THE LOAD ING MASTERBefore it is possible to assess the role of the Loading Masterit is necessary to define what exactly is meant by the term.Different ports, terminals and oil companies havevarying policies in this area. A Loading Master may besomeone from the oil terminal who, basically, fills in thepaperwork, but has little marine knowledge. At the otherend of the scale, he may be a Master Mariner with yearsof tanker experience who stays on board, and closelymonitors every move the ship makes.

The requirements of the type of terminal or refinery,together with the division of roles between the companyoperating the asset and the local harbour authority will,

by and large, dictate the role of the Loading Master. Thereis no right or wrong role: it is just a case of “different ships,different long splices”. This article reviews the role of theLoading Master at Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland, whichis operated by BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd.on behalf of twenty-six pipeline participants.

THE MAR INE OPERAT ION AT SULLOM VOE T ERMINALThe operation at Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT) consistsof the loading of Brent Blend Crude Oil and LPG intotankers, the off loading of shuttle tankers from theSchiehallion FPSO, and the subsequent export of theSchiehallion Crude. The Terminal has four jetties.There are six Loading Masters, five on shift and one ondays, and a Marine Superintendent, together with fiveJetty/pollution operators per shift (Figure 1).

THE LOAD ING MASTER AT SULLOM VOELoading Masters at SVT normally hold a Master Mariner’sCertificate and have extensive tanker experience. However,the new Loading Master may be working ashore for thefirst time, and will have to be trained in shore sidehealth and safety regulations. These include; the Healthand Safety at Work Act, the Docks Regulations 1988, LocalHarbour Bye-Laws, and Jetty Regulations; together with

PO RT TE C H N O L O G Y IN T E R N AT I O N A L 243

Safety Assessments for TankerOperations – The Role of theLoading MasterJOHN G. MYCOCK, BP Exploration, Sullom Voe Terminal, Shetland, UK

AB S T R A C T

The author has many years practical experienceat Sullom Voe; a terminal with an excellent safetyrecord. He explains the part that Total Quality

Management plays in the terminal’s operations, andoutlines the procedures followed by the LoadingMasters before, during, and after a tanker’s visit.

Figure 1 MT “Centaur”, a regular visitor toSullom Voe, docked at jetty 2

a much deeper knowledge of ISGOT, SOLAS, MARPOL,and OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines than isrequired by seagoing personnel. This deeper knowledgeis necessary because the Loading Master must be able tonot only spot any defect, or breach of regulations, on anyclass of visiting tanker, but also to know where theregulation is and what exceptions, if any, there are.Then, of course, there is the LPG side of the operation.

Training, and maintaining skills, is clearly a majorpriority. Training is an area in which BP Exploration excels.Necessary courses are identified, and a yearly plan oftraining for each individual devised. Training require-ments are far from static and, as technology changes, newand superior methods of training are emerging. Forexample, the Terminal has recently sent a LoadingMaster on a new computerised LPG Tanker Simulatorcourse at a leading British nautical college.

THE ROL E O F THE LOAD ING MASTERTo the enquiry as to what is the business of the LoadingMaster, the reply is “Safety, safety – and let’s not forgetsafety”! The purpose of the Loading Master, and all themarine staff, is to ensure that tankers are loaded anddischarged efficiently; with no risk to the vessel, terminal,personnel, or the environment. This task can involve themundane, but nevertheless important, job of jettyhousekeeping; through the authorisation of mainte-nance work in the Marine Area; to arranging theremoval of a tanker from the berth before a breach ofregulations becomes an incident.

It may well be asked how SVT has maintained a reputa-tion for high operational efficiency whilst, at the sametime, also having a reputation as probably the most environ-mentally friendly port in the world. The answer lies ina system of total quality control, in which the LoadingMaster plays a leading part. First of all, it is necessaryto understand that operational efficiency, safety, andenvironmental friendliness are not mutually exclusive,but mutually supportive. For example, if there are no oilspills, then such items as clean up costs, related shippingdelays, diversion of management time from other tasks,legal costs, and bad publicity resulting in loss of businessare avoided also. Environment, safety, and efficiency allgo hand in hand (Figure 2).

THE TOTAL QUAL I TY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF SVTMAR INE D EPARTMENT.The simplest way to explain how the Total QualityManagement System works at SVT is to follow throughthe stages involved in loading a tanker. In this example,an oil company has purchased a cargo of crude oil, andwishes to charter a certain tanker to collect the cargofrom SVT.

Ship VettingFirst of all, the company will ask SVT if the tanker is accept-able to the Terminal. On receiving this request, the LoadingMaster will:

i Consult Clarkson’s Tanker Register to assess thephysical suitability of the tanker for SVT. If the tankerdoes not meet certain parameters, then the HarbourMaster and Pilots are consulted, and the vesselmay be accepted with certain restrictions; forexample, reduced wind speed limits for berthing. Inthis latter case, the Demurrage Co-ordinator wouldneed to be contacted, as operational conditionsmight be imposed; e.g. no demurrage to the terminalfor excess loading time on VLCCs.

244 PO RT TE C H N O L O G Y IN T E R N AT I O N A L

Figure 2 (top)View of tank deck of MT “Centaur”

Figures 3 and 4 (above and right)Author, port authority and ship staff adjust moorings

ii Examine the Terminal’s computerised Ship Databaseto ascertain if there are any outstanding warrantiesfor the tanker, class of tanker, or shipping companyinvolved. If there are outstanding warranties, thenthe ship will be refused until such matters areresolved. The matter may be resolved simply by afax, but may involve visits by shipping company super-intendents, and assessment by the Marine TechnicalGroup. The latter consists of the Terminal MarineSuperintendent, the Day Work Loading Master,and at least one other Loading Master. In practice,the views of all the Loading Masters are sought.

iii Interrogate the BP Ship Vetting Service centralcomputer to ascertain if the tanker is acceptable tothe BP Group.

Warranty TelexIf the tanker is acceptable, and is nominated to load acargo at SVT, the Loading Master will send a warrantytelex (actually these days it tends to be an e-mail).This is sent to the Owners and Master of the tanker, viatheir agents, if the tanker has never been to the terminalbefore, or has not visited SVT for more than twelve months.The warranty telex explains the conditions under whichthe tanker is acceptable, and the Master is required toconfirm that all conditions will be met before the vesselis allowed to enter Sullom Voe Harbour. Electronicallystored, the telex only needs minor alterations for the tanker’sname, and requirements based on deadweight, beforebeing sent.

Mooring ArrangementIf it is the ship’s first visit, the tanker’s Master will berequested to fax details of the ship’s mooring arrangements,and from these the Loading Master will devise a proposedmooring pattern. The mooring pattern is then faxed toSullom Voe Harbour Authority for their comment andagreement. The pilot, on boarding, will take a copy to theship for the Master’s agreement. After the tanker issafely berthed, the Loading Master will use the ship’s generalarrangement plan, wire certificates etc. to enter the shipon the OPTIMOOR system. OPTIMOOR is a comput-erised mooring model of the port which allows assessmentof the suitability of a mooring pattern for any state of weather,tide, current, and loaded condition of the tanker. The tanker’smooring arrangement can then be adjusted by experimentwith the computer model. Again, details of any changeto mooring pattern are sent to the Port Authority, but thistime electronically, so that they can run the proposal ontheir copy of the computer model (Figure 3 and 4).

Operations Meeting On boarding the tanker, the Loading Master will meet withthe Chief Officer for the operations meeting. In thisrespect, the Loading Master is acting as the link betweenthe Terminal and the tanker, to ensure each knows the limita-tions and requirements of the other. It is at this meetingthat he has to be satisfied that the communicationsbetween Terminal and ship are satisfactory. This includes,but is not limited to, being satisfied that the emergency stopprocedure is understood and that there are no languagebarriers. Having satisfied himself that there is a safeloading programme in writing, and that the programmeis clearly understood by both Terminal and tanker, the LoadingMaster will proceed to the next stage (Figure 5).

Safety InspectionThe Safety Inspection does not consist of just tickingboxes on a safety check list, but of actually going andchecking that the status of ship’s plant is as required.

For example, when checking to see if the Inert Gas Riseris free of oil, not only is it necessary to see the drain valveopen, but also to detect inert gas leaving the drain toprove that it is not blocked. Detailed inspection isthus essential.

Safety inspections are carried out continually, by trainedmarine operators, throughout the loading operation. Anysafety infringement will cause the loading operation tobe stopped and, if the issue cannot be resolved, the tankerwill be required to vacate the berth (Figure 6).

SailingOn completion of loading the Loading Master will actas SVT representative during the completion of documen-tation, and then as Mooring Master during the sailingoperation.

ReportsOnce the tanker has departed, two reports are generatedby the Loading Master. The first report is compiled onthe Terminal’s Ship Database, and consists of details ofthe tanker visit, and any problems encountered. This recordwill be consulted during future vetting of the tankerconcerned. Secondly, an electronic report is sent to theBP Ship Vetting central computer, so that an account ofthe loading operation is available to the vetting service,and all other BP Marine Operations world-wide.

PO RT TE C H N O L O G Y IN T E R N AT I O N A L 245

Figure 5 (top)Author discusses loading operations with Master and Chief Officer of MT “Centaur”

Figure 6 (above)Routine inspection during loading operations

CONCLUS IONThe above may sound somewhat draconian, but by farthe majority of loading operations are completedwithout even minor incidents. All the parties involved,be they Tanker, Terminal, or Port Authority, knowexactly what is required of them. The Loading Masteris the hub of a total quality management system designedto produce a safe, efficient and environmentally-friendlyoperation.

ABOUT THE AUTHORJohn Mycock has thirty years’ experi-

ence of the marine industry and is cur-

rently a Loading Master of ten years’

standing at Sullom Voe Terminal. He

holds a Class I Master Mariner’s

Certificate and a Master of Business

Administration Degree of the

University of Strathclyde Graduate Business School. He is also a

Member of the Nautical Institute and a Member of The Institute

of Petroleum. He is an affiliate of IChemE.

I F Y O U H AV E A N Y E N Q U I R I E S R E G A R D I N G T H EC O N T E N T O F T H I S A RT I C L E , P L E A S E C O N TA C T:

Captain J.G. Mycock

BP Exploration

Sullom Voe Terminal

Mossbank

Shetland

ZE2 9TU

UK

Tel: +44 (0)806 243000

Fax: +44 (0)806 243200

246 PO RT TE C H N O L O G Y IN T E R N AT I O N A L