The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch, issued an investigation report concerning the grounding of the cargo vessel in Pentland Skerries, Pentland Firth, Scotland. Although the grounding caused significant hull damage, there was no pollution or injury.
Incident
The Netherlands-registered general cargo vessel grounded on Pentland Skerries in the eastern entrance of Pentland Firth in Scotland. The grounding caused a substantial damage to the hull of the vessel, yet no pollution or injury was reported.
The officer responded to two verbal warnings from shore authorities of the danger ahead. Yet, the action taken in response to these warnings was not effective and further indicated that he did not have adequate understanding of the situation and was not in the position to escape danger.
The ship was then able to refloat after seven days and a partial removal of cargo.
Cause
While approaching Pentland Firth, the ship was heading south of its planned track, but the officer of the watch was not in the place to respond. In fact, it is estimated that the officer was not monitoring the ship’s progress for almost 2 hours. Instead, it is reported that he was sitting in the bridge chair watching videos. It can also be the case that he was falling asleep periodically.
Also, there was plenty of time to regain the planned route when the officer of the watch realized that the vessel was off track. Instead, he decided to follow an alternative route that placed the vessel in imminent danger relying only on radar data and not referring to navigational information when making the crucial decision.
Moreover, as there were no navigational alarms to warn of danger, no additional lookout was posted, even though the accident occurred at night. Also, the navigational watch alarm system of the bridge was switched off.
Lesson learnt
- Must review and improve the safety management system and standards of watchkeeping aboard the vessel.
- Safeguarding that all aspects of the voyage plan are compliant with the IMO guide.
- Impose an internal audit regime to effectively supervise safety management.
- Record hours of rest accurately for all crew members.
- Effectively utilize all methods for fixing the vessel’s position.
- The crew must be prevented from undertaking duties for which they are not qualified and a thorough risk assessment must be undertaken prior to making the decision to reduce to only one watchkeeper.
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Source: maib report
