Master-pilot disagreement
caused cargo ship grounding
A fully-laden general cargo-ship ran aground in the St Lawrence Seaway following a disagreement between the master and the pilot over the best way in which to slow the vessel as it approached a lock.
In a report on the incident, which involved the Barbados-flagged Claude A Desgagnes, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) repeats previous warnings about the need for effective communication between ship crews and pilots.
The 9,627gt vessel suffered hull and frame damage after striking a wall and grounding while approaching the Seaway locks at Iroquois, Ontario, bound for Northern Ireland with a cargo of corn. Investigators found that the pilot had wanted an anchor lowered to slow the ship, while the master wanted to reverse the engines.
The pilot had advised against this as a result of the direction and force of the current, but each time he requested the forward anchors to be deployed to ‘dredge’ the ship the master declined.
The report notes that the pilot had explained his plan to dredge the anchor to the officer of the watch earlier in the voyage — but the details of the plan were not relayed to the master when he arrived on the bridge.
Although the pilot later informed the master of his intention to carry out the manoeuvre in broad terms, investigators said the master had not confirmed that he understood or agreed with the manoeuvre. The TSB report highlighted the results of an investigation that it published in 1995 which examined safety problems arising from deficiencies in master-pilot exchanges.
And the Board said it ‘remains concerned about the number of marine accidents resulting from ineffective bridge communications’. Bridge crew must develop a common understanding of what their jobs are, the report states, and failure to ensure a shared view of the vessel’s manoeuvres poses ‘a risk that crucial manoeuvres to ensure safe navigation will not be completed in a timely manner’.
A fully-laden general cargo-ship ran aground in the St Lawrence Seaway following a disagreement between the master and the pilot over the best way in which to slow the vessel as it approached a lock.
In a report on the incident, which involved the Barbados-flagged Claude A Desgagnes, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) repeats previous warnings about the need for effective communication between ship crews and pilots.
The 9,627gt vessel suffered hull and frame damage after striking a wall and grounding while approaching the Seaway locks at Iroquois, Ontario, bound for Northern Ireland with a cargo of corn. Investigators found that the pilot had wanted an anchor lowered to slow the ship, while the master wanted to reverse the engines.
The pilot had advised against this as a result of the direction and force of the current, but each time he requested the forward anchors to be deployed to ‘dredge’ the ship the master declined.
The report notes that the pilot had explained his plan to dredge the anchor to the officer of the watch earlier in the voyage — but the details of the plan were not relayed to the master when he arrived on the bridge.
Although the pilot later informed the master of his intention to carry out the manoeuvre in broad terms, investigators said the master had not confirmed that he understood or agreed with the manoeuvre. The TSB report highlighted the results of an investigation that it published in 1995 which examined safety problems arising from deficiencies in master-pilot exchanges.
And the Board said it ‘remains concerned about the number of marine accidents resulting from ineffective bridge communications’. Bridge crew must develop a common understanding of what their jobs are, the report states, and failure to ensure a shared view of the vessel’s manoeuvres poses ‘a risk that crucial manoeuvres to ensure safe navigation will not be completed in a timely manner’.