Casualties

Grounding highlights need of ECDIS alarms in open waters

In the latest edition of its Safety Digest, UK MAIB describes a grounding of a small bulk carrier on a sandbank. The vessel had been following a planned track in the ECDIS, but the ECDIS alarms had been turned off. The ship remained aground for 6 days and was refloated by salvors.

The incident

The second officer had taken over the bridge watch from the master at midnight. The vessel was heading 146˚ in autopilot at 11kts, but during the watch handover the master told the oncoming OOW to shorten...

https://safety4sea.com/grounding-highlights-need-of-ecdis-alarms-in-open-waters/

Cargo ship stranded off Bermuda

The US Coast Guard airdropped a large supply of supplies to a disabled cargo ship about 1380 miles southeast of Bermuda, Tuesday, and continues to monitor the situation. The 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, Alta, had 10 people onboard.

A 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, Alta, with 10 people onboard, became disabled while transiting from Greece to Haiti, and was unable to make repairs. The crew reported that they had enough food for two days and water for 15 days, and that there were...

https://safety4sea.com/cargo-ship-stranded-off-bermuda/

Fire broke out on DFDS Seaways ferry

The DFDS Seaways’ ferry Regina Seaways, with more than 300 passengers onboard was reported to be stranded in the Baltic Sea, as it experienced fire in the engine room, while it was off the coast of Kaliningrad. However, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence the ferry reached the port of Klaipeda.

Regina Seaways was heading from the Port of Kiel to the Port of Klaipeda, Lithuania, when according to sources it suffered an engine room fire. When the fire broke out, the ship was...

https://safety4sea.com/fire-broke-out-on-dfds-seaways-ferry/

Fines total $100,000 over L’Austral’s first grounding

A French cruise company and ship’s Master have been fined $70,000 and $30,000 respectively for endangering human life and entering a prohibited zone following the 9 January 2017 grounding of the cruise ship L’Austral on an uncharted rock at the Snares Islands.

Namely, French company Compagnie du Ponant and Captain Regis Daumesnil were sentenced in the Wellington District Court on 2 October, after pleading guilty to charges regarding the incident. Both Maritime NZ and the Department of...

https://safety4sea.com/fines-total-100000-over-laustrals-first-grounding/

Lessons learned: Language differences lead to collision

The UK MAIB issued the second edition of its ‘Safety Digest’, providing useful lessons learned from maritime casualties it has encountered. In the first case of the report, UK MAIB describes a collision between two vessels that occurred from misunderstanding due to language differences.

The incident

A large bulk carrier was approaching a laden oil tanker in a traffic lane of a traffic separation scheme. With a speed of 16kts, the bulk carrier was the overtaking vessel, and as both vessels were...

https://safety4sea.com/lessons-learned-language-differences-lead-to-collision/

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