UK’s marine accident investigation branch has issued today a report into the grounding of BBC Marmara while on passage from Foynes, Republic of Ireland to Scrabster, Scotland in July 2021, resulting in significant damage to the vessel’s hull.
The cargo vessel BBC Marmara ran aground on 25 July 2021 on the island of Eilean Trodday while transiting the Little Minch, off the west coast of Scotland.
The vessel was on passage from Foynes, Republic of Ireland to Scrabster, Scotland.
It was refloated successfully and then proceeded to the port of Stornoway, where a dive inspection confirmed significant damage to the forward part of the vessel’s hull that included penetration of the bow thruster space and forepeak tanks.
A port state inspection granted permission for BBC Marmara to sail to Scrabster to offload cargo before proceeding to a dry dock in Poland for repairs.
Results of the MAIB investigation
· The officer of the watch was asleep when the vessel ran aground. He was alone on the bridge as there was no lookout, and the bridge watch alarm was disabled;
· The officer of the watch had been drinking alcohol both immediately before and at the start of his watch;
· The safety management system put in place by the owners and managers was ineffective in controlling the shipboard practices involved in this grounding;
· The owners and managers did not have the necessary assurance tools in place to understand whether the control measures implemented for alcohol and the use of both a lookout and a bridge watch alarm had been implemented successfully;
· The voyage plan in use differed from the approved voyage plan supplied by the authorised voyage planning service for the vessel;
· The watchkeepers at Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre did not intervene before the grounding as they were distracted by an ongoing search and rescue incident.
Actions taken
Following this accident the owners and managers of BBC Marmara, Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG, have taken action to improve the effectiveness of the company’s safety management system in controlling shipboard practices, especially in relation to the consumption of alcohol and use of lookouts and watch alarms.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has conducted a review of the accident and taken several steps to improve the level of vessel traffic monitoring across the national network.
Recommendations
Recommendations have been made to Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG to ensure that a lookout is on the bridge in times of darkness, and to implement management assurance tools that will provide accurate feedback on the effectiveness of its safety management system; and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to increase organisational knowledge of cognitive performance and to plan accordingly.
