Anchor Handling

Equipment

Anchor Handling
Anchor handling involves a number of special
marine operations. The high tensions
experienced in chains and wires may cause
high heeling moments and may cause high
transverse and/or astern movements of the
anchor handling vessel. The vessels motion
through the water may also be affected by high
hauling speed on the anchor handling winch or
as result of any loss of bollard pull. The vessel
may be pulled astern at speed by the tension
in a heavy anchor arrangement. Any
simultaneous loss of thrust, for any reason, on
the vessel may lead to a rotation which would
lead to considerable extra transverse forces.

Anchor Handling activities

Planning and risk assessment
Verification of Vessel Stability
Preparation for the Anchor Handling Operation
Checks of machinery and equipment to be used
Loading and stowage of equipment
Radio communications between the deck and the bridge
Rig move meeting with the ship's crew
Equipment being transferred to the rig
Personal protective equipment
Safety on deck & safe areas
Taking the pendant wire from the rig
Connecting the work wire to the pendant wire
Decking anchors
Chain being recovered to the ship's chain lockers
Use of buoys to run anchor cables over sub-sea structures and
pipelines
Lowering anchor in 'drop' position

Anchor Handling Vessels

There are three main categories of anchor
handling vessels, the North European Anchor
Handling Tug, the American Anchor Handling
Tug and the Anchor Handling Tug and Supply
Vessel (AHTS.) The stern of the vessel is
open to the sea, allowing anchors and other
equipment to be deployed and recovered
easily. It is normal to have a stern roller
positioned at the stern of the vessel. A winch
house containing towing wires, winches and
anchor handling equipment is situated on
the forward section of the after deck.

Work Wire
The work wire is stored in the winch and used for deployment or
retrieval of anchors, in addition to towing operations. Work wires on
vessels varywith different lengths, diameters and characteristics.
Winch
The winch usually contains both anchor handling drums and towing
drums. The drums are normally connected to the same drive
system. The anchor handling winch should have multiple gears to
allow high pulling power at low gears. An arrangement with variable
braking power should be present, allowing the winch to pay out
work wire when the tension is excessive. The winch system may
either be hydraulic, electric or diesel driven. The direction of
rotation is normally overwind, so that the work wire has a small
downwards angle towards the stern of the vessel.
Shark Jaw
The shark jaw is a device for connecting and disconnecting chain
and wires, in addition to securing chain sections on the deck.
Karm Fork
The system is protected by patent in countries world wide

Types of Anchors
Delta flipper type anchors
Stef Shark anchors
D'Hone Special anchors (all sizes)
Pool TW anchors
Ac-14 anchor
Danforth Anchors
Hall anchor
Spek Anchor

Anchor Handling Operations

Introduction
This Manual is intended to provide guidance for safe anchor handling
operations on board this vessel. It should be read in conjunction with
Company procedures, international guidelines and specific procedures
provided by charterers. Anchor handling involves a number of special marine
operations. The high tensions experienced in chains and wires may cause
high heeling moments and may cause high transverse and/or astern
movements of the anchor handling vessel. The vessels motion through the
water may also be affected by high hauling speed on the anchor handling
winch or as result of any loss of bollard pull. The vessel may be pulled astern
at speed by the tension in a heavy anchor arrangement. Any simultaneous
loss of thrust, for any reason, on the vessel may lead to a rotation which
would lead to considerable extra transverse forces. Environmental conditions
will also influence the operations. For these reasons the vessels stability
needs to be closely monitored. Operations on deck involve other hazards of
which all personnel should be aware. Familiarity with the contents of this
manual is essential to all personnel involved in the anchor handling
operations. Teamwork is essential. It is not possible to describe every
situation as all jobs are different but general guidelines for stability, winch
handling and anchor handling operations are given below. The Master or any
person, having any concerns about the Operation, will STOP THE JOB.

Stability
Stability of vessel should be checked prior
to starting. In addition to sailing condition,
stability calculations should consider worst
case scenarios which may occur towards
the end of a prolonged job. Printouts of
these conditions are to be displayed
throughout the operation and reviewed as
soon as there is any event which may
change the vessels condition.

Communications
Externally Communications between all parties are vitally important. The more
people who know what is going on the safer the job will be. Briefings should be
shared by as many as possible. Contingency plans should be discussed before the
operation.
Internally Communication between bridge, where the master and winch driver will
be, and the anchor handling deck must be decided prior to the operation.
Dependent on vessels equipment and the operation concerned, the best means of
communication may be personal UHF radios or by loudspeaker. Whichever means of
communication is decided upon; it should be thoroughly tested prior to starting the
operation. Pre-sailing: A procedure book is produced with all relevant information and
should be supplied to the vessel on confirmation of contract. A tow master and
marine rep are appointed by the oil company involved, and a pre rig move meeting
and safety briefing should be held on board prior to mobilisation. If this is not
possible, rig move procedures are to be transmitted to the vessel and agreed by Tow
Master and Vessel Crew. Relevant risk assessments should be reviewed and
discussed, a new risk assessment should be written for any unusual operation being
planned. Pre-operation: Particularly where two vessels are working together, a
communication plan for the operation must be established which in particular
ensures an effective and coordinated action in the event of any unintended incident.
A tool box talk should be held with Ships Crew to instruct them of the intentions, and
to emphasize the safety aspects. Circa one hour prior to job commencement in field,
tank status, freeboard and calculated GM information to be transmitted to Owners

Equipment Checks
Prior to leaving port a navigation package is usually
installed on the bridge. This displays information
such as the current and/or proposed anchor
patterns as well as pipelines, cables etc on the
seabed. Positions are given in Northings and
Eastings, so are not transferable to radar or
electronic charts using Latitude and Longitude.
Deck equipment should be checked, a good supply
of punches and hammers are needed, some
breakage of these must be expected, especially
with Kenter links.
Buoy lassoes, for recovering buoys from the water,
should be inspected if they are needed, along with
boathooks, and plenty of split pins.

Bollard Pull
Masters should ensure that the vessels bollard
pull is adequate for the proposed job. In
considering this masters should be aware that
bollard pull, as measured for the vessels
certificates in some cases does not allow for the
power used by working deck machinery.
Allowance for any reduction should be made when
considering bollard pull available during a job.
Detailed information is available in the Anchor
handling Manual. Maximum bollard pull is
achieved with the cable right astern, rudders
amidships and a further reduction in bollard pull
must be allowed for should the angle of the cable
lead other than right astern.

Quick (Controlled) Release and

Emergency Stop
Winch
To release undesired tension the winches are fitted
with emergency release mechanisms. These are not
instantaneous releases but allow a fast payout of
the wire from the winch drum. Where a quick
release system is fitted on any winch, personnel
should be familiar with their operation and effect;
this is described within this manual.
And Mechanical Wire Stopper.
The vessels crew should be instructed in the
procedures for emergency release methods and a
notice posted on the bridge giving the vital
information for operation of emergency winch stops,

Anchors
Most semi submersible drilling rigs today use
Stevpris anchors. These have the advantages that
they have very high holding power for their
weight, will dig in on most bottoms, are cheap,
and are safe and stable on deck. The
disadvantage is that, when they land on the
bottom flukes upwards, they will never dig in.

The Rig Move

Semi submersible rigs use 8, 10, or 12 anchors and chains to
secure them. In a normal location they will have chasing collars set
on the chains, the internal oval size of these is about 1000mm x
500mm; they weigh about 1.5 tonnes. A 60 metres wire, known as
the PCP, (variously called Permanent Chain Pendant, Permanent
Chasing Pennant or Permanent Chaser Pendant), is attached to this,
often with some chain in between. Calculations made to verify that
the forces involved are within the capacity of the vessel must take
into consideration the weight of the anchor lines and the
anticipated force/tension which may occur in any phase of the
operation. If, at any time during the operation, the vessel
experiences greater load/forces/tension than anticipated in the
plans anchor handling must be discontinued, the gear and
equipment relieved or emergency released. The vessel must not
connect the anchor/towing gear directly to her winch unless she
can handle the load/force/tension and dynamic conditions alone,
based on her permissible capacity according to the stability and
load calculations.

Rig Move
Recovery
A rig crane passes the end of the PCP to the
stern of the anchor handler, with a spare sling
for the deck crew to catch with a boathook.
They hook the tugger wire on and pull the PCP
between a pair of open tow pins to a wire
stopper. Let go the crane, connect the work
wire from the winch, using an 85 tonne or other
appropriate sized shackle and split pin. (Work
wires normally come in 500 metres length, so if
going beyond 400 metres water depth, second
work wire should have been added).

Rig Move
Deployment
The rig passes the PCP, as above, once connected up,
take about 30 tonnes weight, ask rig winch driver to start
paying out. Normally this is a controlled speed payout, so
the anchor comes slowly across to the stern. Heave in
until it is possible to see whether the anchor is right way
round, i.e. flukes out on a Stevpris, PCP straight on a
Bruce. If not, wait until there is about 100 metres of
chain, then stop the rig winch driver, take the power off
until the anchor falls out of the collar. Bring tension up to
30 tonnes again, and the propeller wash will turn the
anchor to the correct orientation.
Navigation systems are prone to failure, it is always
prudent on radar, to put electronic bearing marker onto
rigs echo before starting, so position can be kept if
navigation system fails.

Rig Move
Deep Draught
Increasingly, to avoid having to offload deck
cargo and mud tanks, rigs are moved at deep
draught. It is not possible then to see the
anchors or bolsters, so anchors cannot be
racked, and are carried on the deck of the
anchor handlers. The ends of the chains are
passed up to the rig using the PCP connected
to the chain.

Rig Move
Pennant Wires and Buoys
Before the use of chasers, all anchors were buoyed off. With the increasing number of
mid line buoys and inserts, this practice is reappearing. A pennant wire is 120 or 150m
long, 77mm diameter wire with hard eyes on each end. Delivered to the vessel in coils,
they are opened by connecting the outer end to the winch, and throwing the inner end
over the stern. They are either attached to the PCP wire fitted to the collar on the
anchor, or directly shackled to the anchor. The top end goes initially on to a 5 tonne
surface buoy, but these are banned for long term use, so after the rig is tensioned up
in position, the buoy is removed, and after a so called lay down wire is added, (which
is in fact another 120m pennant), the wires are stretched out in a given direction with
a sacrificial strop inserted. This, on parting, causes the wires to fall to the seabed in a
fairly straight line. A surveyor records this for next pickup. While it is easy to just drop
it, it might be you who has to grapnel for it at recovery. To retrieve the buoy, the
vessel is backed up, until the stern is close to the buoy. Two crew members then throw
a lasso, 13m x 28mm with a piece of small chain in the middle, over the buoy. This
should go right over the buoy, choking on the wire underneath when tensioned. The
buoy is then lifted by pulling on the attached winch and the wire is secured in the wire
stopper. Always check vessels position relative to the anchor to stop a sudden load
coming on the wire. A favoured aspect is beam on to any swell, such that the vessel
and buoy are rising and falling together. With the thrust available this is normally
possible. Failing that, in calm weather, stern to weather is fine. If it is needed to go
nearly head to weather, be careful of falling down on to the buoy, which causes the
pennant wire to tighten , and the buoy is pulled in to the propellers. Buoy catching is
the most weather limited operation when anchor handling.

Variations
Increasingly, anchor chains are being laid over
pipelines. In shallow water (up to 200m) this
worries surveyors, so various methods are used
to lift the chain.

The Mid-line Buoy

At deployment the anchor handler takes the anchor from the
rig and decks it, using the PCP and collar. The chain/anchor is
broken, normally a 77 mm Kenter link. The rig chain is
lockered until the exact point is reached where the chain
would be over the pipeline. A chain clamp is fitted and a mid
line buoy, which is designed to take the water pressure, fitted.
Then the chain is paid out as the vessel moves slowly ahead,
until the anchor can be reconnected and reset. As the chasing
collar cannot be run back to the rig, a previously spooled on
pennant wire is attached to the PCP, and the anchor laid under
tension, as before. Pennant wires are normally 180m x 77mm
with peewee sockets on the end. Once the anchor is on the
bottom a surface buoy is fitted, and floated. This is replaced
by a lay down wire after tensioning, and proving of the
anchors holding are completed. To recover this reverse the
procedure, grappling the lay down wire, recovering the anchor,
lockering chain until the mid line buoy comes on deck, when
damage to the clamp bolts is often found, then after clamp
removal, paying out the lockered chain as the rig heaves in,

The Rope Insert

With the development of new rope systems, these are now used
offshore. Again, the rig anchor is decked, using the collar and PCP.
Once disconnected, the rig chain is lockered, to the correct point,
where either there is a kenter link, or the chain is cut, using gas
cutting gear.
A rope, usually 400m x 160mm with hard eyes, has been previously
spooled on. On each eye is a length of chain which can be connected
by Kenter link into the chain and then deployed, and the lockered
chain and anchor can then be put out again. Again the collar cannot
be run back to the rig, so the anchor must be lowered on a pennant
wire, and a buoy fitted, later replaced by a laydown pennant. To
recover this, reverse the procedure, grappling for the lay down wire,
decking the anchor, lockering the chain until the rope end is in the
wire stopper. This rope is buoyant, so ensure some tension is kept on it
to prevent propeller fouling. After recovery of the rope, reconnect the
chain, and pay out the lockered chain to the rig when it is heaving in,
then connect the anchor for racking. Sometimes rigs have small
gypsies, or cable lifters, and a slim line kenter has to be used. This is a
special item, supplied by the rig. When spooling the rope on to a
drum, care must be taken that there is no sharp metal contact with
the rope; either by using a drum with a jewellery box, i.e. a separate

The Wire Insert

When working in deeper water, 500m plus, a normal chain mooring
system leads down at an angle of 70 degrees, because of the weight
of chain. This does not give much horizontal position control, so a
wire of up to 1000m long is inserted in the middle of the chain.
(weight of 90mm wire is 40kg/m against 126kg/m for chain). Take the
anchor from the rig up on to the deck, disconnect anchor and collar at
Kenter link, locker the chain to the required point, if a Kenter is fitted
here open this, or cut the chain, join the end of the insert wire to the
chain using a No.7 pear link, pay out the wire on the correct heading,
join the other end of the wire to the lockered chain, using another
pear link, pay out until the end, reconnect anchor and collar, deploy
the anchor to the seabed. As the distance from the rig is much more,
use up to 140 tonnes to tension chain before setting anchor. On this
arrangement the collar can be run back to the rig, but reduce speed
when the collar is passing over the pear links. Prior to running the
insert wire it must be tensioned on the winch, to about 40-50 tonnes
either by running it from one drum to another, or passing the end to
another anchor handler who can steam against it.

Grappling
A grapnel is carried on board, with a notch cut in the flukes to
take cables of about 85mm diameter. This is used for
recovering wire or chain from the seabed, especially lay down
wires. Always insert a length of chain between the grapnel and
the work wire, to force the grapnel flukes in to the bottom, and
thus under wires lying there. Put out twice the water depth of
work wire, and try to steam across the item to be caught. If it
is there you will normally catch it. The problem, especially with
lay down wires, is that they are dropped short, so the
navigation display is unrealistic. Due to the small weight
involved little is shown on winch display, until the wire comes
tight heaving in. If recovering a broken chain the grapnel
immediately locks on, and tension rapidly rises. Steam slowly
away from the rig while recovering, to prevent the chain
twisting up, which the work wire tends to cause as load comes
on.

J-Hooking
A J-hook is carried to pick up chain when a ring chaser cannot be used. Use a
piece of chain between the work wire and the Hook. If there is good tension on
the rig chain, and thus the chain will be leading out at a decent angle, the
best method of hooking is to run out 2/3 water depth, and cross the bearing of
the chain by 10 degrees, moving at about 2 knots. If the chain is leading 090,
cross it at 100 degrees. Normally, however, the chain will be hanging nearly
straight down from the rigs fairlead, and the stern of the vessel has to be
taken to within 30 metres before slacking out of water depth, and heaving
in. Several tries may be needed before a connection is made. Once connected
pay out slowly while moving out on the line of the chain, until water depth of
less 10 metres is reached. If there is an embedded anchor at the end of the
chain, when within 100 metres or so of the anchor slack out to 1.4 times water
depth, and recover anchor as normal, but decking the anchor, if in deeper
water, is best left until the rig has recovered most of the chain, and thus loads
are reduced. Often the (Stevpris) anchor comes up on its side, and a lot of
chain hanging down can put a severe bending force on this. A variation on the
J-hook is the locking hook. This has a built up section on the hook, such that
the chain is free to run one way, but locks the other. Used for recovering
chain/rope combinations where the hook against the rope is to be avoided. Its
effectiveness is variable, and normally requires a slack chain.

Deep Water Operations

(Tandem/Joint Towing Operations)
At all times each vessel handler must be aware
of the effect of the changing weight of the
chain on the manoeuvrability and stability of
both vessels. The operation should be planned
such that at no time is the vessel put in a
position where the loads will exceed her own
limit in the event of an assisting vessel being
unable to share the load. i.e. the load of the
complete chain must be within the capability of
the single vessel. This should be shown by the
stability calculations and may require input
from the charterer or their representative. The
vessel must not connect the anchor/towing
gear directly to her winch unless she can

Towing
When moving rigs from one location to another, or in to
port, a tow wire (1200m x 83mm) is used. This is either
connected to a rig anchor chain, or to the rigs tow
bridle. If towing on a chain there will normally be
another vessel on the other bow of the rig, and one will
be appointed lead tug. This vessel will handle courses
and alterations, liaising with the Tow Master on the rig.
Other tugs connected will keep station on the lead tug.
This vessel is also required to give warnings on VHF,
asking other vessels to keep clear, while giving position
and route. The rig will also require frequent updates, for
distances etc.
During tandem and joint towing operations the towing
gear must be connected in towing hooks with
emergency release or in some other way be arranged so
that in case of breakage in towing line or loss of
power/bollard pull in one of the vessels, the other may

Jack Up Rigs
When working with jack up rigs it is normal to attach a tug to
the quarter of the rig for positioning. A 60m pennant is pre
rigged and the end passed by crane, but heaving lines and
tuggers are still sometimes used. After connecting, let out 200
metres of wire to allow for fast turning if needed. The tow
master positions the rig with instructions to the two tugs and
dropping, and raising the rig legs on the seabed, until rig is
pinned and lifted clear of the water. If the rig is going to be
working next to, or over, a platform, final positioning takes
place with the help of small anchors and wires. Deploying
these can be difficult, as the wires are normally 52mm,
sometimes down to 38mm and the smallest insert for the wire
stopper is 65mm. Consideration should be given to keeping a
shackle on the end of the wire to prevent it jumping out of the
wire stopper.
After final positioning, anchors are recovered and the rig loads
to 150 percent of normal working weight, to make sure none
of the legs punch through into softer ground. At least one
vessel is retained while this is going on.

Pipe Lay Barges

Most pipe laying is now done by DP ships, moving along on thrusters, but
there are still some elderly pipe layers around that use anchors. These often
use a set of 12 anchors, 15 tonnes AC14, with wires, normally 70mm from the
winches. From the anchor a single pennant wire is brought through a buoy to a
hard eye. Slings are attached to the buoy and the hard eye, and these anchors
are moved along, under the direction of the anchor foreman, for the barge to
move and keep tension on. To lift the anchor catch the buoy sling and deck the
buoy, then heave on the wire through the buoy. Once the anchor is 50 metres
off bottom the foreman will direct the vessel to the next drop point for the
anchor, shown on the navigation screen provided. To release the anchor pay
out until on the sea bed, disconnect the pennant wire, which may have been
connected to the winch wire with a slip hook, and leave the buoy free. When
moving ahead the buoy runs over the stern. To prevent the wire dragging
sideways, the pipe-lay barge may haul in most of the wire and then get it rerun. Barge winches are very strong, and being pulled astern at 5 knots is
normal, before turning and heading for the new drop point. A large part of lay
barge crews salary is paid in joints bonus; the number of joints laid per day,
so slowing down is not a favoured option for them. Their desire to hurry should
not be allowed to compromise the safety of the operation. The pennant wires
are normally cut at the start of the season for the deepest water expected,
plus a margin, so in shallow water a lot of slack wire winding is involved.

Record Keeping
The recording of events and retention of logs is of
great importance to all operations; these records are
vital in the event of any investigation or damage
claim. Deck log should be updated frequently. A
bridge notebook may be used for recording times
during the operation and the main points transferred
to the log when convenient. This notebook should
have permanently bound pages and the use of loose
scraps of paper should be avoided. The engine room
log should also be completed to show a true record of
events, particularly detailing any machinery problems
and the starting and stopping of machinery during
the operation and the reasons for these events.

Any entries needing correction should be ruled through with a

single line; correction fluid should not be used. A detailed log of
all relevant times should be kept, these should be in addition to
normal log-keeping and include but not be limited to:
Handling of any pennant
Anchor on or off bottom
Anchor on roller
Movements of work-wire when grappling
Any damage noted to equipment and which parties
informed of damage.
Chasing movements
Where electronic logging is not available details

In addition to manual record keeping all available electronic

means should be in use. Many items of bridge/engine equipment
have recording facilities, some automatic, some requiring to be
set. Items which may be fitted to the vessel and able to record
information and should be in use include:
Towcon computer this should be set to record events at intervals
appropriate to the operation in hand e.g. maybe every three minutes
during anchor handling or twenty minutes when towing. This will give
details including strains and wire lengths from winches.
CCTV coverage of the working deck as a minimum. Equipment
should be set to record, preferably on loop, before starting any
operation. In the event of any incident the recorded data is to be
preserved.
Voyage Data Recorder where one of these is fitted it will
automatically monitor the ships position and bridge condition but
maybe only for 12 hours on a continuous loop. In the event of any
incident it is important to ensure that the data is recorded before 12
hours has elapsed.
Electronic chart display these can be set to record tracks of a
number of vessels.
Echo sounder this keeps position information.

Training
Familiarity of personnel with all relevant on-board systems is
essential. Personnel new to the ship should be given a shipspecific induction which should include, in addition to safety
matters, any parts of the anchor handling equipment which
they may encounter during their assignment to the vessel.
Every opportunity should be used to give officers the chance
to learn to handle the ship and winches safely. Occasions when
there is less intensive workload, e.g. spooling wires in port,
may provide good opportunities for training. Training
requirements may, on occasion, require that personnel move
to a more suitable vessel. Where appropriate, training courses
will be identified and used as a base for continued on board
training. All personnel on board must keep an up-to-date
record of their anchorhandling training in the appropriate
section of their SEAT Record Book (GONS 183).

Personal Protective Equipment and

Working Practices
Supplied PPE and safety equipment, including
inflatable life vests, must be worn. In cold weather
consideration should be given to wearing buoyancy
suits, but these can be very hot and restrict
movement. When breaking open Kenter links and
doing any hammering, eye protection is needed.
Safety harnesses should be available if needed.
Working hours should be carefully monitored to
ensure that no person exceeds their legal limits and
that hours of rest are adequate. Fatigue should be
recognized as a hazard and periods of rest should
be adequate. Sufficient experienced crew must be
available to allow for this: rig shifts can go on for
four weeks.