Swedish Transport Agency – Maritime Accident Casebook

Djurgården 4 Contact: Disconnected Cable Led To Crush

Accident, Accident report, collision, contact, contact/allison, Ferry Comments Off

Apr 252011

A disconnected cable resulted in the master being unable to put the engine into neutral or astern from ahead and a subsequent hard contact with the jetty at Nybrokajen says the Swedish Transport Agency. Some 24 passengers one injured, including one broken collarbone.

Why the cable disconnected is unknown and no disconnection alarm was fitted. A casual observation would not have revealed the problem because of the cable covering. The incident does highlight the need to initiate critical manouevres with enough time to take appropriate action.

Tamina: Mooring Injuries Potentially Fatal

Accident, Accident report, mooring Comments Off

Jan 272011

Tamina's winch

Injuries during mooring operations are often horrific and too commonly fatal. The briefest moment of inattention, uncertainty or confusion can result in tragedy. In the case of an incident aboard m/v Tamina a second officer’s was spared because of the prompt action of crew and the proximity of an ambulance but he lost a leg.

The Swedish Transport Agency report on the 7 July 2010 incident says: “…the bunker vessel Tamina departed from Dalanäs, Gothenburg. The destination was Masthuggskajen about 1.6 nautical miles away where the vessel berthed at the platform below the loading ramps for the high speed craft Stena Carisma.
The crew of the vessel consisted of Master, Chief Officer, second officer and two able seamen. In addition to the regular crew members there were also two cadets on board. Continue reading »

Bro Anton MOB Boat Failure – Oxidised Stainless Steel Bar

Accident report, Man Overboard Comments Off

May 032010

After lunch, around 1 pm, on the 15 December 2009 exercises was about to be performed on the bridge onboard M/V Bro Anton. One of the exercises was the monthly lowering of its Schatt-Harding MOB boat. The purpose of the drill was to lower the boat to just above the water and at the same time check the greasing and function of the davit.

The mate showed the engineer the handle that released the hook when the boat was in the water and he pulled it, at first it was difficult to move it but after a short twist it moved more easily. He continued to pull the handle to about 90 degrees and suddenly the boat fell down on the pistons to the davit and rotated so the crew was thrown off the boat. Both boat and crew fell towards the water, a fall of about 14 meters.

The investigation shows that the direct cause of the accident was that the stainless steel bar inside the hydrostatic unit, due to oxidation, was stuck in open position.

The incident was the subject of a Safety Alert earlier this year

Full report, in Swedish, here.

Many Chem Tanker Vents Not IBC/SOLAS Compliant

Accident, Accident report, explosion, maritime safety Comments Off

Apr 282010

Ventilation systems in many chemical tankers are not built in accordance with IBC code or SOLAS requirements says the Casualty Investigation Unit of Sweden’s Transportstyrelsen, Transport Agency, releasing its report into the overpressure and explosion aboard the chemical tanker Vingatank on 23 February, 2010.

Says STA: “the chemical tanker Vingatank arrived at Brofjorden on the Swedish west coast after a ballast trip from Kristiansand in south Norway. It was very cold with a temperature of 10ºC below zero.

The second officer checked the P/V valves after arrival and the loading of vacuum gasoil started at 20.05 on 22 February.

Just before midnight a high pressure alarm sounded from tank no. 2 port. The OOW shifted the loading over to tanks no. 3 starboard and port. He reset the alarm and ordered the AB to check the P/V valve. The AB saw fumes coming out of the valve which made the OOW think that it was OK to commence loading. The pressure in no. 2 port tank was normal when the loading of the tank started after the first alarm.

After a while there was a second high pressure alarm from tank no. 2 port. Also at this time the AB saw fumes coming out of the P/V valve. The OOW then assumed that the sensor did not work properly.