The UK MAIB has issued latest Safety Digest to draw the attention to lessons learned from maritime accidents. One case refers to an accident in which an officer was at the helm of a domestic passenger vessel operating a scheduled river service when he became distracted by a VHF radio broadcast resulting in contact with a towering structure.
The broadcast stated that a pier, which the vessel was heading for, had been temporarily closed. The radio broadcast was made by the local VTS, and was received as the vessel approached a road bridge over the river. The vessel’s course had been set to pass between the piers of the bridge.
The officer was aware that a local notice to river users had been issued by the harbour authority, which stated that the berth would be temporarily closed at a certain time for a ceremonial event. However, the VHF broadcast stated that the pier had already been closed – an hour earlier than the time given in the notice.
As the pier was located immediately after the road bridge, the officer decided to replay the VHF message in order to confirm the timing of the closure. The vessel was about 50 metres from the road bridge, making about 8 knots, when the officer replayed the VHF broadcast, which lasted 14 seconds.
While adjusting the VHF set and listening to the message the officer did not notice that the vessel had veered towards one of the bridge piers. When he looked up, the stone pier was close ahead, and although he put the vessel’s engine controls to full astern and applied full helm, he was unable to prevent the vessel from making heavy contact with the bridge pier.
The master, who had been on the bridge wing, then entered the wheelhouse and made a public address (PA) announcement to warn passengers to hold on as contact was imminent. Unfortunately, the PA system had previously been set to broadcast an automated guided tour recording, so the master’s warning was not transmitted to the passengers. This resulted in them being unprepared for the contact, and led to some of them being injured.
After the accident the vessel, which had been holed above the waterline, proceeded to a nearby berth where the emergency services boarded and assisted the injured passengers. The vessel was taken out of service for a few days while repairs were carried out. The bridge was undamaged.
Lessons learned
- Avoid becoming distracted when at the helm, particularly at critical parts of a
passage. Although the information in the VHF broadcast was important, the officer should have ensured the vessel was able to remain on a safe course while replaying the message. - The ergonomics of the wheelhouse equipment resulted in the officer not
maintaining a proper lookout while he replayed the VHF message. The location of wheelhouse equipment should be carefully assessed – preferably with input from bridge watchkeepers – before its installation. - The PA microphone did not override the automated guided tour recording. The ability to quickly inform passengers of emergency situations should be the main consideration when installing communications systems on passenger vessels.
- The closure of the pier occurred at a different time to that given in the local
notice issued by the harbour authority. It is important that event organisers update harbour authorities with any changes to their schedules so that the harbour authority can update users in a timely manner
Source & Image Credit: UK MAIB Safety Digest 2016/01
