When transferring hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil between two vessels, the potential cost of damage or pollution if something goes wrong is steep.
Ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operators have no second chances. Despite this, STS operators have a positive future. There will always be a need for the business and they have a very good safety record so far.
STS transfer operations are increasing worldwide in hotspots like West Africa, the Arabian Gulf, the east and west Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, Scandinavia, the North Sea and Singapore. Ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operators work within an intensely competitive market.
Reasons for use of transfer cargo from ship-to-ship:
Shippers must meet the requirements of traders worldwide, and STS operations are most needed when:
Needed talents:
For mooring masters involved in STS operations there can be no substitute for experience.
For example, when mooring two tankers, no matter what size, it is effectively creating a controlled collision, and there is a need for total awareness of how each ship will react when they come together with nothing but rubber fenders between them.
It is at this point of no return that a mooring master must be confident that the fenders are in the right position and can take the load, otherwise the consequences can be devastating.
In STS' case the mooring master acts as both pilot, loading master and a diplomat to deal with a wide cross section of ship's crews of many nationalities.
Stringent international guidelines
Every year guidelines are becoming more and more stringent driven by oil majors on the commercial side and environmentalists on the conservation side.
Years ago, owners took STS operating companies at face value. Now, many owners have their own questionnaires and requirements as set out within the Oil Companies' International Marine Forum (OCIMF) guidelines, and they want to be satisfied the company nominated by the charterer has the personnel and equipment to do the operation safely and within their guidelines.
