UK MAIB released its report about the cargo vessel ‘Celtic Spirit’ which collided with a survey vessel and a general cargo vessel on the River Humber, England, on 1 March 2018. UK MAIB said that insufficient anchor cable was responsible for this incident.
The incident
On 28 February 2018, the general cargo vessel Celtic Spirit departed Groveport, England and headed down the River Trent to the Holme Hook anchorage on the River Humber.
The master wanted to load 40t of fuel from a bunker barge at the anchorage before beginning passage to Riga, Latvia. The vessel was in ballast and had a river pilot and a port authority marine apprentice on board.
A little later, the inbound vessel, Celtic Warrior, anchored in the Hawke anchorage, near to the mouth of the River Humber. With 5 shackles of cable in the water, the vessel began to drag its anchor. The vessel’s pilot instructed that a further shackle of cable be payed out and reported the incident to Humber Vessel Traffic Services (VTS). With 6 shackles in the water, the anchor held and Celtic Warrior came to rest between positions D and E. Before leaving the vessel, the pilot advised the master to keep his engine on standby; the pilot also communicated this information to VTS. In response, the master kept the vessel’s main engine running in bridge control.
What is more, Celtic Spirit’s master handed over the bridge anchor watch to the second officer (2/O). On taking over the watch, the 2/O set variable range markers on the radar display based on Spurn Head to the east and the research and survey vessel Atlantic Explorer, which was anchored 3 cables to the northwest. The duty able-bodied seaman (AB) was released by the 2/O to conduct routine fire and deck rounds.
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In addition, Celtic Spirit began to drag anchor in a north-westerly direction. Nine minutes later, during preparations for the watch handover, the vessel’s 2/O looked at the radar screen and noticed that the distance to Atlantic Explorer had decreased. He plotted the vessel’s position on the chart, which verified that the vessel was dragging its anchor, and called the master. He also called the engineer in his cabin and ordered him to start the main engine, and he instructed the duty AB, via hand-held radio, to go forward and check the anchor cable.
When the 2/O returned to the bridge he noticed that the ship’s speed had increased to 0.9kt, and he was notified by the duty AB on the fo’c’sle that the anchor cable was tight.
At 0306, Atlantic Explorer’s bridge watchkeeper called Celtic Spirit on very high frequency (VHF) radio channel 16 and warned about an imminent collision.
Celtic Spirit’s 2/O acknowledged the call and advised that his engine was being prepared to start.
For his part, Atlantic Explorer’s bridge watchkeeper called his engine room and instructed the duty engineer to start the main engines. He also informed the vessel’s master to the developing situation.
When probed further by VTS, Celtic Spirit’s 2/O predicted it would take 5 to 10 minutes to start the engine.
While waiting for control of the main engine to be passed to the bridge, Celtic Spirit’s C/O tried to avoid the collision using the vessel’s bow thruster.
A little later, VTS transmitted a warning to Celtic Spirit to inform that there was a risk of collision with Atlantic Explorer. Shortly after, VTS called Atlantic Explorer and asked if any more anchor cable could be payed out. The bridge watchkeeper said that 6 shackles out of an available 7 had already been payed out.
At 0312, Celtic Spirit’s stern collided with Atlantic Explorer’s bow. At the same time, Celtic Spirit’s engineer started the main engine and passed control to the bridge. The master engaged ahead propulsion but could not manoeuvre clear because Celtic Spirit’s stern was fouled on Atlantic Explorer’s anchor cable.
VTS then called Celtic Warrior on VHF channel 16 and asked if the vessel’s engines were running. The bridge watchkeeper confirmed that they were and then VTS warned that Celtic Spirit and Atlantic Explorer were dragging anchor towards Celtic Warrior and advised the vessel to weigh anchor.
Warrior’s master then immediately engaged astern propulsion but Celtic Spirit’s port quarter collided with Celtic Warrior’s bow. The impact caused Celtic Spirit to detach from Atlantic Explorer’s anchor cable and all three vessels began to set to the northwest.
Probable cause
After investigating the incident, UK MAIB concluded that the following led to the collision:
- The vessel dragged its anchor because insufficient anchor cable had been deployed for the tidal range and the environmental conditions;
- It was not identified that the vessel was dragging its anchor because the position monitoring interval was not enough;
- The watchkeeper did not alert Vessel Traffic Services or nearby vessels that the vessel was dragging anchor;
- The vessel could not manoeuvre in time to prevent the collisions because its engine was not on immediate readiness.
See more information in the PDF below
