On 17 June 2016, the passenger / car ferry Malita was involved in an accident while making fast at Quay No. 2, at the Ċirkewwa Terminal, Malta. It was reported that while Malita was still making fast at the quay, she went astern without pre-warning and at a time when the discharge of vehicles had already started.
Transport Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit found that the astern shift of the vessel was the result of the vessel’s thrusters and it was not excluded that the thrusters’ combinator on the bridge was inadvertently operated.
As a result of the accident, the MSIU has issued one recommendation to the Company, aimed to ensure that there is a thorough and accurate understanding of the way the crew members operate on board Company ships.
MSIU also considered the following safety factors to have contributed to the accident:
- Crew members are always under extreme pressure to keep the scheduled times when performing the 30-minute interval trips;
- There is no evidence that GCCL has ever carried out an internal audit (especially since the cargo trips from Sa Maison had been discontinued) to objectively determine the circumstances in which the 30-minute interval trips are affected;
- Over the years, the crew members had to make adaptations to operational
procedures; - The closed deck cargo space ramp was completely lowered and the vehicles driven off the vessel at a time when Malita still had no head rope ashore either to prevent, or restricted the astern movement of the vessel;
- The situation was of a mutual misunderstanding, where although the bosun never received the authorisation to commence the discharge of the vehicles, it was implicit within the applied operating procedures that the lowering of the closed deck cargo space ramp meant that the unloading of the vehicles (and disembarkation of passengers) could proceed;
Explore more by reading the investigation report
