Marine Operations Risk Guide

Marine Operations

Risk Guide

A Guide to Improving

Marine Operations by Addressing Risk

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ACKNOWLDGEMENTS

A substantial and sincere thank you is conveyed to the Chemical Transportation Advisory

Committee (CTAC) and the Prevention Through People (PTP) Subcommittee for the latest

revision of this risk guide. These groups have provided a very user-friendly, qualitative risk

assessment tool to date. The entire maritime industry will benefit from their work. Special

recognition is given to the organizations that piloted and advanced the Passenger Vessel

Association (PVA) Risk Guide and the Marine Operations Risk Guide. We are especially

grateful to those who contributed to the case study and tested the guide in their own

operations. They have proved the profits of mitigating risks.

Significant appreciation goes out to the Coast Guard/PVA Partnership Action Team. They

developed the original document on which this guide is based: the PVA Risk Guide.

Although the original guide was easy to use and scientifically sound, it was more narrowly

focused. Because of its niche, many mariners did not grasp the guide’s applicability to their

operations and lost opportunities to increase safety, productivity, and ultimately profitability.

Therefore, this guide has been revised to expand the applicability to a broader scope of marine

operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard, PVA, and CTAC assume no liability for operational changes implemented as a result of

the use of the Marine Operations Risk Guide. Decisions are made as a result of your own expertise and best

judgment. The Marine Operations Risk Guide only provides a framework for assessing and managing risk.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 1

Introduction............................................................................................................. 3

Step #1: Defining the Problem................................................................................ 6

Step #2: Selecting Experts....................................................................................... 8

Step #3: Identifying Hazards and Potential Accidents......................................... 10

Step #4: Assigning Probability.............................................................................. 13

Step #5: Assigning Consequences......................................................................... 15

Step #6: Determining Risk Priority....................................................................... 16

Step #7: Developing Countermeasures ................................................................. 18

Step #8: Estimating Be nefits................................................................................. 20

Step #9: Estimating Cost....................................................................................... 21

Step #10: Analyzing Benefit-Cost (Value) ........................................................... 22

Conclusion............................................................................................................. 23

Appendix 1: Marine Operations Risk Assessment Worksheet ............................. 24

Appendix 2: Case Study – Benzene Operations .................................................... 26

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INTRODUCTION

What is Risk?

Risk is a factor that everyone encounters in maritime operations. Decisions made everyday

are based upon risk. Usually, decisions are intuitive in nature and rooted in common sense.

The decision, for example, of whether or not to get a marine vessel underway entails a risk

assessment of forecasted sea or river conditions. If significant tide variations may be

encountered, tides should be considered in an effort to minimize the risk of grounding. To

manage such a risk, the operator might choose to depart earlier, load less cargo, or delay

departure until more favorable tide conditions exist. Similarly, an operator at a marine

terminal may evaluate the draft required for a certain vessel before allowing that vessel to

dock at the facility. If the draft is a potential problem, the operator may alter the time that the

vessel is allowed to dock or the duration that it is allowed to remain at the dock.

Everyday decisions, like those made based on the tide before sailing and a vessel’s draft

before mooring, do not usually require the use of a formal risk assessment guide. But,

suppose an operator wants to employ a new, larger vessel in a specific trade. Suppose the

new vessel is to be significantly larger than what has been employed previously and will be

required to moor at a particular marine terminal. There may be Coast Guard issues that must

be resolved before approval for this new operation can be granted. In such a case, a risk

assessment that details anticipated hazards and examines the likelihood and consequences of

those hazards, and a risk management plan that specifies additional safety measures to

mitigate those hazards, could organize and clarify the important issues at hand and help the

Coast Guard in its consideration of that permit.

How Can This Guide Help?

This guide is designed to help you, the user, become more aware of the potential risks

inherent to your operations and identify ways to control those risks. Developed by the

U.S. Coast Guard and CTAC’s PTP Subcommittee, this guide provides a step-by-step means

of assessing risk within any chosen operation and helps you develop ways to reduce or even

eliminate those risks, thereby making your operations safer.

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Use this guide to evaluate proposed operations, survey existing operations, or determine the

effect of operational changes (e.g., increased traffic or low water). It is meant to address

safety and environmental issues for any situation you choose to analyze. The situation can be

local, confined to a single vessel, or it can be even broader, involving an entire fleet or port

area. This guide is intended to provide the mariner and operator with a tool for

identifying opportunities to reduce risk exposure. This guide is not intended to provide

the Coast Guard with a means to regulate at the port level.

Risk should be addressed in terms of three activities: risk assessment, risk management,

and risk communication. The relationship between these three activities is shown in Figure

1. This guide breaks these three activities into ten easy steps. Following these steps will help

you identify potential problem areas in your operation, balance tradeoffs, and assist in

decision making. Ultimately, this guide does not make decisions for you. Instead, it shows

you what to consider in making the best decisions possible. For more information on Risk

Management, please visit the U.S. Coast Guard’s Risk-Based Decision-Making website at

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/risk/.

Figure 1. Process for Handling Risk.

Risk Assessment

1. Define Problems

2. Gather Experts

3. Identify Hazards

4. Assign Probability

5. Assign Consequence

6. Calculate Relative

Risk

Risk Communication

Get input from experts and

share results with decision

makers when appropriate.

Risk Management

7. Develop Countermeasures

8. Estimate Benefits

9. Estimate Costs

10. Analyze Cost-Benefit

Value

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The following terms are used throughout this guide:

Accident is an undesired event involving fatality, injury, ship loss or damage, other property

loss or damage, or environmental damage (e.g., fires, collisions, etc.).

Cause is a reason that an incident may occur.

Consequence is an outcome of an accident.

Benefit-Cost is a measure of the risk reduction to the amount of dollars spent.

Countermeasure is a means of controlling a single element of risk.

Frequency is an actual or estimated number of occurrences of a hazard causing an accident

per unit of time.

Hazard is a condition (actual or perceived) that has the potential to cause harm.

Incident is a condition that may lead to an accident.

Risk is a combination of the frequency and the severity of the consequence of a specific

accident.

Risk assessment is a process for identifying hazards and assessing the risk (probability and

consequence) posed by each.

Risk communication is a two-way process that (1) allows all stakeholders the opportunity to

provide input into the process, and (2) provides a means of showing the value of decisions to

others, which is particularly important when dealing with regulatory agencies or the public.

Risk management is a process for dealing with the assessed risks through the development of

cost-effective countermeasures.

Here is an example using a few of these terms regarding risks associated with an

electrical power supply line:

Hazard = High Voltage Accident = Personnel Contact resulting in Shock

Incident = Exposed Wire Consequence = Burns / Electrocution

The following icons are used throughout this guide:

tip

Look for this icon for assessment advice. This guide is filled with expert tips, shortcuts,

and lists to help you quickly and effectively perform each step of the assessment.

This icon points you toward the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet located in Appendix

1. The worksheet will help organize your work for each step.

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ste1p

DEFINING THE PROBLEM:

What areas will this risk assessment evaluate?

Before jumping into this process, define the scope of your assessment to help focus your

efforts to determine what parts of your operation you can examine in the time you’ve set

aside. To decide this, ask yourself a series of questions. Do you have the time to look at

every aspect of your operation? The answer is probably not. Do you want to know where to

get started in putting your greatest effort and resources in managing environmental or safety

issues? Do you only want to look at certain timeframes such as during the loading of specific

cargo? Perhaps you only have a specific problem you want to deal with, for instance,

cleaning up a specific spilled cargo on the deck. All of these problems may be dealt with by

using this guide.

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tip

Think of your entire operation and the range of all potential

problems as a mountain range.

Looking at the entire scope of your operation, you may

only be able to focus on the highest of peaks within your

available time frame.

However, if you choose a specific aspect of your operation

(e.g., cargo loading) you can examine it in greater depth

and detail. This approach is more effective for targeting

specific problems.

Make a copy of the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet located in Appendix 1. Use this

worksheet as you go through the remainder of this process. In the spaces provided on

the worksheet, enter the name of your company, vessel, or facility, and describe the

operational phase being considered.

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ste2p

SELECTING EXPERTS:

Who should be involved in this assessment?

After defining the scope of the assessment, determine who needs to be involved. This is a key

part of the process. The right mix of people and experience is necessary to get the most out of

your assessment. Different experts will identify different risks and produce different results.

Therefore, a group representing all of the various concerned parties will provide the best basis

for your risk assessment.

Does your assessment involve an entire port? If so, it might be a good idea to involve the Coast

Guard, the local port authority, and harbor master. Does your assessment involve only your

vessel? If so, perhaps your vessel crew and the Coast Guard are the only two parties that need to

get involved. If you are concerned about deep-draft traffic, you may want to include a deep-draft

operator or a local pilot. Marine terminal operators involved with your operations may also be

valuable team members.

Participation will vary from assessment to assessment. For best results, recruit between three

and seven participants. You may also choose to involve participants for only a particular portion

of the process. For example, consider involving additional operators to answer the question

“What can go wrong?” Their perspectives of the operation may be different from those in the

core group.

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tip

The following list gives examples of potential participants:

·  Fleet and marine terminal personnel

·  Shore-staff operations, engineering, maintenance personnel, and management

·  Environmental organizations

·  Industry associations

·  Local Coast Guard

·  Local port authorities

·  Local towing companies and pilots

·  Coast Guard Auxiliary

·  Harbor masters

·  Other safety organizations (e.g., EMS personnel, fire chiefs, local hazmat groups,

industry mutual aid groups, local police)

·  U.S. Power Squadron

·  Waterway patrol officers

·  Yacht/sailing clubs

·  Other interested vessel or marine terminal operators

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, write the name and

relevant background information of each participant.

APPENDIX 2: Marine Operations Risk Guide 10

ste3p

IDENTIFYING HAZARDS AND POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS:

What can go wrong?

Once you’ve defined the scope of this process (step #1) and assembled a group of experts (step

#2), you can get into the more specific aspects of the assessment. Ask yourself, “What can go

wrong?” Develop a list of hazards and related accidents that could occur. Do not limit yourself

to only those accidents that have historically occurred. An example chart of hazards and

potential accidents are as follows:

Hazard Accident

Operations in restricted waterways or

near exposed reef

§ Groundings

§ Bottom scouring

Bad weather § Loss of crew overboard

§ Damage to vessel

Handling toxic substances

§ Spill

§ Personnel exposure

§ Improper waste handling

Hot work started without authorization

§ Fire

§ Injury to personnel

§ Vessel damage

When compiling this list, be sure to remain within the scope of the assessment. If you are only

concerned with what happens while underway, a fire resulting from welding repairs at the dock

should not be considered. If such a fire is of great concern, perhaps a separate assessment should

be undertaken. Also, list only those hazards and potential accidents that are directly related to

negative impacts or consequences within your operation. Be specific! It is very difficult to

assign frequency ratings (step #4) and consequence ratings (step #5) to hazards and potential

accidents that are too broad in scope (e.g., all groundings).

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tip

One way to identify hazards and their associated accidents is to develop a flow chart of

the operation(s) you have decided to assess. List or describe each function or activity

being performed (within your specific area of concern). These functions or activities will

be sequential in nature and usually follow a timeline. This flowchart will give you a

relatively broad picture of the operation. Suppose you decide to examine only the

portion of your operation when you are carrying hazardous cargo and you are

concerned about personnel exposure. A flow chart that might apply in this case is

presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Flow Chart for Transporting Hazardous Cargo

From the moment that cargo orders are received in the office to when the ship’s crew

prepared the tanks for the next cargo, you will examine each activity of that phase of the

operation and identify where the potential exposures to the hazardous cargo exist. As

you analyze each activity for hazards, you want to ask yourself, “What happens if this

occurs?” and “What would be the consequence if what is expected to occur does not

occur?” Refer to the case study in Appendix 2 for greater detail.

tip

Here is a partial listing of potential hazards and accidents to consider. Depending upon

the problem you have defined, additional hazards may need to be added.

Personnel Casualties:

·  Crew injury involving machinery

·  Crew injury while alongside or getting underway (e.g., line handling injuries, dockjumping

injuries, falling into water)

·  Man overboard

·  Medical emergency

·  Crew violence

·  Slips, trips, and falls

Material Casualties – Ship:

·  Allision (impact with a fixed object)

Cargo

Orders

Loading

Cargo

Transport

and Storage

Activities

Cargo

Discharge

Tank

Cleaning

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Material Casualties – Ship (continued):

·  Collision due to inattention

·  Collision due to mechanical failure

·  Collision due to other ship’s fault

·  Drift grounding caused by mechanical failure

·  Engine room/machinery space fire

·  Explosion on board

·  Galley fire

·  Hard docking resulting in damage

·  Powered grounding

·  Other shipboard fire

Material Casualties – Shore:

·  Explosion in terminal

·  Fire in terminal

·  Structural damage to terminal due to ship allision

·  Fire on vessel

·  Hose failures

·  Seal and flange separations

Environmental Impacts:

·  Bottom scouring

·  Exhaust emissions

·  Hazardous material discharge

·  Noise

·  Pollution due to oil discharge

·  Sewage discharge

·  Vapor cloud release

·  Cargo emissions

Human Errors:

·  Inattention

·  Failure to follow procedures

·  Improper maintenance

·  Inadequate training

·  Fatigue

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, describe the hazards and

potential accidents that could occur.

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4 step ASSIGNING FREQUENCY:

How often will it happen?

At this point, you are ready to discuss and establish a frequency scale. For each hazard and its

associated potential accident identified in the previous step, rate the likelihood of that hazard

leading to an accident. How often might it happen?

tip

Note that this is an estimate of how often the potential accident could possibly occur, not

how often a hazard presents itself. Just because you may encounter a certain hazardous

situation every day does not mean that you will experience its associated accident every

day.

Decide how frequently each of the hazards and undesirable events listed in step #3 could become

reality and cause harm. Discuss each hazard and event and rate them using the Table 1 or a similar

scale that has been tailored to your particular analysis.

Assign a rating of if the frequency is

1 REMOTE = Might occur once in a lifetime

2 OCCASIONAL = Might occur every five-ten years

3 LIKELY = Might occur every one to five years

4 PROBABLE = Might occur yearly

5 FREQUENT = Might occur more than once per year

Table 1. Frequency Scale

When rating your group of hazards and potential accidents, compare them to one another to

ensure consistency. You may have refined your ideas about the rating scheme in the middle of

this step. Thus, some ratings may need to be adjusted to make them consistent with your new

ideas. To aid in the assignment of frequency ratings, review the historical performance of your

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company and/or that of your industry. These ratings will be used in step #6 to help determine

which hazards and their related accidents pose the greatest risks.

tip

If you choose to use your own frequency scale, be sure it has enough rating categories to

clearly distinguish between a likely occurrence and one that is unlikely.

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, fill in the frequency rating

for each hazard and potential accident. Note that these ratings are subjective estimates.

.

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ste5p

ASSIGNING CONSEQUENCES:

What is the impact?

In addition to the frequency scale that you just created, you must also establish a

consequence, or impact, scale. For each hazard and potential accident identified in step #3,

rate the impact that would result from that hazard materializing into an accident. Once

again, discuss each hazard and event and rate them using Table 2 or a similar scale that has

been tailored to your particular analysis.

Assign a rating of if the impact could be

1

NEGLIGIBLE = Injury not requiring first aid, no cosmetic

vessel damage, no environmental impact, no missed

voyages.

2

MINOR = Injury requiring first aid, cosmetic vessel

damage, no environmental impact, additional work,

minor operational disruption, no missed voyages.

3

SIGNIFICANT = Injury requiring more than first aid,

vessel damage, some environmental damage, longer

operational disruption, or financial loss.

4

CRITICAL = Severe injury, major vessel damage, major

environmental impact, major operational disruption

missed voyages (up to and including the entire season).

5 CATASTROPHIC= Loss of life, loss of vessel, extreme

environmental impact.

Table 2. Consequence (Impact) Scale

tip

As in step #4, have enough ratings to distinguish the likely consequences from the

unlikely to assign ratings accordingly. As in the previous step, compare the ratings for

consistency to make sure they make sense. These ratings will be used in step #6 to

help determine which hazards have the highest risks.

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, fill in the impact

rating for each accident. Note that these ratings are subjective estimates.

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step6

DETERMINING RISK PRIORITY:

Where should efforts be focused?

Now that the frequency and consequence of each hazard and potential accident have been

rated, the ratings can be used to determine relative risk priority scores. These risk priority

scores will identify which hazards present the greatest risks for the operation being examined.

Use Figure 3, or a similarly constructed matrix tailored to your particular analysis, to

determine the risk priority score for each hazard. First, locate the frequency rating from step

#4 in the leftmost column. Then locate the consequence rating from step #5 in the uppermost

row. The risk priority score, located where the two ratings intersect, will fall into one of the

following four general groups: Very High (VH), High (H), Moderate (M), or Low (L).

Figure 3. Risk Priority Matrix

A risk priority of “VH” indicates an event or an accident that is very likely to occur and with

very high consequences. A risk priority of “L” indicates and inconsequential event that is

unlikely to occur. Risk priorities of “H” and “M” lie somewhere in between. The items with

the same highest risk priority scores should be addressed first. Discriminating amongst risk

scores within a group can be difficult because of the subjective nature of the analysis and

1 2 3 4 5

5 M H H VH VH

4 M H H VH VH

3 L M H H H

2 L L M M H

1 L L M M M

Frequency

Consequences

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uncertainty of the operation. However, the panel of experts conducting the risk analysis

should discuss those hazards in more depth and prioritize them. Once all hazards have been

scored and prioritized, focus yo ur efforts on the highest risk priority scores.

Figure 4 contains an example that shows risk priority scores for corresponding frequency and

consequence ratings. Notice that the risk priority score for “Exposure Due to Sampling” falls

in the same general group as that for “Exposure Due to Pump Seal Failure.” However, when

looking at the table it is easy to determine that the “Exposure Due to Sampling” poses the

greatest risk due to the higher frequency rating associated with this operation and, therefo re,

should be addressed first.

EXAMPLE: An evaluation of personnel exposure hazards led to the following

results.

Figure 4. Risk Priority Score Example

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, fill in the relative risk

priority scores. Transfer the event descriptions with the highest scores to the spaces

labeled “Focus Hazards.” Although there are only three entries for “Focus Hazards” on

the worksheet, you may choose to consider more.

Event Frequency

Rating

Consequence

Rating

Risk

Priority

Score

Exposure Due to Sampling 5 3 H

Exposure Due to Fire 1 5 M

Exposure Due to Pump Seal

Failure

3 3 H

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st7ep

DEVELOPING COUNTERMEASURES:

What can be done to address these risks?

Up until now, you have focused on framing the problem, identifying and rating various

hazards and potential accidents, and deciding which ones should be addressed first. In this

step, you will identify ways to mitigate the hazards and potential accidents that have the

highest risk priority scores. Develop a list of countermeasures that can be used to prevent or

reduce the consequences associated with the hazards or potential accidents. Some

countermeasures may mitigate more than one hazard or potential accident.

For each hazard or potential accident, look for countermeasures that involve people,

procedures, and/or equipment. The best way to find these countermeasures is by describing

the hazard or potential accident in terms of a causal chain. This chain, shown in Figure 5,

captures the series of events that may lead to a casualty or hazardous occurrence.

Countermeasures, applied early in the chain, that address causes and incidents are preferred to

those that only reduce consequences. In other words, effective countermeasures are those

break the causal chain prior to the accident occurring.

Figure 5. Causal Chain

tip

Remember step #2 – Gathering Experts? It helps to get assistance from people who

actually perform the tasks on a daily basis. Including these people as you go through

each step in the process may be more efficient in the long run.

The example shown in Figure 6 is a continuation of the example presented in Figure 4. In this

example, we look at some of the potential countermeasures that could be implemented at

various points along the causal chain to mitigate the adverse effects of personnel exposure

Cause Incident Accident Consequence

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while sampling a hazardous cargo. Keep in mind the importance of considering

countermeasures that involve people, procedures, and equipment. For instance, conducting

training in sampling techniques, performing hazardous materials training, and refreshing

medical notifications are countermeasures that focus on people. Modifying a sampling

procedure, creating a new hazardous materials handling procedure, and developing new

medical notification procedures are countermeasures that focus on procedures. Finally,

employing a new sampling system and upgrading personnel protection equipment (PPE) are

countermeasures that focus on equipment.

Figure 6. Countermeasures and the Causal Chain Example

In the spaces provided on the Marine Risk Assessment Worksheet, enter possible

countermeasures for each focus hazard.

Inadequate

·  Skills

·  Training

·  Knowledge

·  Procedures

· Maintenance

·  Human error

·  Equipment failure

· Procedural gap

·  Reportable exposure

·  Reportable marine

casualty

Harm to

·  People

·  Property

·  Environment

·  Equipment

Intervene before the INCIDENT.

Examples include enhanced surveys,

check-off lists for routine evolutions,

Bridge Resource Management Training,

communications equipment, alarms,

remote sensors, and rest hours.

Intervene before the CONSEQUENCE.

Reduce the harm caused by the accident.

Examples include response plans, emergency

drills, traditional lifesaving equipment,

egress design, markings, emergency