The bulk carrier American Mariner was leaving a dock near Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, last year when the master, acting alone on the bridge during complicated manoeuvres, overshot a turn and grounded on shoals, damaging three ballast water tanks. These and other findings were published in a report made available by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday, July 23.
On January 2, 2023, the vessel was heading outbound in the Vidal Shoals Channel en route to Superior, Wisconsin, when it grounded. NTSB investigators found that the master of the vessel was alone on the bridge at the time. Other factors compromising the master’s ability to successfully navigate the vessel included transiting in the dark, unlit channel buoys, not using all available features in the electronic chart system, and no additional personnel on the bridge.
The NTSB found that the master’s initial angle of departure from the dock and close approach to the shoal water positioned the vessel at a poor angle to successfully manoeuvre into the channel, which resulted in the vessel overshooting the turn and grounding on the shoals on the opposite side of the channel. The grounding resulted in damages of U$600,000 to the vessel, and no pollution or injuries were reported.
“While manoeuvring in confined waters, it is difficult for a single bridge crewmember to effectively drive, lookout, and monitor and use available bridge equipment,” the report said. “Owners, operators, and vessel masters are responsible for ensuring that vessel bridge teams are staffed with a sufficient number of certificated/credentialed mariners who are familiar with all bridge navigation equipment and able to independently take immediate action.”
Marine Investigation Report 24-16 is available online here.