Tag: Passage Planning

Despite small improvement since June 2020, the critically low water levels in the Parana River continue, as the rainfalls in the basin are still expected to be ‘deficient’ during the last quarter of the year. 

Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, The Standard Club, provides tips for safe navigation now that the typhoon season is underway and notes that this can cause widespread disruption and delays in the logistical supply chain. Also, he highlights that the ship’s passage plan should incorporate considerations based on the anticipated weather conditions, and contingency measures for avoiding depressions while maintaining the commercial and economic viability of the voyage.

A series of causes contributed to vessel grounding; the safety investigation revealed that the course recommended by the pilot was different from the one prepared in the passage planning. Moreover, during navigation in El Dekheila Channel (Egypt), the vessel navigated close to shallow areas, and subsequently ran aground and remained stranded.

In its latest Safety Digest, UK MAIB discussed about a small cargo vessel which grounded as the OOW on duty was watching music videos on his mobile phone and dod not observe the potential risk of grounding, when the vessel was set of the planned track by the tidal stream.

Following investigation on the grounding and loss of fishing vessel Coelleira off Scotland, UK MAIB issued a safety flyer to the fishing industry sharing key lessons learned on the importance of passage planning to safe navigation. The incident At about 0124 on 4 August 2019, while on passage from fishing grounds, the 30m long-liner Coelleira grounded on Ve Skerries, a group of low-lying reefs 3nm north-west of Papa Stour on the west coast of Shetland, Scotland. The vessel’s 15 crew quickly mustered, donned lifejackets, launched liferafts, and determined that there was no water ingress. The coastguard was informed, and the crew were safely evacuated by rescue helicopter. Attempts by salvors to re-foat Coelleira were unsuccessful and it was declared unsalvageable. Coelleira eventually slid of the rocks into deeper water and sank.   Findings The MAIB investigation identifed that: The route from the fshing grounds to Scrabster was not plotted on paper charts or in the chart plotter. Instead, the skipper altered the vessel’s heading to follow the coastline, using the radar and chart plotter to keep clear of navigational hazards. Ve Skerries was possibly not displayed on the chart plotter due to the quality of the chart data, or detected ...

UK MAIB issued an investigation report on the grounding of the fishing vessel Coelleira off Scotland, in August 2019. The report highlighted that the passage was not properly planned and the vessel’s position was not being closely monitored.

The Swedish Club's Navigational Claims issue highlights the importance of double-checking the vessel's passage plan to ensure that the vessel's navigational path is correct according to all data entered into the navigational equipment. 

In its latest Safety Digest, the UK MAIB describes a case of a yacht grounding during an ocean race. With respect to this incident, MAIB advised that every vessel sailing at sea needs a passage plan that has identified all potential hazards for the voyage ahead.

UK MAIB focuses on a collision accident concerning a luxury catamaran and a ferry. The catamaran tried to avoid the collision but its port side made heavy contact with the ferry. The Safety Digest notes that passage planning is of a great importance for better-safety conditions.

Australia's Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) issued an investigation report on the grounding of the Australian Border Force cutter Roebuck Bay (ABFC Roebuck Bay) on Henry Reef, Queensland, in September 2017. The report identified an amendment on the passage plan which led the vessel to the reef and poor use of ECDIS.