Cosco Busan Pilot Claims The 5th

Cosco Busan pilot John Cota has invoked his right under the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects accused persons from self-incrimination, not to appear at the US National Transportation Safety Board hearings which start on 8th April. Through lawyers, he claims that VTS personnel were betting on whether the 65,131 tonnes container ship would hit the San Francisco -Oakland Bay Bridge on November 7, 2007.

Sideswiping the bridge’s fenders, a gash was opened in the ship’s side that resulted in a 55,000 gallon spill of fuel oil.

The two-day public NTSB hearings will follow a 7th April conference to fix the final agenda. NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker, who will chair the hearing says, “This accident presents the Board with many questions, such as: Was the Cosco Busan’s bridge navigation equipment working properly? Was there adequate oversight of the San Francisco bar pilot? Did the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service exert the appropriate level of control over the Cosco Busan?”

A further issue may be the possible effect of medication being taken by Cota for sleep apnea.

Cota’s lawyers claim that the Coast Guard VTS service could have avoided the accident but did not clearly communicate their concern to Cota and that VTS personnel discussed and took bets on whether the Cosco Busan would hit the bridge, based on “waterfront rumours”. The letter also says that the Coast Guard did not warn mariners about the fog and that Cota “… prevented a worse catastrophe by his clear and cool thinking.”

Cota faces prosecution for two misdemeanors under the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. If found guilty, Cota could face a one year prison sentence or fines totalling $115,000.  Some six members of the Cosco Busan crew, who have not been charged are in detention as ‘material witnesses’ pending Cota’s trial.

The Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun has charged Cota with misconduct and the US Coast Guard has demanded his Merchant Marine Officer’s license because it “believes he is not physically competent to maintain the license.”

Regardless of the results of Cota’s trial or the NTSB hearing, the incident will throw the spotlight on the relationship between Pilot and Master, recently the subject of a Maritime Executive editorial, As pointed out in the responses to that item, the pilkot, at least under US law, is more than merely an adviser, a master is required to obey the pilot, and the bridge crew are required to obey the pilot as if he was the master, unless there is clear indication of the pilot’s incapacity or incompetence.

By which it’s usually too late.

Gangway Was Hard On Shoulder

As this alert from the MSF shows,  even the humble gangway can be hard on the shoulders:

Subject: Unsafe Gangway Leads to Injured Shoulder

During a crew change, the injured party (IP) was taking a petrol can down the gangway
when he tripped off the end due to the fact that the gangway was several inches off the
ground. Instinctively he put out his hand to stop himself but, unfortunately, he landed hard, hurting his shoulder. The IP was taken to the local hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder.

The vessel had been in port all night during which time the vessel had risen on the tide which left the gangway off the quay by several inches. This was checked throughout the night by the watchman, but the gangway was too large and heavy for one man to move on his own so he waited to inform the officer on the watch (OOW) in the morning. This he did, but as they were going out to have a look, the IP was already descending the gangway.

Lessons Learned:
The gangway should have been moved to its lower securing point so that it rested on the quay properly before it was used. The IP should not have descended an unsafe gangway; it should have been lowered before use.
Upper securing point
Lower securing point

BIMCO encourages fair treatment of seafarers in Hebei Spirit accident

Bimco president Philip Embiricos has appealed for fair treatment of seafarers following the Hebei Spirit incident in a letter to Lloyd’s List:

BIMCO encourages fair treatment of seafarers in Hebei Spirit accident

It is difficult to judge an accident even with all the details on the table. The same goes for the unfortunate Hebei Spirit accident. What we do know is that seafarers have been detained and later charged for violation of anti pollution laws. It seems that the two barge captain have been in a difficult situation, while the crew of the tanker appear not to have had real possibilities to prevent the accident.

My role is not to judge the case, but to stress the complexity in these matters and to encourage the authorities to give fair treatment to the seafarers involved in this and other incidents. Luckily, no seafarers were injured in this accident, but the environmental impact is very unfortunate in itself. The IMO/ILO guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers from June 2006 should be followed by authorities all over the world. In this connection, BIMCO feels it necessary to highlight the fact that the guidelines state that coastal states should take steps to conduct the case in a fair and expeditious manner and the coastal state should minimize the physical presence of the seafarers. While we have no reason to suspect that this is not the case already, it should, nevertheless, be stressed here that more than 50 days since the incident took place, the three Masters are still detained in South Korea.

As we are know, most people around the world are not aware of the fact that ships carry 90% of all goods, and that shipping is a prerequisite for global trade and indeed the way we live today. Ships are run by people.  It is the key to the shipping industry that seafarers are given fair treatment. This is not only to improve recruitment – which reflects a complex challenge with many elements involved – but first and foremost to give our current seafarers proper working conditions and treatment even in difficult times such as when they are involved in an accident. We owe that to one of our industries’ most precious assets – the seafarers.

Best regards,
BIMCO

Philip Embiricos
President

Confined Space Casualties – Worse Than Expected

Early results of a study by the Maritime Accident Investigators International Forum, MAIIF, of accidents in confined spaces aboard ships suggest that the problem may be far bigger than anticipated. Despite decades of regulation and training, it’s a problem that continued to take the lives of seafarers at an alarming, and under-reported rate.

Still incomplete, the MAIIF figures report 44 deaths and 66 injuries in 63 incidents on ships of 15 Flag States since 1993. The data was supplied by the UK’s MAIB and similar organisations in Vanuatu, Latvia, Cyprus, Marshall Islands and Germany. Figures for Hong Kong have yet to be included and more information has been promised by Sweden and South Africa and Finland.

In an email to MAIIF members, Don Sheetz of the Vanuatu administration, who has been tasked with gathering information for the report, says: “The information obtained so far is very troubling as the problem we originally identified may be even larger than anticipated.”

The study began following last October’s MAIIF meet in Beijing and an impassioned speech by Sweden’s Captain Sven Andersen to 60 maritime investigators from 28 maritime adminmistrations anbd presentations by investigators on a variety of incidents.

A review of incidents already show that a confined space “may be any space, of any size, containing cargo, oil, water, petroleum, or nothing at all. A confined space may even be, as in the case of the fatality on the Monika a cabin where a crewmember died,” says Sheetz.

A new approach may be needed in defining a confined space. Says Sheetz: “It is apparent that the issue of confined space entry is not a single dimensional issue about entering a space which could be defined as a potential risk, but a multi-dimensional one where any space could, by virtue of its cargo, lack of oxygen, use of toxic chemicals, gaseous atmosphere, inerting, etc., cause death or injury, either shortly after the person enters or even several hours later. And the space could be a tiny lazarette, a battery room, a diesel engine cylinder, a boiler, a paint locker, an access way, a cargo hold, a cargo tank, a pump room, a chain locker, a fore peak or after peak tank, void spaces, fish meal processing rooms, the carpenter’s shop, etc. It could be small enough to permit access only to a person’s head or it could be 100,000 cubic meters or more in size.”

Bob Couttie, administrator of Maritime Accident Casebook, a maritime safety internet site at www.maritimeaccident.org, which operates a confidential reporting system for seafarers, says: “Confined spaces often don’t have visible hazards so there’s a lot of complacency. Very saddening are those cases in which would-be rescuers come to grief trying to save a fellow seafarer. What we have to look at is how to establish and maintain seafarer competency in the workplace. Until the industry addresses the competency issue we’ll go on seeing this kind of incident.”

 

Do you have experience of a confined space incident, an actual or close call incident, whether officially reported or not? Sharing that information through the Maritime Accident Casebook confidential report system might help save the lives of other seafarers. Your identity will remain confidential. The address is confidential@maritimeaccident.org.

Maritime Safety News Today – 19th January 2008

Total Responds to Erika Verdict

The French oil giant is “disappointed” that the Paris Criminal Court imposed a fine for the maritime pollution that occurred as result of the 1999 sinking of the tanker Erika.

UK – update re sinking of ICE PRINCE The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a press notice stating that the estimated clearance over the wreck of the ICE PRINCE is 46.8 meters, but that an Irish Lights vessel will examine and confirm the clearance.  In the meantime, a temporary exclusion zone of 1000 meters is in effect.  Bundles of the floating timber are breaking up, but may still present a hazard, particularly for smaller vessels.  An incident report provides further details. (1/17/08).

Bourbon Dolphin findings delayed
BBC News – UK
The publication of an official report into the sinking of the Bourbon Dolphin off Shetland has been delayed. The vessel capsized during an anchor handling

Man attempts suicide in protest at SKorea oil spill payout
AFP –
A barge drifting in stormy weather smashed into the 147000-ton Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit on December 7, causing the tanker to spill some

Harbor pilot pulled from chilly gulf
The News Herald – Panama City,FL,USA
Knowles guided a 300-foot cargo ship bound for Mexico through the St. Andrew Pass and out to sea Wednesday afternoon. The captain used a ladder to climb out

Ship Hits Bay Area Bridge…Again
KCBS – CA,USA
(KCBS) — For the third time in three months a ship has collided with a Bay Area bridge. The US Coast Guard says that around 2:30 Wednesday morning,

Grounded Fishing Vessel’s Damage Assessed Transit Plan Developed
SitNews – Ketchikan,AK,USA
… boom continued to surround the vessel as a precaution and there have been no reports of petroleum leakage after the vessel’s initial grounding.

FG explains oil vessel explosion in PH
The Tide – Port Harcourt,Niger Delta,Nigeria
… Harcourt on Friday was caused by an accident. Our correspondent reports that a ship carrying 5000 tonnes of petrol exploded at the Port Harcourt Wharf.

Freighter to Replace Damaged Ship

Posted 01/18/08 at 10:26 AM

Commodore Goodwill sustained damage to its hull during high winds on December 10 and it is not known when it will be back in service. The ship usually delivers some food and goods to Guernsey. Condor Ferries has chartered the Triumph. The replacement ship will begin daily sailings to Guernsey from 1 February. Source: BBC

San Francisco Bay – initial report on Cosco Busan incident prepared

The US Coast Guard issued a press release stating that the initial report on the COSCO BUSAN incident has been prepared and forwarded to Headquarters for review.  The report, prepared by the Incident Specific Preparedness Review (ISPR) team, focuses on the first two weeks of the response to the November 7, 2007 allision of the freighter with a pier of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the ensuing oil spill.  Public release of the report is expected in approximately two weeks. (1/16/08).

Savannah River – grounded vessel refloated

The US Coast Guard issued a press release stating that the container ship that grounded in the Savannah River has been refloated with the assistance of two towing vessels.  The ship has been moved to an anchorage area until the problem causing the grounding has been identified and repaired.  The incident is under investigation. (1/16/08).

Duluth – salvage plan approved for partially sunken laker

The US Coast Guard issued a press release stating that the salvage plan has been approved for the laker that partially sank after striking a submerged object while approaching its pier in Duluth.  Deballasting is expected to take several days.  Then repairs can be effected. (1/16/08).

Cyprus and Syria Sign Cooperation Agreement on Maritime Pollution

The agreement entails “. . . combating marine pollution, training and rehabilitation, research and the possibility of holding twining among the Syrian and Cypriot ports.”

Dock owner stands firm over pilot’s sacking
Liverpool Echo – UK
The member of trade union Unite was dismissed after an incident involving the grounding of a pilot vessel. No-one was hurt but he lost his job after

Maritime Safety News Today – 2nd January 2008

Ship Capsizes, 11 Feared Drowned

Posted 12/31/07 at 09:49 AM

According to Xinhua, Eleven sailors are feared drowned after the timber-laden ship they were sailing on sank in Brunei Bay near Malaysia’s Labuan island. The Thailand-registered MV Emerald left Kota Kinabalu Port, Malaysian eastern Sabah state, on Dec.

How trio whistled to safety

Kota Kinabalu: Tired, cold and hungry from surviving on rainwater for five days, three crew members of MV Emerald which sank off Bintulu on Dec.26, could only muster a whistle as they clung to a piece of wood in the sea.

Ferry operator out of service after ship accident

Ferry operator Speedferries was forced out of service over the weekend after its only vessel was involved in an accident.

On Friday its SpeedOne catamaran crashed into a pier at the harbour as it berthed for the night.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Reports Incident

Posted 12/31/07 at 10:19 AM

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. reported that the semi-submersible drilling rig Ocean Whittington experienced an incident involving the ballast control system. The rig has been stabilized and corrective measures have returned the unit to even keel.. Rehab Prospects Good After Korea’s Worst Oil Spill
Environment News Service – USA
… Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the European Commission’s Environmental Directorate-General and the European Maritime Safety Agency. 

T&T Bisso Salvages Tug

Posted 12/31/07 at 09:17 AM

The 600 ton capacity D/B BIG T, owned by T&T MARINE SALVAGE of Galveston, Texas, and the 700 ton capacity D/B CAPPY BISSO, owned by BISSO MARINE of Houston, Texas, were used to make a tandem lift of a 105-ft..

Pirate Mother Ship Hunt Off Somali Coast
Guardian Unlimited – UK
“The small boats which are used for piracy could not travel” from shore as far into the ocean as ships have been attacked, said Commodore Khan Hasham

Cabinet agrees on accession to 1979 Int’l marine search, rescue …
Yemen News Agency – Yemen
01 (Saba)- In its weekly meeting, the cabinet agreed on accession of Yemen to the 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. 

Crunching Crane Jibs and Invisible Trawlers

Maritime New Zealand’s December issue of Look Out (download here) is as always, full of maritime accident reports and hair-raising close calls with lessons worth learning. We noted two in particular:

A containership crane jib collapsed without warning and fell onto the wharf close to several workers. Fortunately no-one was injured. Exactly what caused the collapse remains a mystery. The crane topping lift wire rope had parted, yet undamaged parts of the rope appeared to be in condition, it was the correct spec and appropriate maintenance and inspection had been carried out

A microscope revealed that the parting was caused by severe abrasive wear, mainly of the crown wires of the outer strands and there was considerable wear on the wires below the surface of outer strands  and on inner core strand wires.

So watch out even cranes in apparently good condition can fail without warning.

What is also worrying is that this particular crane design failed to unsafe – the failure of a single wire rope results in a major accident.

In a second incident a 60,000 tonnes car carrier came within 20 metres of a fishing trawler in Force 7 winds and 3 metres waves.

The skipper of the bright orange, highly visible trawler saw the car carrier in his 12 mile radar about five miles out bearing almost directly astern and was obviously overtaking. He wnt below to check the engine and cll the other two crewmen to pull in the nets. Returning to the wheelhouse he noticed the carrier was two or three miles astern, he wasn’t worried, it had happened before and he assumed someone on the carrier was keeping a proper lookout. Then his cellphone rang and he answered it for a few minutes.

When he finished his cellphone chat he turned around to find the carrier just 200 to 300 metres away. This got his immediate attention but by the time he’d grabbed his VHF Radio the carrier was roaring past starboard with about 20 metres.

There is no reference in the report regarding the status of the skipper’s underpants at this point.

As it happened, the carrier’s third officer was alone on the bridge, wasn’t looking ahead with binoculars and had set the radar anti-sea clutter in a way that he thought would differentiate between false and real targets but it didn’t spot the trawler and the automatic target acquisition wasn’t being used. The carrier was on automatic steering. He only saw the trawler when it was around 300 metres away.

There’s no reference in the report to the state of his underpants at that moment, either.

The lesson: Complacency is dangerous, don’t just assume that another vessel will do what you expect it to do.

Maritime Safety News Today – 25 October 2007

Report into tug tragedy published
BBC News – UK
A preliminary report into the sinking of the Bourbon Dolphin off Shetland has highlighted a combination of factors that contributed to the tragedy.

Rescuers pluck crew from sinking fishing boat
Globe and Mail – Canada
Marine search and rescue crews were called out at 9:20 am Sunday to assist the 12-metre prawn vessel Dandee An. Its crew had had sent out a frantic mayday

Barge sinking off beach
Dorset Echo – England,UK
By Ian McDonald RESCUERS have been alerted to a barge sinking off the east end of Weymouth beach. Barrels are being washed off the vessel and coastguard

Oil Worker’s Children Abducted in Nigeria

Posted 10/24/07 at 07:52 AM

Two children, Fransisca Ehileme, age six, and her five-year-old brother, Francis, both children of an oil worker, were abducted by gunmen on their way to school around Rumuigbo junction in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital..

BULGARIAN CAPTAIN NOT DETAINED IN THESSALONIKI
Sofia Echo – Bulgaria
The captain of Bulgarian vessel Geo Milev was not detained in the Greek port of Thessaloniki, Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar) said.

RCMP refused to test crew for drugs: ferry chief
Globe and Mail – Canada
The TSB was set to release its final report on the sinking this fall, but new evidence – crew testimony suggesting no officer was on the bridge at the time

Due Process for Exxon
Wall Street Journal – USA
More important is the question whether federal maritime law and constitutional due process permit the infliction of any punitive damages.

Maritime Safety News Today – 19th October 2007

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Captain missing in Greek cargo ship collision
Trading Markets (press release) – Los Angeles,CA,USA
It was the second maritime accident near Thessaloniki in less than a week. Last Friday, a Greek ferry collided with a fishing boat 23 km off the coast.

Canadian ferry crews warned against smoking pot
Reuters Canada – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
One hundred and one passengers and crew were forced to abandon the sinking vessel and were rescued by residents of the isolated community of Hartley Bay. 

MT Efunya sinks at Lagos port
Vanguard – Apapa,Lagos,Nigeria
He stated that the solution to further halt any vessel from sinking is to remove the vessels around the sunken vessel as soon as possible to a safe place. 

Ship’s Chief Engineer Convicted in Vessel Pollution Case

Posted 10/18/07 at 07:08 AM

Mark Humphries, the chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, an American-flagged car-carrier ship based in Baltimore, was convicted by a jury on one count of conspiracy and two counts of making false statements, announced Ronald J. Admiral wants new safety standards
MaineToday.com – Portland,ME,USA
… that requiring competency among pilots and requiring boats to undergo periodic safety checks would go a long way to providing for maritime safety.

Liverpool: service for victims of modern slavery
Independent Catholic News – London,UK
Among those taking part in the service will be representatives from Asylum Link Merseyside, Christian Aid, the Mersey Mission to Seafarers and Apostleship

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From Safety At Sea

Fatal dhow master appeals jail term

MANAMA, BAHRAIN 16 October – Abdulla Al Kobaisi, owner of the ill-fated dhow Al Dhana, is appealing against his ten-year jail sentence for his part in the deaths of 58 people. Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News reports that Al Kobaisi was convicted of manslaughter in May this year following the capsize of the Al Dhana, a pleasure craft carrying employees celebrating completion of part of a construction project, in shallow waters off the Bahraini coast. Al Kobaisi’s lawyer has asked the Bahraini High Criminal Court to throw out his conviction on the grounds that the tour operator Island Tours was responsible. He claimed that the dhow was carrying too many passengers – 150 instead of 100 – and that the rental deal between himself and Island Tours provided that two small boats should accommodate extra passengers. He also claimed that the Bahraini Coastguard took too long to arrive – about 30 to 40 minutes. However, a spokesman for the US 5th Fleet has previously told the BBC that US naval personnel reached the site within 15 to 20 minutes. The defence has also argued that Al Kobaisi’s craft carried all the appropriate licences and permits and was not in breach of any law. The defence added that the investigation found 11 reasons for the tragedy, none of which were connected to Al Kobaisi, who is currently free on bail pending the conclusion of the appeal. Captain Rajendra Kumar Ramjibhai, master of the dhow, was also convicted of manslaughter and is appealing his sentence on the grounds that his interpreter did not take the correct oath.

Fifth ferry victim’s body recovered

A FIFTH body from the ill-fated Seagull Express ‘came ashore’ at lunchtime today, amidst mounting rancour in Malaysia.

One dead in Mexican vessel fire

AT least one person is dead and two are missing after a fire yesterday in the engine room of the Mexican-flagged crew vessel Seba’an

Article of interest – 2006 – worse year for accident claims

The full text of the following can be found here

The People Problem - 06 September 2007

P&I clubs are counting the cost of the worst group claims year on record in 2006, and naturally much of the talk on how to reduce the cost and number of incidents is focussing on the human factor, according to Jerry Westmore, managing director of Marsh’s Global Marine and Energy Practice.

“For the clubs the issue is the claims levels of 2006 and the fear that claims will increase,” he says.

“A major concern continues to be the potential crew shortages and it is an issue which is affecting everyone at present.”

Mr Westmore said the problem was not just the lack of training and qualified crew, but also the ability to retain crews.

“Retention remains as difficult as recruitment,” he adds. “We are seeing ever bigger and more sophisticated vessels which are in themselves more expensive and they are carrying more expensive cargos.

“There is a different dynamic with the newer more technical ships because, while they may need smaller crews than in the past, those crews have to be more technically competent in order to operate them. One problem is that increasingly entry level seafarers are no longer technically or educationally capable of rising through the ranks to become the officers of the future.”