A lot of it will be dependent on whether there is breakwater as it acts as a buffer and how much the tides will affect the unladen and laden vessels.

Using the NOAA web site and ACCUweather are the best way.

The only way you will be able to manage this is if each area/terminal is treated as a microclimate by charting wind speeds/temperatures/dew point/rain guage solar radiation etc. at berthing and mast level of ore carriers etc., even then it is up for debate as predicting weather is still a voodoo science simply because the weather will change at a moments notice due to the prevailing winds or lack there of. Alot will depend on whether there are mountains in the area in question as well.

With that in mind where I live in the eastern wilderness @ 1140 feet above mean sea level and where another family member lives is 7 miles apart and it can be raining here and be dry and have sunshine over there and vice versa so it is not simple especially when a forecaster on the television tells you there is not a cloud to be seen in the sky and you beg to differ with him as he is using data that is many hours old simply because of the jet stream and the rotation of the planet.

Even if you use a 20-30 mile radius from the berth you will still need constant barormetric pressure readings to stay current with any possible storm activity. The NOAA weather buoys do a great job of that for everyone here in the united states. ■

Dear Jean Pierre

I can give you some information on wind speed requirements from a machine design perspective.

Machines for the continuous handling of bulk materials are designed generally to comply with ISO5049.1 or simliar local standard, such as AS4324.1 . These standard typically stipulate that the maximum operating wind speed for these machines should be taken as 20m/sec and that the machine should be suitably locked down in a storm park position at wind speeds higher than that.

What that means is that by the time the port operator comes to expect winds speeds higher than 20m/sec, their machines should be fully locked down and ready for storm. The problem is that the process of configuring the machine from operating mode to being locked down can take anywhere up to 30 minuits. However, port operators typically simply monitor their anemometers and start moving towards the locks when the wind speed is licking at the limits. what is rarely realised is that a thunderstorm in the vicinity of the port can generate winds much greater than this limit within moments, let these winds blow for a few minutes and then disappear again as though nothing has happened.

It's clear what problem this situation can present. However, without suitable and specialised forecasts, the port operators will not be able to change to making their wind operating decisions with foresight. So, your quest is a nobel cause indeed and I would request that your forecasts include worning where downbursts in excess of 20 m/sec can happen, and to provide a time period within which they can be expected, rathen than to simply report them as possible on a 12 hour forecast.

I frequently encourage my customers to monitor aviation forcasts, since these provde this stype of information. their limitation is that the Terminal forecasts report for an airfield which is inland and often a little away from the coast and so I have to also review Area forecasts for winds at 2000feet which tend to represent what winds can be expected at a wharf on a coastal water way. A port forecast would be gold.

Another type of machine that port operators tend to have to deal with are cranes. The wind speed limits for mobile cranes can often be much lower than those for machines. It is typical that a crane must drop any load by 10 m/sec and must lower its boom by 15 m/sec, making these forecasts even more important.

A further scenario is when maintenance is being performed on machines where the machine needs to be outside the locks, or needs to be in a state of dissassembly for a period of time during which time it cannot be effectively locked down.

My advice in that situation is typically to define hold points at which tool availability, resource availability and weather decisions need to be made prior to moving from the hold point. where the next hold point is further away than the validity period of the forecasts, points of no return are defined and forecasts are monitored 3 to 4 times a day.

There, too, life would be much simpler, and therefore more reliable, if you and your collegues could provide us with suitable specialised forecasts.

I remain with great hope. ■

Fog & freezing. There is/was a RN bunkering facility at Simonstown. Maybe they can advise you more on local 5 & 10 year events sort of business. Weren't the other replies brilliant though? ■