The Maritime Disciplinary Court of the Netherlands has suspended the licence of the multi-purpose vessel Muntgracht’s officer of the watch (OOW) after the vessel hit and dragged a buoy while entering the port of Darwin, Australia, in 2022.
The incident occurred on 10 October 2022. The buoy became stuck between the Dutch cargo vessel’s hull and the rudder. The vessel dragged the buoy, including the chain and the concrete block, to its mooring location in the port. The period between the collision and mooring amounted to more than two hours. During this period, the captain only noticed that the vessel sailed 1 to 1.5 knots slower than usual. The crew only detected the buoy when they used the monkey ladder to inspect the outside of the stern.
The Muntgracht (IMO number 9571545) is owned by the Muntgracht shipping company and sails on behalf of the Spliethoff shipping company. The vessel was built in 2012, is 142.10 metres long and 18.90 metres wide. At the time of the accident, the crew consisted of fifteen people in total. The person concerned was the officer of the watch at that time.
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Objection filed by Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate
According to the Inspector of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate, the person concerned acted or failed to act as first officer/OOW contrary to the duty of care that he, as a good seaman, should observe with regard to the persons on board, the ship, the cargo, the environment, and shipping traffic.
The objection consists of the following elements:
- The voyage plan refers to a strong current. The person concerned took insufficient account of the actual current.
- The person concerned did not notice on time that there was a considerable discrepancy between the course over the ground and the compass course (heading) of the vessel.
- There was no lookout on the bridge, despite the fact that it was dark.
- After the collision, the person concerned did not notice that the red buoy had “disappeared”.
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Disciplinary Court findings
The Maritime Disciplinary Court found the objection well-founded. The person concerned also agrees that it should be concluded that he did not take sufficient account of the current at that time and did not notice on time that there was a considerable discrepancy between the course over the ground and the compass course (heading) of the vessel. He also failed to arrange for a lookout on the bridge, even though this was essential for the navigation situation.
Finally, he did not ascertain the consequences of the collision, so that he did not notice that the red buoy had “disappeared” and had been dragged by the vessel along with its chain and concrete block. The person concerned acknowledges all these facts.
The Court states: ‘The vessel collided with the buoy as a result of the acts/omissions of the person concerned. The person concerned has stated that he could hear the collision occurring and that it was clear to him that this concerned the buoy. He should have ascertained the consequences of the collision, thereby checking whether the buoy was still in place. Instead, he hoped that nothing serious had occurred and continue to sail for two hours with the buoy between the vessel’s hull and the rudder. Failing to stop after a collision is not only reprehensible, but also a criminal offence.’
Sentencing
In its ruling, the Maritime Disciplinary Court indicates that it follows the sanction as proposed by the Inspector of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate. The Court suspends the navigation licence of the person concerned for a period
of six weeks and stipulates that of this suspension, two of which conditionally.
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Have a comprehensive voyage plan
Following on from, but also separately from the decision in this case, the Disciplinary Court sees cause to draw attention to the fact that a comprehensive voyage plan is of eminent importance at all times, therefore also when deviating from a preplanned route, such as the return from an actual anchorage to that route, in this case.
In this sense, compare this to the use of a voyage plan for movements within a port (from port basin to port basin). The ECDIS is ideal for this purpose, as it can automatically carry out a route check, allowing for anticipation when off-track.
Picture: The Muntgracht (photo by Sharon Mollerus, Flickr, licence CC BY 2.0).
