The National Transportation Safety Board today released its
"Safer Seas 2014: Lessons Learned From Marine Accident
Investigations" report.
Safer Seas is a compilation of accident investigations that
were published in 2014, organized by vessel type with links to the more detailed
accident reports.
Of the 23 reports completed in 2014 by NTSB, fishing and towing
vessels were the most common vessel types involved in accidents.
·
5 fishing vessel accident reports;
·
9 towing vessel accident repots
The report includes analysis of nine towing vessel
accidents, including the July 3, 2013 capsizing of the tug Megan McB. The pilot on board the vessel as it sailed
through a dam gate in the Mississippi River did not know how to operate the
vessel. The Megan McB lost engine
throttle control, and strong currents swept it into a gate where it overturned,
trapping and killing a 22-year-old deckhand, one of three crew members
aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the pilot
couldn’t avoid the gate because he didn’t know how to use the tow’s electronic
engine control throttle.
Also prevalent were fishing vessel accidents, with five
summaries provided in the report. In
one, the uninspected fishing vessel Advantage was on a routine transit to
fishing grounds in Alaska when it sank about 14 nautical miles southwest of
Cape Barnabas on August 31, 2012.
A U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter retrieved three of the
four crewmembers. One was never found
and was presumed dead, and the vessel’s captain later died.
Mooring accidents have marred shipping’s safety performance
for many years, and the report highlights two accidents, including a bollard
failure that saw the Carnival Triumph break free and collide with two vessels,
resulting in the death of a shipyard employee.
The sole cruise-related accident covers how bollard failure
at the BAE Systems shipyard in Mobile resulted in Carnival Triumph breaking from
its moorings and drifting across the river. One shipyard worker died and
another was injured after the two men fell into the water. The damage totaled
$3 million dollars.
There were no passengers on board.
The ship had been undergoing repairs at BAE Systems when a
freak storm with high wind gusts caused Carnival Triumph's stern to swing away
from the pier, straining the aft mooring lines. Bollards parted from their
mounts, setting the ship adrift. Its bow collided with the dredge Wheeler, and
another vessel became pinned between the hulls of the cruise ship and the
dredge.
The NTSB accident investigation determined the probable
cause as the successive failure of multiple mooring bollards, which were known
by BAE Systems to be in poor condition with an undetermined mooring load
capability.
Important safety
issues
Lack of maintenance and lack of proper worker training are the predominant
causes of failures in most industries.
The same holds true in the marine industry as well. Some of the important issues raised in the
report are:
·
Control system understanding – Two casualties
involved a lack of understanding of bridge equipment
·
Passenger safety during critical maneuvers – in
particular the danger of passengers in stairwells during docking was
highlighted
·
Proper maintenance of wooden vessels – two
accidents highlighted how these vessels are susceptible to sinking in heavy
weather if maintenance is not thorough
·
Crew training – inadequate response to fire on
the marguerite L Terral and flooding on the Rocky B led to the loss of these
vessels.
This is the second annual Safer Seas report. NTSB Chairman
Christopher Hart said it’s meant to be a “one-stop shop” where people in the
maritime industry can view concise summaries of a year’s worth of accidents
investigations. Hart says he’s learned that the report is being used in crew
training and safety meetings, both on board and shoreside.