NTSB has issued marine accident brief on the collision of bulk carrier flag Gangos with oil tanker Pamisos and Floating Pier. NTSB determines that the probable cause of the accident was the delay by the Flag Gangos’ operating company in completing a mandatory upgrade to the vessel’s steering system, and failure to routinely test the steering system’s hydraulic fluid for debris as required by the manufacturer. Contributing was the failure of the steering system manufacturer to schedule and complete the mandatory upgrade
The Incident
At 2215 local time on August 12, 2014, the outbound bulk carrier Flag Gangos collided with the berthed oil tanker Pamisos on the Mississippi River at Gretna, Louisiana. The Flag Gangos subsequently allided with a pier at the facility where the Pamisos was berthed, and the pier struck and damaged a fuel barge, WEB235, berthed behind the Pamisos. No one was injured, but about 1,200 gallons of oil that was being transferred at the time spilled from the transfer lines, and some of the oil entered the river. Damage amounts were reported as $16 million for the terminal, more than $500,000 each for the Flag Gangos and the Pamisos, and about $418,000 for the fuel barge.
About 4 hours before the accident, the Flag Gangos departed the Cargill dock in Reserve, Louisiana, with a cargo of grain and corn. A pilot from the New Orleans Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association (NOBRA) was on board. Before the bulk carrier left the berth, the pilot requested that the steering system be tested by moving the rudder between hard (about 35 degrees) port and hard starboard. The full rudder movement took about 13 seconds, and the pilot was satisfied with the rudder’s responsiveness
About 2212, when the Flag Gangos was near mile marker 98 with the city of New Orleans on the left descending bank of the river, the pilot ordered a 2-degree heading change to starboard (from a course of 058 degrees to 060 degrees). To effect this change, the helmsman applied 15 degrees of starboard rudder, and the rudder responded correctly. However, when the helmsman turned the wheel to port to ease the rudder input, the rudder did not respond, which the pilot saw on the rudder angle indicator (an instrument on the bridge panel). The pilot immediately noticed that the ship’s heading continued to swing to starboard, and he asked the helmsman, “Where are you going, man?” The pilot then ordered 20 degrees to port to correct the heading. The helmsman turned the wheel accordingly, but again the rudder did not respond. The pilot promptly told the bridge team, “We’ve got a steering problem. Stop the engine, switch your steering pumps, and stand by the anchor.” He also notified the US Coast Guard’s vessel traffic service about the ship’s loss of steering.
The pilot ordered the main engine full astern and then emergency full astern, to which the chief engineer responded by performing several astern starts of the engine. Doing so made the engine act as a brake, using the propeller to slow the forward movement of the vessel. The pilot then ordered the crew to drop the portside anchor and hold the brake on the anchor. (Holding the brake on the anchor prevents the chain from “running” after the dropped anchor has hit bottom, and thus increases the likelihood of arresting the ship’s forward movement.) At this time, the vessel’s speed was about 8.8 knots and the heading was about 092 degrees, more than 30 degrees to the right of the intended course of 060. The pilot repeated his command to hold the brake on the anchor. He thenbegan sounding short blasts of the ship’s whistle to warn dockside personnel and crews on nearby moored vessels. The pilot sounded the whistle more than 70 times.
On the right descending riverbank was the International-Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT) facility in Gretna, Louisiana. The 750-foot-long oil tanker Pamisos was berthed bow upriver at the facility, loading a cargo of slurry oil.
View more details about the incident by clicking at the NTSB report
