International Ferry Lines Meet National and International Safety Regulations

Compared to Europe, North America doesn't have too many international ferry operations. The last one between the U.S. and Mexico failed in January after only a few weeks running. In the Pacific Northwest, however, Washington State, Clipper Navigation, Black Ball Transportation and the Alaska Marine Highway Service all operate international services connecting the U.S. with Canada. This means meeting U.S. and Canadian, as well as international safety regulations, and keeping abreast of such new international regulations as the International Safety Management Code (ISM) and Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS). All five of Seattle-based Clipper Navigation's vessels in international service now have their ISM Code documentation in place. At the home office this totals up to 25 volumes on the shelf. Darrell Bryan, Clipper's general manager, noted most policies and practices required by the Code were already in place at Clipper but not in a systematic way. "We had policies and practices for most of the things called for but we didn't have them in a manual," said Bryan. He also noted when the company began designing its documentation it wanted to reflect "actual operations" as they are carried out. "We wanted it to mirror what we were doing. We didn't want to have to run to the manual," he remarked. Nevertheless, when the policy was spread out to the fleet's boats and multiple crews, the going got difficult. "Making the practices consistent between vessels," the Clipper general manager said, "required a lot of thinking. It was much more involved than we thought." Like the majority of vessel operators meeting the Code's requirements, Clipper has found the workload to be tremendous. "We are doing everything we can do to the spirit and content of the ISM," said Bryant, "but in terms of updating the manuals, someone has created real job security." Black Ball Transportation has only one ship to worry about, but that vessel, RoRo ferry Coho, is approaching 40 years of age and has to be constantly updated. A 1959 product of Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Co., the old ferry has not been altered much, a tribute to its trade, which has remained fairly consistent, and its well known designer, Philip Spaulding. Built for the service it still operates, Coho discharges and loads through a forward side door at Victoria, on Vancouver Island, then repeats the process, but using the stern ramp, at Port Angeles, Wash. Of utilitarian design, Coho is still in good condition, and beautifully maintained, but as an international vessel, it must keep up with the times. In her four decades of operation only a few structural changes have taken place, including modifications to the food service area and installation of a solarium on the upper deck. However, because of new SOLAS standards, Coho was fitted out with evacuation chutes two seasons ago, one of the most expensive undertakings Black Ball has been faced with. Although Coho is "grandfathered" for several SOLAS items, the owners say their the ship meets all current new requirements and a drydocking is now undertaken each year to keep things shipshape. "We stay pretty much ahead of the game," a Black Ball spokesman said. In neighboring Canada, B.C. Ferries does not operate an international route but it is still keeping up with the latest in international requirements. Much of the change was forced by an accident that took place at Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, in August of 1992 when a van was dropped in the water as a ferry moved away from the dock prematurely. Two people died and another two were injured in the incident. According to Eric Kristianson, B.C. Ferries' director of communications, the accident caused a dramatic change in the way the Canadian ferry system was run and managed. "We established a new Safety and Standards Department," Kristianson said. "One of the first things it did was to compile a base line audit to determine where deficiencies were and where improvements ought to be implemented." Kristianson said an independent review of the van accident resulted in 14 specific recommendations, most having to do with on-vessel reporting procedures during loading/discharge operations and the installation of new equipment, including remote video cameras. The latter now allow the bridge team to monitor the decks and ramps as loading and unloading operations are carried out. Another accident that impacted the BC Ferry fleet, although it took place half a world away, was the tragic loss of Scandinavian ferry Estonia in the Baltic Sea. Because early investigations of that accident pointed blame to a faulty nose visor, the bow ramp on B.C. Ferries' northern boat, Queen of the North, was closed and its visor welded shut. Once new standards for RoRo ferries were issued following a more detailed investigation of the Estonia loss, new bulkheads were designed and installed on both Queen of the North and Queen of Prince Rupert. Kristianson noted the corporation is now operating with a safety management system very close to what is represented by the ISM Code. "We have been moving quite aggressively on ISM standard incorporation," Kristianson said. "Accidents have been cut dramatically as a result."-J.L. Shaw