A muted alarm went unnoticed resulting in a ro-ro vessel colliding with an anchored container ship. Neither the officer of the watch nor the bridge personnel on the container ship saw the accident coming. The incident was covered in a recent Mars Report.
The Mars reports are compiled (anonymously) by The Nautical Institute to prevent other accidents from happening. A summary of the incident:
A ro-ro vessel was underway at nineteen knots in good visibility with a single officer of the watch (OOW) on the bridge. The radar had auto-acquired a target ahead and, with three nautical miles to go, a collision risk alarm was indicated on the screen. No audible alarm sounded, because these had been muted on the radar.
The OOW did not notice this alarm and was now busy plotting the position on the chart and completing the logbook at the chart table, behind curtains. About nine minutes after the alarm appeared on the radar screen the ro-ro vessel collided with an anchored container ship at an angle of almost ninety degrees and became wedged into the side of the anchored vessel.
The personnel on the bridge of the container vessel did not see the ro-ro approaching and took no action to warn it.
Four days later the vessels were separated and salvage was initiated.
Investigation findings
The investigation was not able to determine why the OOW did not see the anchored container vessel in time to prevent the collision. Fatigue, complacency, distraction or lack of properly prioritised jobs could have played a role. The lack of a proper lookout on both vessels was undoubtedly a substantial contributing factor.
Advice from The Nautical Institute
- Permanently muting alarms is not best practice.
- The best ‘screen’ to be viewing when visibility is good is the bridge window.
- Bridge personnel on vessels at anchor have a duty to survey the traffic and take appropriate action if collision is imminent.
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202007, that are part of Report Number 327. A selection of this Report has also been published in SWZ|Maritime’s February issue. The Nautical Institute compiles these reports to help prevent maritime accidents. That is why they are also published on SWZ|Maritime’s website.
More reports are needed to keep the scheme interesting and informative. All reports are read only by the Mars coordinator and are treated in the strictest confidence. To submit a report, please use the Mars report form.
Picture by Préfecture maritime de la Méditerranée (through Mars Reports).
