BSU has issued investigation report regarding the grounding of the German-flagged multipurpose ship BBC MAPLE LEA in the Lake Saint-Louis, Canada.
The incident:
The ship cast off from the port of Sainte-Catherine in Canada on the morning of 17 December 2015 to commence her voyage to Falmouth in the United Kingdom. A pilot was on board for the passage through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The BBC MAPLE LEA initially proceeded in a westerly direction on the Canal de la Rive Sud to turn in Lake Saint-Louis for lack of an opportunity to turn in the port of lading.
The pilot favoured the firway section west of buoy A13 for the turning manoeuvre in the shipboard voyage plan, which would have entailed a detour totalling 13nm. The BBC MAPLE LEA’s draught stood at 8m.
The turning manoeuvre west of buoy A13 failed, which resulted in the BBC MAPLE LEA sailing out of the fairway southpwest of buoy A18 and grounding there in an area with water depths of between 6m and 7,3m. The bow thruster was damaged in the process, which resulted in a small spill of hydraulic oil. The accident did not cause injury to any individual.
It was possible to haul the ship free at about midday on the following day.
Actions Taken
- The fleet and staff were notified of the incident in a circular and reminded of proper co-operation with a pilot.
- The accident scenario will be discussed in detail during all the master and officer briefings, drawing attention to the risks involved.
- A computer-based turtorial has been installed on all the ships in the fleet, which contains the following courses:
- introduction to resource management
- resource management and accident prevention
- bridge watchkeeping and
- working with pilots
- It is planned that senior officers will attend maritime resource management courses. The Crewing department is currently evaluation this measure.
Findindgs
The safety investigation was only able to review the accident from the perspective of the ship. Important issues, such as the accident rate in the sea area used in the present case for turning or the previous experiences of the deployed pilot and other pilots, who carry out turning manoeuvres there, remained unclear as the authority responsible for the pilot remained silent.
With regard to possible improvements in the areas of bridge team management and navigational watch, the owner concerned has already taken appropriate action within its fleet to avoid similat accidents in the future, Therefore, the BSU is not issuing safety recommendations.
Explore more about the incident by reading the investigation report herebelow
Source: BSU
