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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 2
October 2009
Common hazards result from watch mistakes
How disturbing and distressing do you think it might be to have a crewman wake you out of a dead sleep to inform you that a steamer a half-mile away is bearing down on you?
It has happened to me and I’d bet to a lot of other captains.
Most steamers steam at 20 knots, which means you have less than a minute and a half to assess the situation and maneuver.
Once clear of the steamer, you become conscious of your heart racing. And you recognize the taste of blood in your mouth from the rush of adrenaline caused by the near miss and the desire to strangle your crewman for not following your watchkeeping orders to wake you if a vessel comes within two miles of your position.
I classify this as taking chances, and my response is don’t ever. Your responsibilities as a watchstander are too great to permit any risk-taking or inattention to detail. Ensuring the safety of the vessel and its crew means following proper watchstanding procedures in all instances.
The first step in that process is selecting the watch and acknowledging fatigue. The captain must assess the crew and assign watches only to crewmen who are in good physical and mental shape. The crewman who has been up the longest should get the last watch.
Once on watch, set your watch alarm to go off at short intervals of 10 minutes or less to stay alert.
Let’s review several common hazards and the watchstanding failures that lead to them.
Grounding
Over reliance on radar and loran (GPS) without crosschecking other means of navigation;
Improper application of compass error:
Failure to use navigational aids;
Failure to use the fathometer;
Failure to account for set and drift;
Failure to maintain plotting track; and
Mistakes in identifying lights or other fixed aids to navigation.
Collision
Lack of understanding of the rules of the road;
Failure to establish soon enough that the risk of collision exists;
Failure to turn on navigational lights;
Failure to evaluate the effects of wind and current;
Failure to understand the vessel’s turning characteristics;
Failure to switch from auto to manual steering; and
Failure to maintain a proper lookout and radar watch.
Flooding, capsizing
Inadequate understanding of the factors that affect stability;
Failure to utilize the vessel’s stability book and its recommendations;
Overloading;
Improper loading;
Failure to maintain watertight integrity; and
Poor judgment about when and where to go fishing.
Call the captain …
When visibility begins to deteriorate;
When you encounter heavy traffic;
If you’re experiencing difficulty maintaining course;
When you fail to sight land or an aid to navigation as expected;
When you have a rapid or unexpected change in soundings;
If there is a failure of engines, steering, or navigational gear and lights;
If you have any doubt about the vessel’s seaworthiness;
If you’re having difficulty handling prevailing weather conditions and/or sea conditions;
If your relief is unfit or, as a watchstander, you become fatigued; or
Whenever you are in doubt about the vessel’s safety or how to proceed.
Watches
Captains, be sure that your wheel watch understands what he’s doing before you let him stand watch. At a minimum, he should know:
Basic rules of the road;
How to use and read signals and basic running lights;
How to make a radio distress call; and
How to read the radar, compass, loran, GPS, and a fathometer.
Try to pair up a new crewmember with an experienced crewman on the same watch. Always be sure that your new watch is awake and up for at least 15 minutes before he is allowed to stand a watch.
Also, consider keeping a logbook that requires entries every 30 minutes showing time, location, speed, direction, etc. This will provide you with an excellent backup in case of a power failure and will give your watchstander added incentive to stay alert.
Remember, vigilance assures safety.
Fred Mattera
NESTCo
A qualified Coast Guard-approved marine drill instructor, Fred Mattera is the owner/president of North East Safety Training Co. (NESTCo), which conducts fishing vessel drills and inspections and basic safety training workshops.
Mattera has been a commercial fisherman since 1972 and the owner of the Point Judith, RI-based 84' freezer trawler Travis & Natalie since 1984.
Since 1998, he has been the president of the Point Club, a fishing vessel mutual insurance group. Mattera also has served on the board of directors for Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Co., the principal underwriter for the Point Club and more than 2,000 US fishing vessels, since 1998.
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