Contact made by general cargo vessel Scot Venture with buoy
Location: Drogden Channel, Denmark.
Accident Investigation Report 11/2004
Investigation report into marine accident including what happened, safety lessons and recommendations made:
(867.30 kb)
Summary
At 0755 on 29 January 2004, the UK registered general cargo vessel Scot Venture made contact with Number 16 buoy in the Drogden Channel, Denmark, in restricted visibility. The vessel then anchored clear of the channel until towed to Malmo, Sweden, for inspection. Scot Venture’s propeller blades were distorted; the buoy was subsequently found to have been severed from its moorings.
Safety Issues
- the chief officer was alone on the bridge in an area close to navigational dangers, in restricted visibility, and potentially high traffic density
- the chief officer was unfamiliar with the area and with handling the vessel in the loaded condition
- the vessel had two watchkeepers, therefore it was difficult for the master to assess the chief officer’s competency, and caused him to place more reliance on him to navigate in areas close to navigational dangers and with high traffic density, than might otherwise have been the case
- an AB lookout was available, but was not used, because the chief officer thought the seaman was tired. He also considered ABs to be generally ineffective as lookouts
- navigation in the approaches to the southern entrance to the Drogden Channel can be difficult, due to strong cross-currents, the narrowness of the channel, and the presence of southbound traffic
Recommendations
Recommendations have been made to the Royal Danish Administration for Navigation and Hydrography and the International Chamber of Shipping, for the purpose of making navigation in the southern approaches to the Drogden Channel safer, and encouraging the better use of lookouts.
This report was published on 15 September 2004.