Introduction
On 7 March 2023, a commercial tanker inbound reportedly struck a quay heavily on the approach to its berth in poor visibility. After the incidents, the port authorities sent rescue crews to the scene and activated emergency operations. While no injuries were reported, several vessels and other port facilities were severely damaged.
Accident investigation personnel examined the situation to determine what went wrong and what variables may have played a role. Several facts were obtained throughout the accident inquiry. The pilot boarded at the pilot station lacked adequate experience and skills, weak bridge team interactions, and subpar track monitoring. Inadequate Bridge Resource Management (BRM) practices were also identified, and there were no complaints of faulty bridge equipment before the incident.
Visibility
Visibility was reportedly good during the pilotage phase. On the other hand, visibility quickly dropped to an unsafe threshold as the ship neared the berth. As a result of the poor visibility, the bridge crew probably had a harder time determining where the ship was in relation to the quay, which led to the disaster. Environmental factors have a major role in accidents on the ground. Damage to ships and cargo is further increased by poor visibility and heavy winds.
A substantial correlation exists between visibility and fatalities, although only a modest correlation exists between visibility and injuries (Zhang, 2019). This may be attributed to the fact that casualties are more likely to result from major accidents during low visibility (at night). Pilotage requires a good vision of the environment for the pilot’s safety.
Lack of vision may be brought on by several circumstances, including severe rain, fog, and low light levels (Liu et al., 2021). Under these conditions, the pilot’s visibility of other watercraft, navigational aids, and possible dangers is reduced, making safe navigation more challenging. In addition, if visibility is low, the pilot may have trouble communicating with the ship’s crew, leading to misunderstandings and navigational mistakes (Andreassen, Borch, and Sydnes, 2020). Low vision increases the likelihood of crashes or grounding at high speeds, making it harder to respond rapidly to changing circumstances or hazards.
To lessen the danger of mishaps during pilotage in bad visibility, ships may need to minimize their speed or employ extra navigational aids, including radar, to enhance situational awareness (Chan et al., 2022). Furthermore, the pilot might have to depend more extensively on their local expertise and navigational skills. All crew members need to remain vigilant and ready for any possible dangers that may develop during pilotage, especially in low visibility.
Bridge Team Communications
Communication failures involving bridge crew members continue to contribute to ship crashes and other mishaps. Shipowners, directors, and administrators must ensure their bridge crew collaborates with pilots, port officials, and owners of nearby ships to minimize hazards. On the other hand, training on simulators is crucial for fostering collaboration and communication, although few owners indulge in this (Sellberg, 2018). During the probe, it was determined that there was insufficient communication among the bridge team personnel. The absence of adequate communication might have led to the tragedy since it would have been impossible to synchronize operations and adjust to changing circumstances.
The bridge crews are familiar with the route to the berth, such as the approved route, speed and schedule, local traffic restrictions, and anchorage locations for emergencies. The crew should know the type of tug and power, the arrival period, and if the vessel’s line is to be utilized. The bridge crew should also know the berth’s size restrictions, turning sections, mooring strategies, and maximum berthing speeds (Bellsolà et al., 2018). Maintaining the Automatic Identification System (AIS) devices is essential for determining the location of neighboring vessels (Lee et al., 2019).
Dependence on AIS technology may lead to mishaps, particularly if nearby vessels have turned off their transceivers. Contacts between bridge team personnel and interactions with pilots or bridge crews on other vessels are essential for reducing the danger of ship crashes and other incidents. This will lower the number of compensation claims and rates. Thus, owners should guarantee that their bridge crews have enough communication training to avoid mishaps.
Track Monitoring
Track monitoring is the act of monitoring a ship’s location and mobility in real-time, along with the surroundings and other vessels in the area. Precise track monitoring is vital to maintaining safe navigation and preventing accidents with other boats and navigational perils such as boulders or shallow seas (Engler et al., 2019). In the scenario, faulty track surveillance may have led to the vessel’s deviation from its planned course and eventual collision with the quay.
If sufficient track surveillance is not performed, the ship is in danger of clashing with other ships, which may result in severe destruction to the ship, injuries to the passengers and personnel, and even fatalities. In addition to adhering to correct track monitoring protocols, it is crucial that crew members be adequately educated in navigation and vessel management and that the ship is outfitted with modern navigation and safety gear (Ilcev, 2020). Routine maintenance and monitoring are required to ensure that the machinery and vessel operate properly. Track monitoring is crucial for a vessel’s safe functioning, and the inability to do so may result in catastrophic accidents and repercussions.
Inadequate Bridge Resource Management Techniques
Subject to relevant criteria, a successful and professional ship’s navigation staff should be educated in BRM. Evaluating the bridge team’s technical capability via the application of BRM capabilities may assist the investigator in identifying or ruling out possible explanations of the casualty throughout any relevant investigation (Puisa et al., 2018). During the scenario’s inquiry, it was determined that the bridge members’ BRM tactics were insufficient.
It involves employing all possible bridge assets to guarantee a ship’s safe and efficient operation. In this instance, the bridge crew failed to use all available assets to navigate the ship through tough circumstances. (Campaniço, Gomes, and Lopes, 2020). The BRM uses all resources available, particularly equipment, information, and personnel, to ensure safe operation.
For BRM to be successful, a team must communicate, supervise, and cross-check one another’s activities and inactions. Failing to do so could result in operating in isolation, which presents the possibility of a single source of breakdown that may go unnoticed. Maritime mishaps or catastrophes are usually never the consequence of a single occurrence; instead, they are nearly always the conclusion of a succession of less serious events or an error chain (Keijer, 2021). Some signals seen by the bridge team members will show the growth of an error chain. This does not always indicate that a crisis is imminent, but it does suggest that the transit is not being done as intended and that there may be a lack of situational awareness.
Pilot Boarding
A pilot’s experience and proficiency may impact ship mishaps. A pilot is accountable for piloting and steering a ship through ports, channels, and other waterways. They are skilled specialists who excel in navigating and operating ships in various weather and environmental circumstances. Nonetheless, even with years of expertise and training, a pilot might make errors or missteps that can cause incidents (Sánchez-Beaskoetxea et al., 2021). For instance, if a pilot misinterprets a nautical chart or underplays the influence of changing weather events, they may direct the vessel into hazardous seas or fail to adapt correctly to the evolving circumstances.
In the scenario, the captain boarded the vessel at the pilot’s cabin. Nonetheless, the pilot’s expertise and skill level seemed inadequate to manage the tough circumstances encountered while approaching the berth. Pilots must obtain sufficient training and experience, along with continued support and equipment, to execute their tasks safely and successfully.
Bridge Equipment
Possessing the correct bridge equipment may help prevent ship collisions. The bridge is the main command center of a vessel; thus, the instruments used must be dependable, novice, and safe to operate (Menon, 2020).In the scenario, there were no complaints of faulty bridge systems such as the Electronic Chart Display and Information System, Automatic Identification System, or radar.
Thus, it is uncertain whether equipment failure led to the incident. Ultimately, having dependable and current technology on the bridge may aid the crew in navigating safely and avoiding mishaps. Furthermore, the team must be fully educated and conversant with the machinery being used.
Recommendations
Improving Communication Protocols
Inadequate communication has been a major contributor to countless maritime accidents, ranging from ship crash landings and collisions to the loss of whole vessels and even deaths. The first group of BRM abilities involves good communication skills. Effective BRM depends on crewmembers’ ability to communicate effectively (Mukherjee, 2021). Effective information conveyance is a complex process that demands that information be communicated at the appropriate time, comprehended and accepted by the recipient, and clarified as necessary.
In many instances, it has been observed that the necessary information has long existed but has never been made accessible to the people who need it. Inaccurate, incomplete, unclear, or garbled communication is a prevalent cause of significant incidents. Team members need to recognize and repeat commands to guarantee they are comprehended.
Constant interaction between people and machinery enables safe and effective vessel navigation (Formela, Weintrit, and Neumann, 2019). All officials and crew members must recheck and ask questions, and only then is effective communication possible. Ultimately, maintaining a common language while on board the ship facilitates communication and makes it simpler and faster.
Installation of Additional Navigation Aids
Existing or upcoming navigation safety-promoting technologies represent the primary prospects for enhancing marine information systems. A fundamental knowledge of the trends and requirements in this field is required to explain policy and financing concerns. Safety systems for basic navigation are the fundamental instruments used by sailors to establish vessel location, acquire knowledge of the physical surroundings and operational parameters, and interact with other ships and shoreside personnel (Awan & Al Ghamdi, 2019). These foundation systems also contain databases utilized for policy and decision-making pertaining to safety.
Navigation technologies such as GPS and differential GPS (DGPS) are used as foundation systems. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a military radio navigation program that employs signals from satellites to deliver precise and continuous global location fixes in three different dimensions (Specht, 2021). According to Ibánez et al. (2020), GPS has a horizontal precision of within 100 meters for civilian users. Presently, the DGPS can offer divergent adjustments to GPS range estimates with an accuracy of 10-15 meters. In the worldwide marine sector, AIS has been promoted, developed, and tested for quite some time despite its relatively recent popularity in particular parts of the United States.
Regular Training for Bridge Team Members
The bridge crew plays a significant part in the safe running of a vessel, and their training and expertise are essential to guarantee that the vessel can safely function in all situations. The training includes analyzing and practicing the abilities and expertise that a ship’s Bridge Crew must possess to enable a secure and effective passage to or from a port across a traffic bottleneck while navigating crowded seas (Praetorius, Hult, and Österman, 2020).
Frequent training enables the bridge team to preserve and enhance their knowledge and abilities, ensuring they are current with the most recent best practices and industry expectations. In addition to minimizing accidents, consistent training helps reduce the magnitude of those that happen. When bridge crew members are competent, they are better equipped to react swiftly and efficiently to emergency circumstances, possibly saving lives and limiting ship and environmental damage. Continuous training for bridge crew members is necessary for ensuring secure and effective ship activities, and it is a crucial element of any good safety management system.
Conclusion
Following investigations, several variables contributed to the accident. All factors are low-visibility conditions, inexperienced pilots, a lack of teamwork on the bridge, sloppy track monitoring, and improper use of BRM methods. Specific measures are recommended to avoid repeat incidents. Among the suggestions made are the installation of new navigational aids, more emphasis on bridge team communication, and efficient training. All ships approaching or departing the port must take extra precautions in poor weather and adhere to the dock’s safety regulations to avoid accidents.
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