VESSEL STABILITY COMPROMISED BY WEIGHT CREEP SAYS USCG ADVICE NOTE
The US Coast Guard has published its Findings of Concern with essential information it wishes to share about unsafe conditions that investigators have identified as causal factors in a casualty that could contribute to future incidents. The Findings of Concern follow the sinking of a fishing vessel in February 2017.
Probable causes The investigation showed that the owner failed to properly use the services of a qualified individual to formally evaluate and update vessel stability instructions following changes to vessel structure and loading conditions.
These included: – installation of a bulbous bow, – addition of bulwark on the bow, and – use of larger, heavier crab pots.
The weight of the larger, heavier crab pots exceeded that of the pots used to formulate the existing and most current stability instructions. Although investigators do not know if the vessel master referred to existing stability instructions for operating the vessel, but the instructions were incorrect and any decisions based on them would have been faulty.
Additionally, a decision to place an additional 3,080 pounds of crab bait on top of the 5 tiers of stacked crab pots, raised the vessel’s center of gravity and further reduced the vessel’s stability.
The Coast Guard believes that these issues, combined with the master’s decision to depart port with a fatigued crew, active NWS freezing spray warnings in the area of transit and in a heavily loaded condition, negatively impacted the vessel’s stability, contributing to the vessel’s capsize and sinking.
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https://bit.ly/2TyZzML
POOR MAINTENANCE THE KEY CAUSE LEADING TO SINKING OF MS NANCY C SAYS REPORT
The NTSB has published its investigation report into the flooding and sinking of the towing vessel ‘Nancy C’ on Lower Mississippi River, near Dyersville, Tennessee, in March 2018. The investigation has identified poor maintenance as the principle cause of the incident.
On 6 March 2018, about 1630 local time, the uninspected towing vessel Ms Nancy C was moving and positioning cargo barges while operating in Everett Lake, a tributary of the Mississippi River, when a deckhand discovered water in a void at the stern of the vessel. While the captain and deckhand attempted to dewater the vessel, it sank in 15 feet of water. Both crew members disembarked to a barge prior to the sinking without injury. Damage was estimated at $667,306.
Probable cause The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of the flooding and sinking of the towing vessel Ms Nancy C was inadequate maintenance of the vessel, resulting in corrosion and the loss of watertight integrity on the main deck, which allowed uncontrolled water ingress into the vessel’s stern voids.
Read the report in full at
https://bit.ly/2vCruBT
The Report • June 2019 • Issue 88 | 19
Safety Briefings
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