MAIB Investigation Report 12/2013
MAIB has issued a report on the investigation into the structural failure and foundering of the general cargo ship Swanland in the Irish Sea with the loss of six crew on 27 November 2011.
At 02:00 on 27 November 2011, the 34 year old Cook Islands-registered general cargo ship Swanland experienced a structural failure when heading directly into rough seas and gale force winds while on passage from Llanddulas, Wales to Cowes, Isle of Wight with a cargo of limestone.
The vessel sank about 17 minutes later. Two of the vessel’s eight crew managed to swim clear and were rescuedfromaliferaft.
Thebodyofthechiefofficerwasrecoveredfrom the sea during an extensive air and sea search but the remainingcrewwerenotfound.Therewasnosignificantpollution.
Theinvestigationidentifiedthatthemajorfactorscontributingtothestructuralfailure were:
The limestone was a high density cargo that had been effectively loaded asasinglepilewithinthecentralsectionofthehold.Asaresult,significantstresses were generated in the vessel’s midships section.
The stresses in the midships section were exacerbated by the rough seas in which the wavelength was similar to the length of the vessel.
Swanland’s longitudinalstrengthhadprobablyweakenedsignificantlyoverthe previous 2 years through corrosion and wastage.
The maintenance and repair of the vessel had lacked focus and oversight; no structural repairs had been undertaken since 2009.
Other contributing factors included: non-compliance with the International Maritime Solid BulkCargoCode,insufficientloadinginformation,alackofeffectivesafetymanagement,poorqualityofsurveyandaudit,lackofoversightoftheclassificationsocietybytheFlagStateandthefinancialpressuresofoperatingthistypeofvesselinthecurrenteconomicdownturn.
Theinvestigationalsoidentifiedseveralsafetyissuesconcerningtheimmersionsuits and lifejackets available on board the vessel. Sadly, none of these factors are new.
Concerns surrounding the safety and high loss rates of similar general cargo ships have been repeatedly raised at the International Maritime Organization. However, progress to address the problems appears to have been slow. It is hoped that the loss of Swanland and her six crew will be a catalyst for the work already being undertaken by the International Maritime Organization to tackle the global issue of general cargo ship safety.
TheCookIslandshasundertakentoensurethatthefindingsofthisinvestigationaretakeninto account at the International Maritime Organization when future measures to improve general cargo ship safety and the development of goal-based standards for life-saving appliances are decided. It has also started to take action aimed at improving the quality of the ships accepted onto its register and the oversight of the recognised organisations which are authorised to act on its behalf.
For more information, please click at UK MAIB Report No.12/2013
Source: UK MAIB