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RRDA Program
Casualties require the urgent attention of both operations and engineering staff in order to provide an effective response. The decisions made in the first hours following a casualty can greatly affect a vessel's chances of survival and the casualty's potential impact on the marine environment. ABS Consulting has developed the Rapid Response Damage Assessment Program (RRDA) to provide an organized team of engineers and naval architects who can respond in an emergency to provide vital technical assistance. Over 1,200 trading vessels from the world fleet including 26 FPSOs and several MODUs are enrolled in this expanding program.
The response process utilizes technical information provided by the vessel in a prearranged format. The information is entered for electronic analysis, thereby saving many critical hours of data preparation and testing in the event of an incident. The RRDA Program is provided by the staff of ABS Consulting, Marine Casualty Response Center (MCRC) located in Houston, Texas USA.
During the initial enrollment process, the client supplies the drawings and data necessary to create a computerized salvage model of each vessel. Plans and data provided are maintained on file for the exclusive use of MCRC. The vessel's master, owner or manager can activate the RRDA team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year using dedicated emergency telephone numbers. The telephone is answered in the MCRC during normal working hours. After hours, the emergency number is answered by an answering service, which alerts RRDA personnel for rapid response.
Computerized Model
The heart of the RRDA program is a computerized model of the enrolled vessels that is maintained on file and is immediately available to assist engineers in evaluating the vessel’s condition to provide solutions to whatever problem may exist. The program used is Herbert Engineering Corporation Salvage Software (HECSALV), a state-of-the-art engineering software program that has become an industry standard. HECSALV is specifically designed to support salvage engineering to evaluate loading conditions, model hull damage and flooding or cargo outflow, evaluate residual hull strength and evaluate damage stability. A set of key drawings and other vessel information is also maintained on file in the MCRC for immediate reference.
Experience
Since 1993, RRDA engineers have modeled over 2,000 vessels and responded to more than 180 incidents worldwide. The types of vessels enrolled include tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, gas carriers, cruise ships, integrated tug-barges, oceangoing barges, tugs and yachts classed by all major classification societies. Incidents have ranged from tank explosions, groundings, collisions and fires to minor structural damage, flooding, trimming to replace stern seals, emergency dry-dockings, and structural evaluation with missing structure in repair situations.
Role of the RRDA Team
The principal role of the RRDA team is to assist the master and owner’s technical personnel. With the ability to quickly calculate the effect of damage to hull structure and free-flooding of internal spaces, firm recovery plans can be implemented by the owner/operator that will minimize the possibility of further stressing the hull, losing the vessel because of inadequate stability or spilling harmful fuel and cargo into the environment. The RRDA team can interface with the vessel's Class society and flag or port state officials as needed in order to provide technical documentation to support proposed temporary repairs, operations, single voyage requests or other related requirements.
An experienced team leader directs the RRDA team of engineers, which may include surveyors selected from ABS to meet the needs of the particular emergency. The RRDA team includes experts in structure, stability, machinery and mechanical systems, operations and survey.
Regulatory Requirements
United States
The RRDA Program satisfies the U.S. Coast Guard requirements of OPA 90 in 33 CFR 155.240 for oil tankers and offshore oil barges. Owners are required to have "prearranged, prompt access to computerized, shore-based damage stability and residual structural strength calculation programs." It also requires that "access to the shore-based calculations program must be available 24 hours a day." This requirement became effective 21 January 1995 for vessels operating in U.S. waters.
International
Effective 4 April 1995; MARPOL 73/78 Annex I, Regulation 26 requires a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) for all tankers of 150 gross tons or more and all other vessels of 400 gross tons or more. The "Guidelines for the Development of Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans," IMO MEPC 54 (32), advises that detailed guidance to the ship’s master should be provided to take stability and stress into consideration when taking actions to mitigate the spillage of oil or to free the ship from aground. While it does not require, it strongly suggests, that consultation with shore-based technical assistance is appropriate when there is excessive damage before taking any action that may jeopardize the vessel.
Effective 1 January 2007; MARPOL 73/78 Annex I, according to resolution MEPC.117(52), Regulation 37.4 will require that all oil tankers of 5,000 tons deadweight or more shall have prompt access to computerized, shore-based damage stability and residual structural strength calculation programs.
The ABS Consulting RRDA Program complies with these recommendations.
Drills and Table Top Exercises
Why conduct drills?
The main reasons for conducting drills with the RRDA team are to:
- Familiarize personnel on ship as well as on shore with RRDA team procedures
- Test communications between the MCRC and shipboard and office personnel
- Establish an acceptable format to relay data between participating parties
- Enable an open forum with client feedback on client expectations and RRDA team performance
- Improve the readiness of shipboard and office personnel for occasions requiring the activation of the RRDA team
Types of drills:
For the client’s convenience, we offer several predesigned scenarios involving common ship in distress situations. These situations include:
- Groundings (hard bottoms like reefs and rocks through soft mud)
- Compartment damage (due to a collision, explosion or in conjunction with a grounding)
- Compartment flooding/outflow of oil or cargo
Additionally, clients can request their own custom scenarios if they so desire.
Advance Notice of Drills
The intention of staging a drill can be made known one of two ways.
- A phone call can be placed to the emergency response number.
- An e-mail can be sent to the MCRC general mailbox, which is checked regularly during regular office hours (U.S. Central Standard Time).
Ideally, drills should be scheduled in advance and during regular business hours (Houston time). Overtime charges apply for drills conducted outside of normal operational hours.
Drill Execution
- Client sends drill notification, schedules when drill will be conducted and drill type. If it is a custom scenario, details will be given at that time.
- RRDA team is activated at said time and date. A notification will be sent to confirm the start of drill, and will request precasualty loading condition from the vessel.
- Post casualty condition of vessel will be requested with suggested remedial action of client for RRDA team review.
- RRDA team sends results of their analysis and suggested action for client review.
- An opportunity to address any problems during the drill involving communications or otherwise will be presented.
Benefits of Drills
A drill will improve the readiness of a ship's crew as well as management to better handle and react to situations of high stress and tension. Activation of the RRDA team allows personnel to practice interacting with the response team and familiarize themselves with the flow of information in a ship casualty situation. We highly encourage all ship owners to conduct at least one drill every two years to improve the readiness of their crew and staff.
Drill Confirmation
At the conclusion of every drill, the MCRC will issue a certificate stating the successful completion of the drill as well as the type of exercise conducted. This certificate may be of interest to external auditors and other personnel. Its issuance signifies the readiness of the client to efficiently deal with a ship casualty scenario.
Downloads
If you need to enroll a ship, please download the following form. Complete and send to rrda@absconsulting.com.
For more information, contact:
1-281-877-5870 | mcrc@absconsulting.com
or contact one of our regional offices. |
