Circular
Letter
MSC/Circ.1063
PARTICIPATION OF SHIPS IN WEATHER ROUTEING SERVICES
(adopted
on 11 December 2002)
1. The Maritime Safety Committee, at its seventy-sixth session (2
to 13 December 2002), in response to a proposal from the United Kingdom approved
an MSC Circular aimed at establishing minimum standards for weather routeing
services that are consistent with voyage planning requirements (SOLAS Chapter
V, regulation 34) and load line zone restrictions.
2. Presently, weather routeing services remain relatively
unregulated and are mainly a commercial service. Improvement in weather
routeing services and safety can be achieved only by an increased dialogue
between ships' masters and their wether r service providers and through a
continuous review of the information that is provided by them.
3. Member Governments are invited to bring the attached guidance
to the attention of shipowners, ship operators, ship managers, ship charterers
and masters, and to encourage them to incorporate it into agreements between
weather routeing services and their clients.
4. This circular complements MSC/Circ. 1017 which urges masters of
ships to participate in the Voluntary Observing Ships' (VOS) Scheme of the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
ANNEX.
PARTICIPATION OF SHIPS IN WEATHER ROUTEING SERVICES
1. Following the presentation of new evidence from surveys of the
wreck of the Oil/Bulk/Ore Carrier "Derbyshire", which was lost off
Okinawa in 1980, the Government of the United Kingdom re-opened the Formal Investigation
into the loss of that ship.
2. The Investigation found that "Derbyshire" had been
lost in Typhoon ORCHID despite having been supplied with weather routeing
advice. The court concluded that the information provided to the master was
insufficient to assist him in effectively avoiding the worst weather associated
with the typhoon.
3. The quality of weather routeing advice has undoubtedly improved
since 1980. Weather routeing services now use much better information from
national meteorological services coupled to more powerful computing facilities.
The weather routeing services available to mariners however, remain largely
unregulated, and in some cases operate as an enhancement for commercial
expedience rather than directly as a safety precaution.
4. The revised chapter V of SOLAS, regulation 34, defines the need
for the ship's voyage to be subject to a voyage plan. Paragraph 2.3 specifies
"all known navigational hazards and adverse weather conditions* as one of
the principal considerations that should be used by the master when formulating
the voyage plan. This regulation, together with the obligation placed upon
owners, charterers and operators in regulation 34.3, safeguards the master's
right to deviate from advice given that might conflict with his/her
professional judgement. The commercial expedience of the voyage can sometimes
place undue pressure on masters to follow routes that introduce risks that may
prove unacceptably high.
5. The advice provided by weather routeing services is formulated
at a location remote from the ship but may be regarded by some in the ship
owning or chartering community as providing better information than the weather
forecasts/warnings which are available to a master at the scene. A master's
confidence in the advice being offered may be diminished if that advice does
not reflect the conditions that are evident at the ship's location. Confidence
may be further diminished by weather routeing services that are insufficiently
interactive to allow feedback from the master and updating of the initial
advice in reaction to feedback.
6. The attached Appendix provides a standard to which weather
routeing services should adhere in order that the services they provide take
account of internationally agreed measures*.
______________
* SOLAS Chapter V, regulation 34, resolution
A.893(21) on Guidelines for voyage planning, the International Convention on
Load Lines SH35 regarding Load Line Zones, the MARPOL Convention and the
Master's overriding authority referred to in the International Safety
Management Code.
APPENDIX.
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PROVISION OF WEATHER ROUTEING SERVICES
Any weather routeing service provided for the use of masters of
ships should comply with the following minimum requirements:
1.
The master should be provided with meteorological information for the proposed
route. The first information should, when possible, be provided prior to the
ship sailing from her port of departure to enable the master to plan the voyage
and if necessary, adjust the passage plan accordingly.
2.
The master should be provided with the source of data, where possible the level
of accuracy of the data and the probability of changes in the weather patterns
indicated.
3.
Information provided should include sea and swell data in the form of
significant wave height and, if possible, direction of swells.
4.
Any weather routeing advice should take full account of the speed and handling
characteristics of the ship. Consideration should be given to the ship's
ability to avoid weather systems posing a threat that are moving fast in
relation to the ship's speed.
5.
Prior to sailing, clear instructions should be provided to the master for the
communication channels available between the ship and the weather routeing
service.
6.
Routeing advice should be provided at regular intervals appropriate to the
weather conditions at the ship's position and in way of its projected route.
The interval should be varied according to the rate of change of conditions.
7.
The service should enable masters to make requests for advice at interim
periods.
8.
The system used should be interactive. All submissions of advice from the
weather routeing service should require a response by the master. The minimum
response should include the ship's position, course and speed. The format of
the response should also encourage the master to feed back information
regarding the weather conditions at the ship's location. Masters should also be
encouraged to indicate their preferred route taking into consideration
professional judgement with regard to the safety of the ship. In making any
response, masters should pay particular attention to the sea-keeping
characteristics of the ship.
9.
Weather routing service advice should take account of:
.1 relevant
ships' routeing systems to be encountered during the voyage;
.2 sufficient
sea room for the ship to make safe passage throughout the voyage;