WATCHOUT Inexperience and poor situational awareness led to collision

01 Feb 2020 The Navigator

In this series, we take a look at maritime accident reports and the lessons that can be learned

What happened?
A frigate was heading south through confined waters at approximately 18 knots. It was dark, but visibility was otherwise clear and weather conditions good. The frigate’s officers notified the local VTS that they were entering the area. However, the vessel’s AIS system was set in passive mode, meaning that no AIS signals were being transmitted.

About an hour after the frigate entered the VTS area, an oil tanker was preparing to leave a terminal in the same stretch of water and move northwards. VTS assumed that the two vessels were aware of each other and would work together to avoid collision. The operator did not inform other nearby vessels of the tanker’s intention to depart.

The tanker’s bridge officers spotted the frigate moving towards them but assumed that the OOW had seen them too and would change course. Unfortunately, the OOW and two other key members of the bridge team mistook the deck lights on the tanker for a stationary object. They did not make use of the technical tools at their disposal to double check this, and proceeded as if the tanker was not moving. This brought them right into the path of the vessel.

No-one on the frigate was aware of the mistake until it was too late. The two vessels collided, causing damage, water ingress and some minor injuries.

Why did it happen?

  • The OOW and other bridge officers on the frigate were young and inexperienced. Poor overall communication, organisation and teamwork further exacerbated the situation.
  • The deck lights on the tanker obscured its navigational lights, making it harder for the frigate to identify it as a moving vessel
  • The frigate officers did not use technical aids to inform and correct their flawed situational awareness, relying instead on their own perceived view of the situation
  • The VTS operator received the report of the frigate entering the area, but did not monitor the area closely enough, nor inform vessels in the area of the tanker’s intention to depart.
  • The frigate’s AIS was in passive mode, preventing the tanker or any other vessels from seeing transmitted signals.

What changes have been made?

  • Improved training around situational awareness, watch-standing and teamwork on the bridge has been implemented
  • Career paths for officers on the frigate have been reconsidered to allow officers to gain time for training and experience before they are promoted
  • The use of AIS on the frigate has been reviewed, as has the use of deck lights on the tanker to avoid obscuring navigational lights in future

There is an excellent summary and animation of the incident at Youtube.com – we recommend having a look!

THE FRIGATE OFFICERS RELIED ON THEIR OWN PERCEIVED VIEW OF THE SITUATION, INSTEAD OF USING TECHNICAL AIDS THAT COULD HAVE HELPED HIGHLIGHT THE DANGER.

If you find our accident reports useful, check out The Nautical Institute’s Maritime Accident Reporting Scheme (MARS). A fully searchable database of incident reports and lessons, updated every month. Seen a problem yourself? Email the editor at Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme mars@nautinst.org and help others learn from your experience. All reports are confidential – we will never identify you or your ship.

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