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SHARING OUR BAY: What the Commercial Marine Industry Wants You to Know |
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With the Corps of Engineers ready to start on a new contract for widening
and deepening the mid-bay portion of the Houston Ship Channel (HSC), the
myriad of local recreational boaters using it as their roadway may find
the channel blocked by working dredges.
The HSC is already one of the busiest waterways in the world with over 250, 000 transits per year - including an estimated 20,000 ships and 120,000 tow transits. In the process of enlarging the channel from 400 feet wide by 40 feet deep to 530 feet wide by 45 feet deep, dredges under contract to the Corps must at times block portions of the channel. Weeks Marine, Inc., a contractor for the Corps, will soon begin work on the mid-bay portion of the project with two or more dredges that for the next two years may create obstacles to navigation between Lights 45 and 75. Operating a pleasure boat under these crowded conditions requires proper training, proper equipment and proper vigilance. Given these obstacles, it is necessary for all maritime users of the bay, to work together to prevent accidents. A major mishap on the ship channel can not only create injuries and damage to property, but can also produce extensive negative impacts to the environment and the economic health of the Houston area. Here are some tips to assist recreational boaters in achieving a safe passage through this busy waterway. POINTERS FOR SHIP OPERATIONS Commercial ships and tows operate seven days a week, 24 hours per day in all types of weather making extensive use of radar and other electronic equipment. If not similarly equipped and trained, recreational boaters should not take the chance in marginal weather conditions. The speed of a ship or a tow can be deceptive. A ship can be going 15 knots or more in the (HSC) and even faster in deep ocean water. Large vessels need a few miles to come to a complete stop, as they have no brakes. Most commercial vessels must maintain a speed of 6 to 8 knots to maintain steerage and they must remain near the center of the narrow channel. It is the only place deep enough for them in our bay. The ships plying the Galveston Bay waters can be up to approximately 1000' long and 150' wide. Stay well clear of two ships meeting in the HSC as they will use the entire channel in this operation. Blind spots forward of the bow can extend from a few hundred feet on small ships to several thousand feet on deep draft container carriers. Local Coast Guard regulations allow commercial vessels transiting the HSC the option of monitoring VHF channel 16. However, all commercial vessels are required by law to monitor VHF channel 13; therefore, this is the BEST channel to contact any commercial traffic transiting the HSC. Channel 13 should be used sparingly, only when necessary. Another source of information for pleasure boaters on the ship channel is the local US Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), which monitors and transmits navigation advisories on VHF channel 12 throughout Galveston Bay and up to Light 113 near Baytown. Above Light 113, VTS utilizes VHF channel 11. It is critical that pleasure boaters understand whistle signals (although modern vessel operations generally involve radio communications rather that using whistles) for this is the shorthand of the commercial mariners. This is not as difficult as it sounds if you remember the phrase "two short to port". Therefore, two blasts in a meeting situation means keeping left and passing starboard to starboard and one blast in a meeting situation means keeping right and passing port to port. The rule also works in overtaking situations where two blasts means the vessel passing you will keep left, coming by on your port side. One blast in an overtaking situation means the passing vessel will stay right, passing on your starboard side. The passing vessel must keep clear of the vessel ahead. If a vessel on the HSC sounds five or more short blasts on the whistle, the pilot is concerned about a dangerous situation. Stay clear and give a wide berth to vessels sounding the "danger" signal. Operate your vessel in such a manner that you never receive the danger signal. It can take a while to get a large vessel to start turning and even longer for the ship to stop turning. This is one reason why it is so important to give a wide berth to all commercial traffic. Be cautious near bends in the ship channel and remember the vessels will be turning to remain in the channel. The turns are usually marked by a pair of beacons or buoys flashing at one second intervals. Small craft vessels and other recreational users of the waterway should be alert to the possibility of large swells or breakers in the shallow water near the sides of the channel caused by the passing of large deep draft vessels. This can lead to a very dangerous situation for the small boater. If caught in this situation, remain calm and seated. One's boat should be turned and headed into the swells at a 45-degree angle to avoid being swamped At night, make sure your navigation lights are bright and not obscured
by sails, flags, etc… Consider having a radar reflector put on your boat
and additional lights (that do not interfere with your navigation lights)
available to call attention to your location and situation. If using a
searchlight, do not shine it on to the bridge of other vessels. Blinding
an operator with a searchlight is dangerous and illegal. Get out of the way early when meeting commercial traffic so as to leave no doubt of your intentions. This is even more important for sailboats due to their slower speed. Remember, a large vessel will blanket all the wind from a sailboat if the boat gets too close to the ship. A large vessel must take evasive action at a long distance off to be effective, and then it can have a difficult time correcting back. "Wheel Wash" or "suction" is a strong underwater current caused by towboat or ship traffic that can result in severe turbulence hundreds of feet around a large vessel. Suction created by deep draft ships can be strong enough to pull a medium sized sail boat and even the bow of barges into the propeller area. Stay clear of the stern and wheel wash of ships and towboats at all times. Maintain an especially wide clearance to ships that are berthing or going into Bolivar Roads Anchorage. Propeller wash, especially from harbor tugs assisting ships, can flip a small boat Incidentally, the Bolivar Roads area was rated during a recent survey by commercial mariners as the most dangerous portion of the HSC. A tow without barges in front could be towing objects astern of the tug on a long line that may be underneath the water. Weeks Marine will be utilizing this arrangement during most of 2002, making four to five trips per day from the mid bay area to the dredge material placement area off the Galveston jetties. At night, probably the best clue to this arrangement will be two vertically aligned masthead lights and yellow over white stern lights on the towing vessel. Stay well clear of any marine casualty, incident, or spill. Wakes from small craft can hamper rescue or containment operations. If you are out near the sea buoy be aware that ships can make large turns in order for pilots to board and disembark on the lee side of the ship. Keep in mind the economic significance of commercial shipping to the local Houston economy as well as the State of Texas. However, only about 1% of Galveston Bay is required to produce all this commerce. The other 99% of the bay is available for recreational boaters to enjoy. Together, we can share our bay in a safe and environmentally compatible manner. Phone numbers that may be of assistance to you are: POINTERS FOR DREDGING OPERATIONS At night, the ball-diamond-ball will be represented with a red-white-red light pattern. The two diamonds of the safe side will have two green lights, and the two black balls of the danger side will be represented with two red lights. Do not confuse these as navigation lights. Never pass a dredge until you have confirmed passing instructions with the dredgemaster on VHF Channel 13. The Mid Bay dredging operations will probably involve a considerable number of support vessels that are necessary to move the dredge, relocate anchors, place dredging pipe and connecting flanges. These boats are constantly on the move 24 hours a day performing these tasks as well as ferrying personnel and supplies. Slow down, keep a close lookout, and be prepared for sudden maneuvers by the work boats. Better still, give dredging operations as wide a berth as possible. After deepening and widening activities are completed, the beacons on the sides of the Galveston Bay portion of the HSC will be approximately 1000' apart, and all will be in a minimum of 12' of water. The lower bay beacons, from the Galveston jetties to about Light 50, already reflect the greater width. While this extra spacing allows more room for the barge traffic, it also almost doubles the exposure time of pleasure boats to commercial vessels when crossing the channel. Area boaters are invited to attend a complete briefing by the Corps of Engineers on safety aspects and the schedule for the Mid Bay project at 7 PM, January 24, 2002 at the Houston Yacht Club in La Porte. This will be an opportunity to meet the project engineers from the Corps as well as project personnel from Weeks Marine. For more information, visit www.swg.usace.army.mil SUMMARY Mike Morris has been a Houston Pilot for seven years. Previously, he sailed deep sea vessels for over 20 years, 13 as a Master. He is a 1975 graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY. |
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