Case Studies

A small cargo vessel was loaded and proceeding in a restricted waterway – a river with significant tidal range. The destination port allowed for vessels to a maximum of 83m LOA and 13m beam; the vessel in this case was 80m in length with a beam of 12m.

Two pilots had boarded at the sea buoy before entering the river. The Master and the two pilots completed a brief Master/pilot exchange before pilot A, who was under assessment by the senior pilot (pilot B), took the helm. The Master and pilot B...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-restricted-waterway-bank-effect/

A large wooden sail training vessel was moored at a shipyard ahead of a planned dry-docking. ‘Holding off’ lines were rigged and adjusted to keep the ship from touching the sides of the dock, and the gangway was aligned with a gap in the shoreside safety barriers.

A relief cook had joined the vessel while the permanent cook was away on leave. The relief cook received a handover from the permanent cook and an induction brief from the chief mate before starting his duties the next morning. On the...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-unsafe-gangway-impaired-faculties-fatalities/

An engineer and a helper needed to inspect the spare impeller blade assembly for the inert gas generator. This spare was kept in a plywood box, and was underneath a spare flame shield, which was quite heavy. With no further planning, the crew attempted to lift the heavy flame shield off the impeller box by hand. Both crew were wearing cotton gloves for the task.

The plywood cover of the impeller box was only loosely installed. While shifting the flame shield, the loose plywood cover also moved,...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-fingers-crushed-by-heavy-equipment/

A loaded bulk carrier was underway at about 13 knots in a busy marine waterway, in poor visibility and in darkness. The bridge team consisted of the Master, the OOW, a helmsman and a pilot assisted by a co-pilot. Neither pilot had the con; both were advising the Master. At 21:09, the co-pilot advised the bridge team that a radar target was observed near 11° on the starboard bow at a range of 2.5nm and a speed of 10 knots. Visibility was about 2 nm and there was a slight drizzle.

The bulk carrier...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-collision-causes-15-fatalities/

A Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) loaded with iron ore fines was underway with a combined wave (wind and swell) of about 3.7m on the starboard side. The vessel was built as a VLCC but was modified and converted into a very large ore carrier after sixteen years of tanker operations.

After the conversion, the vessel’s length, beam, and depth remained the same (311.89m L, 58.00m B, and 29.50m D respectively). However, the gross tonnage and the deadweight tonnage had increased due to structural...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-vloc-does-down-in-5-minutes-with-22-of-24-crew/

A general cargo ship was berthed to load steel products. The ship had a gantry crane which ran on rails on the coaming each side of the holds and was used to lift or replace the hatch covers.

A crew member was climbing down from the gantry crane control area to the deck. While proceeding down the ladder, the crew member lost their footing on one of the upper rungs. They initially fell to a platform on the lower part of the gantry crane, but the momentum from the initial fall carried them over...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-ladder-deficiency-allows-fall-to-quay/

A tanker had arrived at berth to load a fuel parcel. Once mooring was completed, the starboard accommodation ladder was prepared for the embarkation of local authorities, including the agent and the terminal personnel. Upon embarkation of the first group of terminal workers, they requested that the vessel lower the ladder somewhat to reduce the gap from the dock. The ladder was subsequently lowered, but now was below the level of the jetty.

As the vessel was moving somewhat, both vertically (15...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-damage-to-accommodation-ladder/

A fully loaded tanker left port despite a bad weather forecast for the following days. As a precaution, the Master chose a route relatively close to the coast in the event of an emergency.

Some 11 hours after departure, the bilge alarm sounded in the bow thruster room. The OOW considered it to be a malfunction and silenced the alarm. The next morning the bilge alarm in the bow thruster room sounded again. The bilge pump was started for that space, and the alarm soon ceased.

The weather remained...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-progressive-flooding-sinks-tanker/

A small passenger vessel was approaching port after conducting post-refit sea trials and a pilot had embarked for the docking. The plan, as discussed between the Master and the pilot, was to turn the vessel 180 degrees and enter the confined dock area with the assistance of one tug forward and one aft, berthing the vessel starboard side.

The pilot took the con, and slow ahead on both engines was ordered. The Master inquired what speed was required for the aft tug to connect; the pilot responded...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-tug-capsizes-with-2-fatalities/

A vessel was underway and experiencing severe rolling and pitching due to a heavy, long swell. In the galley, personnel were preparing the next meal. While passing near the galley, another crew member observed that the chief cook had placed his chef’s knife on the edge of the prep table, directly above his right foot.

The crew member intervened and reminded the chief cook that, given the vessel’s movement, this could lead to an unfortunate accident. The chief cook agreed and placed the knife on...

https://www.marineinsight.com/case-studies/real-life-incident-a-knife-near-miss/