Inquiry into a grounding: Engine issues ground Hanjin BombayThe log ship Hanjin Bombay ran aground in Tauranga
harbour entrance on June 21, 2010 after engine problems were not
communicated to the bridge, an inquiry into the grounding of a cargo
ship finds.The fully loaded ship was leaving port for Korea when its
main engine began overheating because of a malfunctioning valve. The
engine room crew did not tell the bridge about the problem and began
attempting to fix it.Unaware there was an issue, the bridge team continued to take the
ship towards the entrance, increasing speed for the turn from the Cutter Channel into the entrance to improve steerage.The engine-cooling water’s temperature continued to rise and reached
the point where the engine safety control system slowed the engine down, then shut it down completely to prevent permanent damage.The Hanjin Bombay was making the right turn from the Cutter Channel
into No. 2 Reach when the engine shut down. The loss of propulsion
reduced the steering performance of the vessel and the rudder was unable to arrest the turn before the ship left the channel and grounded on the eastern shore near North West rock.When the bridge alarms sounded but the master did not tell the pilot
what they meant and did not translate the conversations he was having
with engineers in Korean.When the pilot began asking why the ship was slowing down instead of
speeding up, the captain didn’t tell him. Bridge recordings reveal he
was telling the officer at the forecastle to prepare to let the anchors
go.The pilot was unable to learn from the master what the problem was
with the main engine, so he radioed the tugs to return and stand by to
assist as soon as possible.The main engine shut down at about 7.58pm. Two minutes later the ship was approaching North West Rock light abeam to starboard. The ship was
in the main channel moving at about 2.6 knots, with the bow swinging
towards shore and ran aground at about 8.04pm.The tugs arrived just after the Hanjin Bombay grounded. They kept the ship from swinging against the outgoing tide and then against the
incoming tide until she re-floated about two hours later.The Hanjin Bombay was holed in one of its water-ballast tanks, dented the hull plating in the bow area. There was no pollution and the ship
later re-entered the port, where it underwent temporary repairs before
resuming its voyage. It later entered a dry-dock in China to make
permanent repairs.The Transport Accident Investigation Commission report says the
grounding could have been prevented if the automatic engine-shutdown
condition had been overridden for long enough to stabilise the heading
of the vessel, and/or if the tugs had been in attendance to help
maintain directional control.Either option could have been achieved through better knowledge of
the engine systems, better communication between the bridge and engine
room crew, and if the bridge crew had informed the harbour pilot of the
escalating engine problem.The TAIC report also says the Port of Tauranga Ltd’s risk assessment
for its port, and Harbour Safety Management system, did not fully
address the risk of departing vessels experiencing failure of propulsion and manoeuvring systems at critical locations in the entrance channel.Its recommendations are that the Director of Maritime New Zealand
resolve the safety issue of adequate tug escorts for vessels in all New
Zealand ports, and that he develop a national system allowing port
authority staff access to new and previous information on vessel and
crew performance in the interests of preventing similar accidents and
incidents in the immediate future.A key lesson is that shipboard operations must be conducted using an
agreed common language that everyone can understand. Crew members
lapsing into their native tongue during an emergency is a breakdown in
communication that can seriously hinder any response to deal with the
emergency.The key lessons from the inquiry into this occurrence were:vessel
crews must have a thorough knowledge of their vessels' operating systems if they are to deal effectively with abnormal situationsthe
concept of crew resource management must extend to all operational areas on a vessel, and in particular must result in a common understanding of the voyage plan and good communication between bridge and engine room The level of tug assistance given to vessels when transiting narrow
channels needs to be commensurate with the level of risk and should be
decided on the basis of reducing the risk to as low as reasonably
practicableshipboard operations must be conducted using an agreed
common language that everyone can understand. Crew members lapsing into
their native tongue during an emergency is a breakdown in communication
that can seriously hinder any response to deal with the emergency.
ACCIDENTS
04 May 2013 - 21:24
Inquiry into a grounding: Engine issues ground Hanjin Bombay
When the pilot began asking why the ship was slowing down instead of speeding up, the captain didn’t tell him.
ACCIDENTS
04 May 2013 - 21:24
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