201001 Grounded on spoil ground
Grounded on spoil ground
MARS Report 201001
After arriving at a minor far-eastern port, a VLCC drawing 19.5 metres made several attempts to contact port control in order to obtain a designated safe anchoring position. This was considered necessary as there appeared to be conflicting advice between the international and local navigation charts and that provided verbally by the agent. Being unable to get advice from shore authorities, despite repeated calls, the master decided to rely on the international chart and anchored at the recommended position.
The next day, the vessel picked up anchor and proceeded towards the pilot station on a flood tide. Weather conditions were good with clear visibility. Proper monitoring of the vessel's position was carried out. Suddenly, without warning, and with some miles still to go to the pilot station, the vessel ran aground. The vessel's speed at time of grounding was 5.8 knots in charted water depths of between 24-27 m. Taking into account the height of tide at the time and the vessel's draught, the vessel should have had at least 3.0 m under-keel clearance (UKC), about 15 per cent of the draught. Fortunately, there was no damage to the vessel and no pollution.
What went wrong
After a detailed investigation, it was realised that the vessel ran aground in an uncharted dumping ground, where local barges had been discharging mud, sand and/or other unknown spoil;
No information relating to this activity was circulated. Subsequently, the harbour pilot confirmed that the minimum depth in the area was 20 m at low water.
Root cause analysis
The main cause of the incident was an unmarked shallow patch of water. Local changes in hydrographic data had not been adequately promulgated. The root cause was therefore found to be lack of standards.
What went right
The vessel's charts and publications were corrected and updated to the latest Notice to Mariners available at the time;
All safety management systems (SMS) procedures were complied with throughout the passage. Effective planning for the passage was carried out by the master and officers. A pre-arrival tool-box meeting was carried out during which passage plan and cargo operations were discussed;
Proper monitoring of the vessel's position was carried out. In addition, after the grounding, the action taken by all on board the vessel was very professional and this resulted in the vessel being refloated without any damage or pollution.
Corrective/preventative actions
A detailed review of all ports in the region is being carried out to assess the risks to company vessels. This will include a detailed risk assessment with regard to safety of operations during future port calls.
A review of procedures with regard to usage of local navigational charts is being carried out.
In addition, procedures have been implemented with regard to enhanced monitoring of voyage orders, particularly when calling at ports with draught limitations.
Information has been provided to international hydrographic offices with details of the shallow patch of water.
Editor's note: Again in the interests of safety and pollution prevention, mariners should note the approximate position of this spoil ground as lat 22° 23.24N, long 114 °42.21E.