The Swedish P&I Club issues its Monthly Safety Scenario for April 2016 regarding a collision due to a series of errors and recommends preventive measures. The Swedish Club publishes on a monthly basis a new “Monthly Safety Scenario” (MSS) to assist owners in their efforts of complying with the maritime regulations.
The Incident
Vessel A departed at midnight. After the pilot had departed the vessel increased its speed to 17 knots. Visibility was about 3-4 M, westerly wind force 3 and calm seas. There were some commercial vessels and fishing vessels in the area.
The 2nd Officer was OOW, and was assisted by a lookout. The vessel was on autopilot and both radars were running. The S-band (10 cm) was primarily on 3 miles range, north-up with the centre offset to give a better view ahead and the X-band radar (3 cm) mainly on 6 miles range.
The master completed the night orders with his standard message and then left the bridge to get some rest. Before leaving the bridge the master observed some fishing vessels to starboard in the distance and also some larger merchant vessels. His assessment was that none posed any concern
Over the next 30 minutes the 2nd officer altered the vessel’s heading on the autopilot several times.
Vessel B was on the portside at a distance of about 10 M and the 2nd officer was plotting the vessel. The ARPA data indicated that vessel B would pass astern.
There were also two merchant vessels on his starboard side crossing to port with a CPA of about 0.7 M and 1.5 M, which was his main focus. There was also an unknown amount of fishing vessels in the area that seemed to be stationary. The 2nd Officer made small alterations on the autopilot to port to stay clear of the fishing vessels. When vessel B was about 4 M away the 2nd Officer could see the lights visually. He didn’t take any visual bearing but monitored vessel B on the ARPA, but was still not concerned and focused his attention on the fishing vessels and merchant vessels on the starboard side. The 2nd Officer didn’t notice any change in the CPA for vessel B.
It is the evidence of the 2nd Officer that at about 7 minutes before the collision at 0355 the 2nd Officer ordered the lookout to hand steer the vessel as close as possible to the fishing vessels. He thought this would give him more room for vessel B. At this time the OOW was also handing over the watch to the 4-8 Officer
The 2nd Officer ordered starboard 10 and to steer 074 degrees. He was then concerned that this was too close to the fishing vessels and ordered 070. At the same time vessel B’s bow collided with the port side of vessel A. The angle between the vessels was about 90°
The 2nd Officer did not use any signals before the collision such as the whistle, aldis lamp or VHF. Vessel B didn’t use any warning signals either. About 10 minutes before the collision vessel B made an alteration 10° to port.
Consequences
When plotting both vessels it is evident that if the vessels had maintained their headings 10 minutes before the collision the collision would have been avoided. The main fault of this collision remains with vessel B, but if vessel A had been more proactive the collision could have been prevented.
Preventive measures
- Even if vessel B is the give way vessel, all traffic needs to be monitored by A. It is essential to plan ahead and be prepared for different scenarios. Be proactive and do an early alteration before a situation is real.
- Small alterations are very difficult to detect so should be avoided if possible.
- It is seldom done but it is be efficient to use light and sound signals if the other vessel is not doing anything to avoid the collision.
- The 2nd Officer did plot the other vessel but this didn’t prevent the collision. This means that the officer didn’t have complete situational awareness.
- The collision happened at the time of the normal watch handover at 0400. It is critical to not lose focus while handing over the watch. The watch should never be handed over while a manoeuvre is being completed.
Source: The Swedish P&I Club
