UK MAIB issues report on Danio grounding

On March 2013, near to Farne Islands, Englands – Report No 8/2014

UK Marine Accident Investigation Brach (MAIB) has issued report No. 8/2014 on the investigation of the grounding of Danio vessel.

According to the report, general cargo vesselDanio run aground in the Farne Islands nature reserve, off the east coast of England, at 03:30 on 16 March 2013.

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The chief officer, who was the officer on watch, had fallen asleep. The very high workload placed on the two deck officers was typical of that found on many near coastal vessels trading in European waters.

Unfortunately, as is commonly found after such accidents, the available barriers against fatigue, such as the Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System and the use of lookouts had been circumvented.

Danio sustained breachesto forward ballast and void compartments, and extensivedamage to the starboard propulsion and steering systems, butfortunately there was no pollution.

A number of important safety barriers had been routinely circumvented, although noneof these had been identified during the company’s internal audits of the vessel’s safetymanagement system:

Danio was equipped with a fully functional Bridge NavigationalWatch Alarm System, but this was permanently switched off; there was no lookout postedon the bridge as required by international rules;
and the bridge watchkeepers relied onan unapproved electronic navigation system when navigating the vessel despite thedesignated primary means of navigation being paper charts.

A recommendation has been made to the owner of Danio designed to amend thecompany’s internal auditing regime to ensure there is verification that its documentedprocedures match the actual practices on board, with particular reference to: the use oflookouts and watch alarms; compliance with hours of rest regulations; and adherence tofundamental principles of safe navigation.

Key safety issues identified were:

The chief officer, who was on watch at the time, was asleep for more than 3 hours before the vessel ran aground. No lookout was posted and the bridge watch alarm was turned off.
The chief officer worked 17 hours in the previous port and was likely to have been suffering from the effects of cumulative fatigue. The hours of work and rest onDanio had been falsified.
Following a recommendation from the MAIB in its 2004 Bridge Watchkeeping safety study, the United Kingdom attempted to secure an international mandate for a minimum of three watchkeepers on commercially operated cargo vessels. This initiative received insufficient support from other European flag administrations. Therefore, a new recommendation has now been made to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to work closely with the European Commission and EU member states, to propose to the IMO that all vessels engaged on short sea trades carry a minimum of two navigational watchkeepers in addition to the master.

More details may be found by reading the UK MAIB Investigation Report

Also, the UK MCA has issued news release to announce that the the operator of MV Danio has been ordered to pay nearly 73,000 in fines and costs after its crew failed to keep a proper lookout.