Navigation in Heavy Weather

The Master and OOW should monitor weather facsimiles and weather bulletins from NAVTEX, Safety
Net, private Weather Service Providers, etc. with particular attention to storm warnings to avoid areas
where winds of BF 5 or above and/or swell of 3m or above may be expected (such as in the case of
mid latitude depressions).

Where areas of heavy weather cannot be avoided, (F5.16 Heavy Weather or Storms) – Navigating in
heavy weather checklist to be complied with and office informed promptly.

Work carried out anywhere on board and on exposed decks, during heavy weather, should consider
the additional risk to the safety of the crew, machinery, or the vessel, posed by the prevailing
conditions. All crew should be warned of the impending heavy weather by direct communication from
the bridge. This should be done through clear instructions on the ships PA system, which should be
repeated periodically, especially when the vessel is shipping seas on the open decks. Following
precautions must be adhered to whenever a vessel expects to encounter heavy weather:

Anchors and cables must be well secured. Hawse pipes and spurling pipes must be covered

Lifeboats and Lifesaving appliances should be checked for any movement and kept well secured

Lash and secure all loose gear in Engine room, accommodation, storerooms and on deck

Accommodation ladders and gangways must be checked, and additional lashings taken if necessary

Cranes and lifting machinery should be checked for any movement and lashings reinforced if required

Secure all recreational equipment such as TV / VCR / Music Systems in cabins and smoke rooms

Secure loose gear in galley and provision stores

Watertight doors and vents on deck must be kept covered and well secured. Ensure watertight
integrity of all compartments including forecastle stores, pump rooms, steering gear room, etc.

Control boxes for winch and valve operating levers where provided should be properly sealed and
secured

Mooring ropes must be placed in stores and COW machines kept well covered

Openings in the Safety walkway that require rigging of wires or chains must be in place before
proceeding to sea.

The Master must utilize on board resources and the experience of the bridge teams to carry out
effective weather routeing. Whenever weather routeing services are arranged these are either by
arrangements with the vessels Time Charterers or directly by the office. Generally, weather routeing
services are arranged based on seasonal weather in the vessel's trading area, as follows:

US Atlantic Coast, US Gulf, and the Caribbean, during the hurricane season from August to November

South China Sea, during the typhoon season from June to September

The North Atlantic and the North Pacific oceans from December to March

Bay of Bengal from June to November

For the rest of the year on a case‐by‐case basis governed by the need for weather routeing. Should the
vessel not be able to access sufficient weather information required to route the vessel safely on
account of the failure or non‐availability of equipment (Weather Fax, Sat‐C, NAVTEX, etc.), request
may be sent to the office for arranging Weather Routing services.

Weather routeing information should be utilized to execute the voyage safely and economically.
Detailed instructions on obtaining regular downloads are provided by the Service providers.

The Master may consider deviation from the recommended route suggested by the weather routing
services should there be a reason to believe that the vessel will encounter heavy weather on the
recommended route. The Master must promptly inform all concerned parties and the weather routing
service provider of his intention to deviate from the recommended route and his reasons for doing so
and record such details in the deck logbook.

Crude Oil Tankers should ensure that heavy weather ballast tanks have been Crude Oil Washed during
the previous discharge to be ready to take on heavy weather ballast if required. On ballast passages,
the Master should exercise his discretion and judgement in determining requirement for taking on
heavy weather ballast in accordance with ‘Trim and Stability’ booklet.

The OOW shall consider additional risk to the safety of the crew, machinery, or vessel.

Prior to the onset of heavy weather, both anchors must be hoven inside the hawse pipe completely to
confirm a Three – Point Contact is always maintained with the vessel’s hull.

NOTE: Three ‐ Point contact of the Anchor means when both the Flukes and the Crown are touching
the shipside in a fully secured position of the Anchor.
Engine load must be reduced, courses adjusted or the vessel ‘hove to’ as required for maintaining
safety of the vessel.

Care must be taken to prevent the vessel plunging into the sea under power, which can result in
considerable structural damage and surging of the ships engines.

Should the vessel experience adverse weather in port, the Master must evaluate the situation and in
consultation with port authorities and office, vacate the berth and proceed to the sea if necessary.

Vessel should always maintain a distance of more than 200 NM from the centre of TRS. Proper
avoiding action to be taken to stay clear of the path of the TRS.

Procedures for Navigating in Vicinity of Tropical Revolving Storms

Tropical Revolving Storms (TRS), (Typhoon, Hurricane) can cause severe damage to a vessel. Sufficient
guidance is available in sailing directions and mariner’s handbook.

The material given below is an extract from the book ‘HMSO’; Meteorology for Mariners; and is meant
to give guidelines for navigating in the vicinity of T.R.S.

Extracts From ‘HMSO’ Meteorology for Mariners

To be on guard for an erratic movement in the path of a tropical “revolving storm, it is as well to plot a
‘danger area’ on the chart as an added precaution (see Figure below).

From the reported position of the centre of the storm, lay off its track and the distance it is expected
to progress in 24 hours.

From the reported centre, lay off two lines 40° on either side of the track. With the centre of the
storm as centre and the estimated progress in 24 hours as radius, describe an arc to cut the two lines
on either side of the track.

This will embrace the sector into which the storm centre may be expected to move within the next 24
hours. In taking avoiding action, provided there is sufficient sea room, the mariner would do well to
endeavour to get his ship outside this sector as early as possible. If, after a few hours, the direction of
the storm is reference to the new estimated path of the storm and action taken to get out of the
sector.

The most difficult situation is encountered when the ship finds herself at or near the point of
curvature of the storm.

In such cases all efforts must be made to avoid crossing ahead of the storm, and to stay clear of the
area into which the storm may turn after recurving. Tracks given in the sailing directions for previous
storms, are a good guide to the possible movement of the storm, but reports must be taken at least
every 6 hours.”

Example

A ship in a position A at midnight steaming 180° (T) at 20 knots receives a report of tropical storm to
the south of her with centre at H1 moving north‐north‐westwards at 6 knots.

Sector 1 is drawn but no action is taken at this time since if the storm continues its course the ship will
pass more than 200 NM away from the centre. Six hours later, when the ship is at B, the storm is
reported to be centred at H2 and moving northwards at 10 knots.

Sector 2 is drawn, and it is apparent that if the storm continues this path, the closest approach could
be 150 NM or considerably less.

Speed is therefore reduced to 15 knots and the plot maintained.

At 1200, with ship at C, the storm is reported at H3 now moving north‐north‐eastwards and having
accelerated to 12 knots.

Sector 3 is drawn and from the plot it is now apparent that if the ship continues her southerly course
she will steam into dangerous proximity to the storm. Heaving to at this stage will only allow the
storm to draw closer to the ship; therefore, a bold alteration of course to 250° T is made and speed
increased to 20 knot to clear the storm field.

At 18:00 with ship at D, the storm is reported at H4 moving north‐eastwards at 15 knots and Sector 4
is drawn.
Even if the path of the storm should change to a northerly direction the closest approach now is not
likely to be less than 200 NM.

To ensure an adequate margin of safety the ship maintains a course of 250° T until midnight and then
reverts to her original course of 180° T or an amended southerly course to make her destination.

It will be seen from the diagram that the safety sector is merely a rule‐of‐thumb method of keeping
clear of the storm field.

Its effectiveness depends on the reception of radio reports giving the position of the storm centre and
its progress, and its accuracy on the assumption that the storm will not alter course more than 40 T
without being detected.

If no reports of the position and progress of the storm centre are received, it will be impossible to plot
a sector and the mariner must be guided by his own observations and those received from other ships
in the vicinity, and by careful attention to the ‘Practical Rules for Avoiding Tropical Storms’.

Diagram: Use of Safety Sector for keeping a ship clear of a Tropical Storm (Northern Hemisphere)

Guidelines For Avoiding Hurricanes at Sea (Issued by U.S., NOAA)

To help account for the inherent errors in hurricane forecasting, a few guidelines should be used by
the mariner to limit the potential of a close encounter between ship and storm.

34 KT RULE

For vessels at sea, avoiding the 34 KT wind field of a hurricane is paramount. 34 KT is chosen as the
critical value because as wind speed increases to this speed, sea state development approaches
critical levels resulting rapidly decreasing limits to ship manoeuvrability. It also deserves mention that
the state of the sea outside of the radius of 34 KT winds can also be significant enough as to limit
course and speed options available to the mariner and must also be considered when avoiding
hurricanes.

123 Rule

This is the single most important aid in accounting for hurricane forecast tract errors (FTE).
Understanding and use of this technique should be mandatory for any vessel operating near a
hurricane. The rule is derived from the latest 10‐year average FTE associated with hurricanes in North
Atlantic. While this rule was derived in the North Atlantic, it is a good technique to use in any tropical
cyclone basin.

The 1‐2‐3 rule establishes a minimum recommended distance to maintain from a hurricane in the
Atlantic, as it was derived from Atlantic tropical cyclone date. Mariners in the Pacific can use this rule
as a guide.

Larger buffer zones should be established in situations with higher forecast uncertainly, limited crew
experience, decreased vessel handling, or other factors set by the vessel master. The rule does not
account for sudden and rapid intensification of hurricanes that could result in an outward expansion
of the 34 KT wind field.

Also, the rule does not account for the typical expansion of the wind field as a system transition from
hurricane to extratropical gale/ storm.

1‐2‐3 Rule of Thumb

• 1 – 100 miles error radius for 24hrs forecast

• 2 – 200 miles error radius for 48hrs forecast

• 3 – 300 miles error radius for 72hrs forecast