A tanker in ballast was at anchor in a congested anchorage with a depth of around 90–100 metres. The officer of the watch (OOW) noticed a vessel underway approaching ahead at about 3 knots and on what appeared to be a collision course. The Nautical Institute describes the incident in a new Mars Report.
The Nautical Institute gathers reports of maritime accidents and near-misses. It then publishes these so-called Mars (Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme) Reports (anonymously) to prevent other accidents from happening. This is one of these reports.
The master came to the bridge and together with the OOW they attempted to communicate with the approaching vessel. The engines were ordered, and the ship’s horn was used to attract attention but to no avail. The approaching vessel did not respond and continued its manoeuvre, coming ever closer.
The vessel had ten shackles on deck, but options were limited. Paying out more anchor cable would have caused the vessel to move aft, thereby closing with another vessel at anchor.
Port traffic control also tried to contact the moving vessel, but to no avail. Some eighteen minutes after being identified as on a collision course, the moving vessel struck the anchored vessel on its port bow. Minor damage was sustained at the port forward bulwarks and associated brackets connected to the forecastle deck.
Also read: No lookouts on Solong or Stena Immaculate during collision
Advice from The Nautical Institute
- An attentive anchor watch is just as important as a watch underway. In this case, however, it still could not prevent the turn of events that was beyond the control of the anchored vessel.
- Information from the moving vessel was unavailable to the contributor – it is assumed the team on the bridge wished to acnhor to port and behind the already anchored vessel.
- When in a crowded anchorage or other situations that require delicate manoeuvring, call tugs to assist.
Also read: Vessel collision causes fifteen fatalities
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 202550. A selection of the Mars Reports are also published in the SWZ|Maritime magazine. The Nautical Institute compiles these reports to help prevent maritime accidents. That is why they are also published (in full) 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.
