NTSB

NTSB installs navigation simulator system

The US National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Office of Marine Safety (OMS) installed a navigation simulator system. The simulator enables the user to participate in a number of ‘what if’ scenarios, that aims to improve training, forensic analysis and reflective learning.

BMT’s Rembrandt navigation simulator system can automatically read VDR and AIS to deliver 3D reconstruction. It also allows users to change from its scene reconstruction mode into full manoeuvring simulator mode.

Thus,...

https://safety4sea.com/ntsb-installs-navigation-simulator-system/

Improper berthing arrangements led to Helsinki Bridge allision

US NTSB published its report on the allision of the container ship ‘Helsinki Bridge’, with the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal on December 6, 2017. According to the report, the Massachusetts Port Authority did not provide proper berthing arrangements during ongoing construction at the Conley Container Terminal.

The incident

On December 6, 2017, the Panama-flagged container ship ‘Helsinki Bridge’ was moored in the Reserved Channel port side to the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in Boston,...

https://safety4sea.com/improper-berthing-arrangements-led-to-helsinki-bridge-allision/

El Faro investigation made partners of safety board, deep ocean scientists

The wreck of the El Faro. NTSB photo.

The National Transportation Safety Board could not have determined what sank the El Faro with her crew of 33 had it not been for help from experts in deep ocean exploration, said Brian Curtis, director of the agency’s marine safety office, at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans Wednesday.

“We never found any personal items from the crew,” Curtis said of the Oct. 1, 2015 sinking of the 790’ ro/ro containership in Hurricane Joaquin. “We had no vessel, we had no survivors.”

All that the...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/el-faro-investigation-made-partners-of-safety-board-deep-ocean-scientists/

Fatigue, sleep deprivation major factors in Northwest accidents

Containment boom surrounds the partially submerged Kirby tug Nathan E Stewart, which ran aground in British Columbia on Oct. 13. Canadian Coast Guard photo.

Fatigue and sleep deprivation figure in about half of maritime accidents in the Pacific Northwest and manage to defeat even the most modern wheelhouse technology, experts said at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle.

“There is only one solution to sleep deprivation. It’s eight hours of sleep in 24 hours,” said Jerry Dzugan, director of the Alaska Marine Safety Association.

U.S. and Canadian investigators found lack of sleep was a central factor in the October 2016 grounding of the Kirby Offshore...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/fatigue-sleep-deprivation-major-factors-in-northwest-accidents/

Grand jury indicts captain in Missouri duck boat sinking

The Stretch Duck 7 recovered from Table Rock Lake, Mo., is undergoing analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB photo.

A federal grand jury has accused the captain of a duck boat that sank in Missouri last summer of misconduct, negligence and inattention to duty in the accident that killed 17 people.

The indictment charges Kenneth Scott McKee, 51, who operated Stretch Duck 7 on Table Rock Lake July 19, with a number of violations including:

  • Not properly assessing the weather and going out with lightning in the area;
  • Operating the vessel in violation of conditions and limitations on its Coast Guard Certificate of...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/grand-jury-indicts-captain-in-missouri-duck-boat-sinking/

Lessons learned from US maritime casualties in 2017

The NTSB issued its ‘Safer Seas‘ annual report providing an overview of key lessons to be learned from the most major maritime casualties, noting that many of the issues noted in last year’s reports were recurring topics, such as fatigue, poor bridge resource management, and distraction. The 41 marine accidents included in the report involved allisions, capsizings, collisions, fires, explosions, flooding, groundings, and equipment damage, resulting in loss of life, injuries, and significant...

https://safety4sea.com/lessons-learned-from-us-maritime-casualties-in-2017/

Captain of fatal duck boat charged by federal court

The captain of the duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake during a storm in July, killing 17 people, was charged with misconduct, negligence and inattention to duty by a federal grand jury.

The captain was charged in a 17-count indictment, one count for each of the passengers that died when the vessel sank.

A total of 31 passengers were on board the duck boat when strong winds sank the boat, causing one of the deadliest US tourist tragedies in recent years.

According to Reuters, the captain is...

https://safety4sea.com/captain-of-fatal-duck-boat-charged-by-federal-court/

NTSB releases ‘lessons learned’ from 2017 maritime accidents

The wreck of the El Faro. NTSB photo.

Maritime accident investigation reports for collisions, explosions, capsizings and allisions and the lessons learned from these accidents are detailed in the National Transportation Safety Board’s Safer Seas Digest 2017, released today.

The digest contains 41 marine accident reports for accidents involving fishing, offshore supply, cargo, passenger, tanker, towing and government vessels. This includes two Coast Guard cutters, four passenger vessels, and 14 towboats, barges and tugs. Reports in...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/ntsb-releases-lessons-learned-from-2017-maritime-accidents/

Lack of experience causes barge allision with fixed pier

The NTSB issued an investigation report on a barge allision with a fixed pier of a swing bridge, causing no injuries but significant damage to both barge and the bridge. The report indicated the assignment of an inexperienced pilot as key cause of the accident.

The incident

About 0230 local time on 26 October 2017, the towing vessel Cooperative Venture, with a crew of 10, was pushing 12 barges downbound on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota. As the vessel approached the St. Paul Union...

https://safety4sea.com/lack-of-experience-causes-barge-allision-with-fixed-pier/

Fatigue Risk Management Guide issued for US towing industry

The American Waterways Operators, representing the US tugboat, towboat and barge industry, has released a new safety guide as the latest milestone in its two-decade effort to reduce the risk of fatigue-related accidents in the towing industry, working in cooperation with the US Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, and internationally renowned sleep experts.

The guide, ‘Developing a Fatigue Risk Management Plan: A Guide for Towing Vessel Operators’, is produced under the...

https://safety4sea.com/fatigue-risk-management-guide-issued-for-us-towing-industry/

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