Standby Vessels - Masters Pocket Book Series

SKU:
BP100627
£15.00
(1 review)
Number of Pages:
100
Published Date:
April 2009
Book Height:
180 mm
Book Width:
120 mm
Weight:
0.2 kg
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This book examines the operations of standby vessels covering the older, newer and converted types.

There are approximately 130 SBVs employed in the North Sea Sector. This book is a comprehensive guide to those ships, looking at the ships themselves, the crew on board and the work carried out by SBVs. It covers:

  • Equipment on board
  • crew responsibilities
  • onboard training and exercises
  • baseline standards
  • launch and recovery
  • rescue operations (including MOB and helicopter ditching).

Acknowledgements


Author’s Introduction

The Requirement for Standby Vessels (SBVs)


1 The Ships

2 Responsibilities

3 The Crews

4 The Training

5 The Tasks

6 Baseline Standards

7 Operations

8 Ship Handling Practices

9 Additional Duties

10 Improvement

Summary

Glossary

Number of Pages:
100
ISBN:
9781905331390
Published Date:
April 2009
Binding Format:
Paperback
Book Height:
180 mm
Book Width:
120 mm
Weight:
0.2 kg
Author:

Michael Lloyd

Reviews

  • 5
    Standby Vessels

    (Posted on 01/04/2009) Cinderellas of the Industry? Standby Vessels could be called ‘The ships no one wants’, Captain Mike Lloyd argues in the introduction to his new title in the Masters Pocketbook Series. With the vessels ‘foisted upon a reluctant oil industry’, he indentifies a need to examine the reality of today’s operations – including the required capabilities of vessels, and the relationships between the various parties off-shore. Standby vessels: Operating Old, New and Converted therefore goes far beyond ‘what it says on the tin’ to include some pithy observations on an essential but often neglected sector of the shipping industry. Divided into sections such as ships, responsibilities, crew, training, tasks, standards, operations, ship handling practices and additional duties, this serves as a handy guide to all aspects of emergency rescue and response vessel work, and will be of interest to those already in the sector as well as prospective entrants. The book makes some insightful comments about many pressing issues, not least of which is the supply of suitably skilled seafarers for the sector. In the past, it notes there had been a steady supply of crews from the former fishing fleets, but that has now almost dried up and a number of short-term ‘quick fixes’ are being sought, most of which involve the use of foreign crews. Communities and teamwork are often the first consequent casualties of such an approach, it notes. Mike Lloyd concludes with a trenchant chapter of criticism and suggestions for improvement – questioning how much longer the use of converted supply ships can be tolerated and condemning the state of the equipment fitted too many vessels. Poor pay and conditions aggravate the problems, he argues with many ERRV crews suffering ‘Primitive’ onboard accommodation and a victualling allowance less than half that on the installations they guard. Little effort is made to retain or attract back experienced staff, whilst the increased recruitment of cheaper foreign crews is fuelling operational and communication difficulties and many masters and officers are facing unsustainable pressures of new responsibilities and new requirements. ‘There are so many existing problems that the industry cannot afford to continue to ignore them’, Capt Lloyds rallying call concludes. However, the answer, he suggests, relies upon willingness by the oil industry to pay the increased charter rates to cover the costs of building and operating new vessels and crewing them to the required standard.