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MASTER EXAM ORAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST QUESTIONS | Page 125
Q. 1241) C1 , c2 and c3 marking on stp ships ?
X
As per MS(Construction and Survey of Passenger Ships) Rules, 1981 rule 25, C1 is the principle subdivision load line and if the ship is provided with other load lines they shall be marked as c2, c3....and so on.
Q. 1242) Hvr does not apply to deck cargoes then how are timber cargoes carried ?
XWhere goods are, with the shipper’s agreement, stowed on deck, the carrier (or the master or agent on his behalf) should issue a bill of lading expressly recording the fact that the goods are carried on deck (e.g. by a “STOWED ON DECK” endorsement on the face of the bill) so that there is no doubt as to the special risks of the carriage. Any innocent transferee or endorsee of the bill of lading acting in good faith (e.g. a bank or third party buyer) will then know the risks attaching to the goods. (It would be unfair to transfer a bill of lading relating to deck cargo without declaring to the transferee that the goods are on deck and may therefore be damaged.)
Where shippers and or charterers insist on the vessel
carrying such timber on the weather-deck, masters should
issue a clear note of protest, ensure that all mate%u2019s receipts
are claused accordingly, accept no letters of indemnity,
and instruct the local agents to clause the bills and act
accordingly.
Masters who allow themselves to be persuaded to do less
than is necessary in the line of stowage and securing
arrangements %u2013 for whatever reason %u2013 become everybody%u2019s
scapegoat when cargo is lost overboard, the ship%u2019s structural
seaworthiness is breached, and the port of refuge/re-stowage
/ship repair/deviation delay and legal costs come home to
roost. Stand your ground, and have things done properly.
Hague Visby Rules apply to the deck cargo when:the Bill of Lading bears a notation on its face referring to the fact that the cargo is stowed on deck but in addition to this contains a clause which provides that Hague Visby Rules apply to the deck cargo.
Q. 1243) What is mas ?
X
WHEN REQUIRED ?
Guidelines for Coastal States
4.1 Resolution A.950(23) outlines the situations in which the services of the MAS are involved; they are:
.1 the ship is involved in an incident (e.g., loss of cargo, accidental discharge of oil, etc.) that does not impair its seakeeping ability but nevertheless has to be reported;
.2 the ship, according to its Master’s assessment, is in need of assistance but not in a distress situation (about to sink,fire developing, etc.) that requires the rescue of those on board; and
.3 the ship is found to be in a distress situation and those on board have already been rescued, with the possible exception of those who had remained aboard or have been placed on board to attempt to deal with the ship’s situation.
WHO CONTROLS IT IN INDIA?
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Commcentre) is the Maritime Assistance Service (MAS) nodal point in India complying under IMO Resolution A. 950 (23).
The DG Comm. Centre operates as MAS (Maritime Assistance Services) on 24 x 7 basis and should be contacted as advised above. The full style is as follows:
DG Commcentre,
Tel: 0091 22 2261 0606, 2261 4646, 32959320
Fax: 0091 22 2261 3636
E-mail: dgcommcentre@satyammail.net; dgcommcentre@vsnl.net
Q. 1244) What are layup returns in insurance ?
XThe Institute Time Clauses - Hulls 1/10/83 allows for lay-up returns to be reimbursed by underwriters. A lay-up return is a return of premium for the period a vessel is laid-up either in a port or a specified lay-up area.
The amount of return will depend on whether the vessel is under repair or not and the number of crew on board. Theoretically, the percentage is fixed at the outset of the policy, however the underlying annual rate is usually higher where such lay-up returns are allowed. This is in contrast to a "Cancelling Returns Only" (CRO) designated policy where the annual rate will be lower but the Assured continues to pay full premium during the lay-up. This decision, which must be taken at the outset of the policy, has in recent times not been an issue for the majority of owners because freight rates were high and vessels were rarely being laid-up, hence CRO was almost invariably being taken to reduce annual premium costs.
Q. 1245) How to calculate the position of datum in sar
XDatum means a geographic point, line, or area used as a
reference in search planning.
The following factors should be considered
* reported position and time of the SAR incident
* any supplementary information such as DF bearings or sightings
* time interval between the incident and the arrival of SAR facilities
* estimated surface movements of the distressed craft or survival craft, depending on drift The datum position for the search is found as follows:
drift has two components: leeway and total water current
leeway direction is downwind & leeway speed depends on wind speed
* the observed wind speed when approaching the scene may be
used for estimating leeway speed of liferafts by using the graph given in vol 3 of IAMSAR
(Persons in the water (PIW) have no leeway while liferaft stability and speed vary with or without drogue or ballast.)
* total water current may be estimated by computing set and
drift when approaching the scene
* drift direction and speed is the vector sum of leeway and total water current
* drift distance is drift speed multiplied by the time interval between the incident time, or time of the last computed datum, and the commence search time
(drift distance = drift speed x drift time)
* datum position is found by moving from the incident position, or last computed datum position, the drift distance in the drift direction and plotting the resulting position on a suitable chart.
Q. 1246) Angle of loll correction ?
X%uF0DC If the ship takes up an angle of loll due to a very small %u2013ve GM, it should be corrected as soon as possible.
%uF0DC First make sure that the heel is due to a %u2013ve GM and not due to uneven distribution of weights on board
Eg: When bunkers are burned from one side of a divided DB tank, it will obviously cause G to move to G1, away from the COG of the burned bunkers and will result in the ship listing.
%uF0DC Having satisfied that the weights are uniformly distributed, one can assume that the list is probably created due to small negative GM
%uF0DC Top up any slack tanks and lower the weights within the ship if possible to eliminate the virtual rise of G due to FSE.
Eg: Derricks to be lowered if any topped
Oil in deep tanks to be transferred to DB tanks
%uF0DC If the ship is still listed and if it is decided to fill DB tanks, start by filling the lower side of the tank which is adequately subdivided. It is safe to use tanks those which have the smallest area and filled so that the increase in list is reduced to a minimum.
%uF0DC Tanks to be filled one at a time.
%uF0DC The list is bound to increase at the initial stages.
%uF0DC If the high side is filled first, the ship will start to right herself but then it may roll suddenly over to take up a larger angle of roll on the other side or perhaps even capsizing.
%uF0DC When more water is run into the tank the COG of the ship will gradually move down and the list will start to decrease.
%uF0DC As the list decreases, water may run into the other side of the tank
%uF0DC Never start by filling tanks on the higher side first
Q. 1247) Stowaway found after 6 hrs of departure. action ?
XAsk C/O to conduct another stowaway search anticipating more stowaways.As a master deal with the stowaway politely and ask him for getting information such as name of the stowaway, the nationality of the stowaway, his travel documents if any. If he is not giving the travel documents have a thorough search for it in the area in which he was first sighted.Inform company, P&I club & all relevant parties
Q. 1248) Importance of csc plate on containers ?
XQ. 1249) What do you know about the hamburg rules ? how it came into force and who brought it ?
XIn 1971 UNCTAD recommended that a new international conference be called under the united nations auspices. A new set of rules were prepared by the UNICITRAL and was adopted in hamburg in 1978, tehese rules are called Hamburg Rules, cma into force from 01st Jan 1992.
The Hamburg Rules are an updated and more cargo-friendly version of the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules. They came into force on 1 November 1992. However, they have not been adopted by any of the major trading nations.
The Hague-Visby Rules attach to contracts covered by bills of lading; the Hamburg
Rules attach to all contracts of carriage by sea except charter parties. Therefore,
waybills will fall within the ambit of the Hamburg Rules, whereas they would
generally fall outside the scope of the Hague-Visby Rules.
Under Art 2(1) of the Hamburg Rules, all contracts of carriage by sea between
different states will be subject to their provisions if either:
%u2022 the port of loading is in a Contracting State; or
%u2022 the port of discharge, including an optional port of discharge that becomes an
actual port of discharge, is in a Contracting State; or
%u2022 the bill of lading, or other document evidencing the contract of carriage, is issued
in a Contracting State; or
%u2022 the bill of lading or other document evidencing the contract of carriage by
sea incorporates the Hamburg Rules or the legislation of any State giving effect
to them.
The major changes from the Hague-Visby regime are that the port of discharge is now significant and not only the port of loading, and contractual documents other than bills of lading are brought within the ambit of the Rules.
The Hague-Visby regime focuses on the liability of the carrier, which may be either a shipowner or a charterer, but not both simultaneously. Under the Hamburg Rules, the position is changed, for Art 10 subjects both the contractual carrier and the actual carrier to the Rules. Under Art 10(1), the contractual carrier remains responsible
for the part of the contract performed by another carrier (the actual carrier).
The actual carrier will be liable only for the part of the contract of carriage that it personally performs. This would cover other shipowners where the contracting carrier exercises a contractual liberty to trans-ship. It would also cover a shipowner where a time charterers bill of lading is issued.
The Hague-Visby Rules apply only to contracts of carriage by sea. Their ambit is limited to the period starting with the commencement of loading and terminating with the completion of discharge. In contrast, Art 4(1) of the Hamburg Rules provides that:
The responsibility of the carrier for the goods . . . covers the period during which the carrier is in charge of the goods at the port of loading, during the carriage and at the port of discharge.
Therefore, the Hamburg Rules will extend to any period of storage at the port of
loading in the carrier%u2019s custody prior to actual loading and any equivalent period at the port of discharge prior to taking of delivery.
The Hamburg Rules dispense with the two-pronged liability scheme of the Hague-
Visby Rules in favour of a unitary system. Under Art 5, once the claimant can prove that the loss or damage took place while the goods were in the charge of the carrier, as defined by Art 4, the carrier will be presumed to be liable for the loss or damage.
Delay is treated as a separate head of liability under Art 5(1) and has its own special limitation figure in Art 6. The presumption of liability under Art 5 can be rebutted only if the carrier proves that he, his servants or agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the occurrence and its consequences. The exceptions
provided by Art IV(2) of the Hague-Visby Rules have no equivalent in the Hamburg
Rules. Consequently, a negligent carrier who could have relied on Art IV(2)(a) of the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules would no longer be able to escape liability under the Hamburg Rules.
The Hamburg Rules provide only two exceptions to the carrier who is unable to
rebut the presumption of fault.
1. Fire
Where goods are lost or damaged by fire, Art 5(4) provides that the carrier will be
liable only if the claimant can prove that the fire arose from the fault or neglect on the part of the carrier, its servants or agents.
2. Live animals
With carriage of live animals, the carrier is not liable under Art 5(5) for loss, damage or delay arising out of any special risk inherent in that kind of carriag. If the carrier can prove that the damage was caused by such a risk and that it complied with any special instructions given by the shipper, the burden of proof will shift to the claimant
to prove negligence on the part of the carrier. If it fails to discharge this burden, the carrier will escape liability.
Deck cargo
Unlike the position with the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules, deck cargo under the
Hamburg Rules is treated in exactly the same way as any other cargo in that its carriage cannot be taken outside the ambit of the Hamburg Rules. Article 9(1) provides that cargo may be carried on deck either in accordance with agreement with the shipper or
the usage of a particular trade, or if required by statutory rules or regulations.
Article 6(1)(a) provides a package limitation of 835 Special Drawing Right (SDR)) with an alternative of 2.5 units of account per kg of the gross weight of the goods. The claimant may choose whichever basis
yields the higher figure. The Hamburg Rules limit amount to a 25 per cent uplift of the equivalent Hague-Visby figures
Q. 1250) Formal investigation ?
XMaster, pilot, harbor master or in-charge of the ship gives notice of the shipping casualty to the officer appointed by the G.o.I ( generally P.O. MMD)
On receipt of casualty information the P.O. MMD informs G.o.I in writing and proceeds for P.I.
The P.O. MMD carrying out P.I. sends a report to G.o.I.
The P.O. MMD under directions from G.o.I request a court (a First class judicial -magistrate or a metropolitan magistrate) to conduct a F.I.
Court will conduct F.I. to find the details of accident & whether any incompetency, misconduct on part of Master, mate or engineer and send the report to G.o.I and cancel or suspend their certificate if applicable.
G.o.I publishes the report in the official gazette.
