in Dry dock or in for repairs before being surveyed by Classification the shipyard would maintain a clear and open dialogue with the surveyor and the Owners representative and all works are closely followed particularly if structural repairs are necessary. (As in this case) Any additions to the vessels generator power load would be discussed between the surveyor, the owners representative, and for good measure the Captain and Chief engineer prior to any decisions or installations are made. Also while a vessel like this is in dry dock there should always be an overseeing person representing the owners in the capacity of superintendent. Most commercial vessels are operated by a management company who would ensure that an experienced person is at hand for the duration of the repairs, to ensure that all works are completed in agreement with the classification society and the owners requests.

In the way this has been described it seems there has been a total breakdown in the chain of command of the tug Powerful. I have no idea if the crew remained with the vessel and if the Captain and Chief Engineer were on site to oversee the repairs which is quite often the case with smaller commercial vessels. Alternatively crew return home as it is a time to take well earned shore leave, which is hardly the case at hand here.

The cost of the repairs is not usually the direct concern of the Captain unless acting as the owners representative, with the appropriate authority to request work to be completed by the ship yard.

This is usually the concern of the ship manager and/or superintendent.

Regards

Retired Master