Seawork soundings on jack-up safety code
Discussion amongst the operators of small road demountable jack-up barges at the Seawork exhibition in Southampton last month has led to a movement towards a Safe Working Practices Code being established under the auspices of the UK’ s National Workboat Association.
John Howard of Plymouth based Howard Marine has a passion to unite the industry in a common training programme and industry standard qualification for barge masters.
An operator of small barges for many years, he canvassed the majority of other UK operators at Seawork and found broad support for such proposals. He has devised some 38 separate areas of training which are applicable to barge masters in command of small jack-ups and, to a lesser extent, crane barges and dumb barges.
Small demountable jack-ups have gained rapidly in popularity over recent years, providing a stable platform from which marine construction works can be conducted unaffected by tide and, up to a point, weather conditions. Their larger counterparts working primarily in offshore oil operations have become subject to strict working codes which are vigorously monitored to ensure safe working practices.
Meanwhile, smaller barges have continued to grow in number, working around the world to less demanding controls. These barges are generally well managed, with most owners and insurers imposing their own strict safety controls, but the disparity from one barge to another can be substantial.
John Howard and many of his colleagues see a clear need to establish exactly how the barge master, who remains outside the qualifications set normally associated with marine operations, should in fact be qualified. Before events and circumstances can overtake the situation and impose an externally originating solution which could be counterproductive from an operator’s viewpoint, the industry should act first and establish its own code of practice.
Such a move would work well within the auspices of the National Workboat Association, which was formed in 1994 in order to give members a forum from which input the formulation of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Workboat Code of Practice.
This proved to be an extremely beneficial move from the members’ point of view as Association representatives were able to offer practical guidance and detailed constructive criticism of views being put forward in the working groups. The Association has also played a role in the new Harmonised Code and has been successful in keeping members’ interests at the forefront of any proposed changes.
Any operators or other interested parties wishing to comment on jack-up proposals or contribute to the formulation of a code of practice is invited to contact john@howardmarine.co.uk.
