201335 Unpublished draught restrictions lead to grounding

The vessel arrived in port to load 5000 tonnes of tallow and take on bunkers. Loading and bunkering operations took place over approximately 25 hours and all appeared normal, with the loaded draught finishing at 9.70 m. However, at the end of loading it was noticed that the vessel had a slight list to port. A check of the port side double bottoms confirmed they were empty. A lead line sounding over the side on both port and starboard sides revealed that vessel was now sitting on the harbour bottom on her starboard side.

Although the official nautical chart (BA 3188) indicated an available depth of 11.83 m, it was discovered that the draught allowed at this berth by the port authority was restricted to 9.44 m. Notwithstanding this local restriction, no Temporary or Preliminary Notice to Mariners had been published to officially notify mariners. However, the restriction was posted to the pilotage website. It was later determined that the local draught restriction was not communicated to the vessel by either the pilot, agent or the harbour authorities. Neither was this restriction discussed by the terminal representative during the safety meeting prior to loading. During preliminary contacts with local ship’s agent, the draft restriction was not mentioned because the ship’s berth had not yet been designated (three possible berths).

Editor’s Note: Even such basic information as water depth restrictions at a certain berth can sometimes slip through the cracks. Humans being human – mistakes of this nature are possible. This is the advantage of a thorough Master/Pilot exchange and the completion of a berthing checklist that includes expected loaded draught as well as the depth of water available at the specific berth. This information should be shared with and validated by the pilot and the loading facility.