Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2017)

The Nautical

Safety Pro? le

MARIN is working together with the industry to develop the Nautical

Safety Pro? le for operations and risk management.

46-inch premium bridge

Lique? ed Natural Gas (LNG) is increasingly being used as

Ergonomics on a whole new scale an alternative fuel, both at sea and on land, to reduce pollution from transportation.

In 2011 the ? rst LNG carrier arrived at the Rotterdam Gate terminal, and last year the terminal was upgraded to facilitate the transfer of LNG to shuttle tankers. An extensive safety analysis was carried out prior to the development of the ter- minal and a dedicated harbour access policy has been de? ned.

But how should the access policy be de? ned when there isn’t an LNG carrier in the harbor, but when there are multiple LNG bunker ships, or when numerous LNG-powered vessels are sailing through?

And how about international design criteria for LNG vessels that may operate in the harbor? In other words, how should a responsible balance between safety, environmental pollution and economic ef? ciency be continuously maintained?

In such a highly dynamic situation not every condition can be analyzed in advance. A practical solution would be if every

LNG carrying ship was equipped with safety documentation describing the design and risks in different operating condi- tions.

The same can be done for terminals, river crossings, locks etc. This is the Nautical Safety Pro? le.

The Nautical Risk Index de? nes the risk of collisions be- tween ships in the harbor. By combining the Nautical Safety

Pro? le and the Nautical Risk Index, Vessel Traf? c Centres are able to assess the risk of ongoing and planned operations.

Other ongoing operations and risk management options, such as emergency towing vessels, can be related to the Nauti- cal Risk Index. While operators can use the Nautical Safety

Pro? le to modify operations in real time to ensure the required safety level. Finally, the Pro? le can be used in the development of new infrastructure.

A collaboration between MARIN and industry partners has started to de? ne the requirements for the Nautical Safety Pro- ? le. The applications of the Nautical Safety Pro? le are being de? ned and the integration with existing data sources such as

AIS, is being examined.

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