LOC talks about Floating Object Damage as part of London International Shipping Week

LOC held its fourth breakfast briefing of the year, as part of London International Shipping Week (11-15 September 2017) on Wednesday 13 September.

The presentation which followed a well-attended networking breakfast, was titled; Introduction to Fixed & Floating Object Damage, and was delivered by LOC’s Keith Charles (civil engineer), Mark Ball (civil engineer) and Dean Stromeyer (civil engineer).  The presentation attracted attendees from across the maritime industry and featured in the LISW event programme.

Keith Charles explained the role of the civil engineer in the maritime industry and described what comprised a fixed object and the ways in which they might be damaged; through navigational mistakes, manoeuvering errors, the movement of a moored vessel, excessive speed or a vessel’s failure to berth or unberth using a parallel approach.

Mark Ball then explained how marine structures are designed and explained how most marine structures are not designed for direct contact by a vessel, exploring the importance of the velocity of an approaching vessel.  Dean Stromeyer then illustrated how different marine structures can be damaged and described the possible methods and costs of repairs to  fenders, dolphins, sheet pile quay walls and suspended quays, loading arms and cranes.

The presentation was concluded by a series of case studies and compelling video footage showing actual instances where vessels allided with fixed and floating object structures, the impact and subsequent consequences.

The attendees asked many questions and shared instances from their experiences, the financial implications from subsequent operational downtime following an allision were a hot topic of discussion particularly from the insurance and P&I club perspective.

The discussion was an interesting and valuable opportunity for the attendees to share experience and learn more about this significant and sometimes dramatic aspect of LOC’s working expertise.

LOC was a bronze sponsor of this, the third London International Shipping Week (LISW17), which attracted an estimated 15,000 industry professionals from around the world.