Ships collision in Marmara Sea linked to poor lookout

Transport Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) issued an investigation report on the collision between the Ro-Ro cargo vessel ‘Neptune Hellas’ and the general cargo vessel ‘Nur’ while underway in the Marmara Sea. The investigation identified issues related to poor lookout, as well as ineffective use of electronic navigation and radar information.

The incident

The Ro-Ro cargo vessel Neptune Hellas was in transit from Borusan, Gemlik, Bursa, Turkey to Piraeus, Greece, when on 21 March 2018 at 01:30, she was involved in a collision with the general cargo vessel ‘Nur’ in the West lane of the Turkish Straits Traffic Separation Scheme, Marmara Sea.

Prior to collision, both Neptune Hellas and Nur were proceeding on a Southwesterly course towards the Çanakkale Strait. At the time of the collision, Neptune Hellas was making approximately 13.8 knots and Nur was proceeding in the same direction with a speed of about 8.0 knots.

The collision happened when Nur turned to port when she was being overtaken by Neptune Hellas from the former’s port side. Eventually Nur’s port bow first made contact with the starboard side of Neptune Hellas and then with her port quarter.

Nur sustained structural damages to the bow and quarter. Neptune Hellas reported damages to her starboard side shell plating above the waterline. No pollution or injuries were reported and both of the vessels were able to proceed and drop anchor at a safe anchorage area by their own means.

Findings

1. The collision happened following Nur’s alteration of course to port when Neptune Hellas was overtaking Nur.
2. The use of electronic navigation aids was not effective;
3. None of the targets/echoes in the range of the radar were plotted and automatic target acquisition was not set / in use;
4. Information from the radar on the risk of collision was limited;
5. Nur’s turn to port was neither expected nor announced;
6. There was no initial reaction from Neptune Hellas to Nur’s manoeuvre;
7. There were neither any communication attempts, nor any other cautionary actions by Nur prior to the accident;
8. There were no extraordinary events by the two vessels, until Nur’s sudden alteration of course to port side;
9. The distance between the two vessels was close enough to compromise an evasive manoeuvre to avoid a collision;
10. The overtaking manoeuvre was being affected without a clear indication of the CPA between the two vessels.

Actions taken

During the course of the safety investigation, Neptune Lines Shipping & Managing Enterprises SA, took the following safety actions:

• A Circular was issued to all vessels in the fleet, highlighting the causes of the accident;
• Additional training was planned for the bridge team, focusing on proper look out and overtaking situations;
• Masters have been instructed to verify the radar settings for automatic acquisition of targets and that it is set correctly and that this is made known to the bridge team members;
• Look out duties and overtaking procedures have been considered as the main focus areas during scheduled internal audits; and
• Additional look out and overtaking posters have been placed on the bridge of all ships in the fleet.

Recommendations

Transport Malta recommended Ege Denizcilik Mursel Teksen to bring this safety investigation report to the attention of crew members serving onboard fleet vessels in order to address the importance of continuous lookout during the navigational watch.

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