USCG has issued a safety alert to address the safe
navigation of vessels with auto-pilot engaged. Auto-pilot systems can
reduce the monotony of steering by freeing up the helmsman to step away from
the helm in order to perform other minor pilot house tasks and gain different navigational
viewpoints. There are also disadvantages that have the potential to lead to
negligent navigational practices. Over-reliance on these systems can allow an
operator to get too engrossed in performing other work on the bridge and, in
some extreme cases, can lead to watchstanders leaving the bridge for extended
periods of time. This inattentiveness to the vessel’s navigation has led to
marine casualties.
In the recent past there have been
numerous instances in the Gulf of Mexico where a crew boat or supply vessel and
other commercial craft allided with oil rigs or structures or collided with
other vessels, causing significant injuries, property damage, platform fires,
and oil or gas well shut-ins. These casualties often result in serious injuries
and have the potential for multiple fatalities and serious environmental
damage. In the “Oil Patch” it is standard practice to engage auto-pilot systems
while transiting to and from job sites both in open and in restricted waters
(e.g., platform fields), often regardless of visibility. Auto-pilot induced
casualties are not limited to commercial oil field vessels and casualties have
occurred on other vessel types that are equipped with auto-pilot systems.
It should come as no surprise that
when an inattentive operator meets with extreme circumstances, he or she
usually has no time to take corrective actions. Also, in some past incidents,
when there was time to take corrective action, the operator’s lack of
system knowledge hindered the need to rapidly change over from auto-pilot to
manual steerage mode.
Specific regulations govern the use
of auto-pilots, and these regulations can be found throughout 46 Code of
Federal Regulations, with specific applicability within the respective
subchapters. (46 CFR 35.20-45, 46 CFR 97.16, 46 CFR 122.360, 46 CFR 131.960,
and 46 CFR 185.360) The general regulation found in 46 Code of Federal
Regulations reads as follows:
Use of Auto-Pilot – When the
automatic pilot is used in areas of high traffic density, conditions of
restricted visibility, or any other hazardous navigational situations, the
master shall ensure that:
• It is possible to immediately
establish manual control of the vessel’s steering;
• A competent person is ready at all
times to take over steering control; and
• The changeover from automatic to
manual control of the vessel’s steering and the reverse is made by, or under
the supervision of, the master or officer of the watch.
The U.S. Coast
Guard strongly recommends that owners and operators ensure that all
credentialed mariners:
• Are fully aware
of “Use of Auto-Pilot” regulations found in the vessel’s respective subchapter
in 46 Code of Federal Regulations.
• Conduct periodic
training to ensure that crews are properly versed in the operations and
limitations of the auto-pilot system.
• Develop and
prominently post written procedures on how to switch from auto-pilot to manual
control in the vicinity of the auto-pilot system.
• Review company
policies and evaluate setting operational limitations on the use of auto-pilot
with regard to areas of high traffic density, conditions of restricted
visibility, or any other hazardous navigational situations.
NOTHING exempts a
vessel operator from the requirements of the International and Inland
Navigation Rules of the Road. Conduct of vessels in any condition of
visibility: Rule 5 – Look-Out: Every vessel shall at all times maintain a
proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means
appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full
appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.
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