Pilot lacked latest sounding charts
An aframax tanker carrying 87,000 tonnes of crude from Scotland ran aground off Germany because the pilot failed to get the latest sounding charts for the area, an investigation has revealed.
The 97,220dwt Bahamas-flagged Katja grounded on a sandbank in the Jade Fairway while sailing towards the port of Wilhelmshaven in August 2012.
The tanker was refloated with tug assistance on the next tide and the German investigation body BSU said the ship’s double hull had helped to ensure there was no pollution.Investigators said the pilot had misjudged the situation when he took the ‘unwieldy’ tanker too close to the edge of the dedicated corridor within the 300m-wide fairway after a course alteration.
With a strong ebb current combining with the tanker’s slow manoeuvring response, the accident had become ‘unavoidable’.The BSU report said investigations had failed to clarify why the pilot had not been aware of the latest current sounding chart before joining the ship.
‘Such accidents could be avoided if it was ensured thatsea pilots always have access to current sounding data,’ it adds. ‘This could be achieved by means of so-called portable pilot units. Ideally, sounding data could be made retrievable on such devices not only in portable data format but also in converted data format, this enabling their display on an electronic chart.’
The BSU said the pilot had also left the ship’s bridge team ‘in uncertainty’ over the exchange of information with vessel traffic services ashore, as these communications were carried out in German.
An aframax tanker carrying 87,000 tonnes of crude from Scotland ran aground off Germany because the pilot failed to get the latest sounding charts for the area, an investigation has revealed.
The 97,220dwt Bahamas-flagged Katja grounded on a sandbank in the Jade Fairway while sailing towards the port of Wilhelmshaven in August 2012.
The tanker was refloated with tug assistance on the next tide and the German investigation body BSU said the ship’s double hull had helped to ensure there was no pollution.Investigators said the pilot had misjudged the situation when he took the ‘unwieldy’ tanker too close to the edge of the dedicated corridor within the 300m-wide fairway after a course alteration.
With a strong ebb current combining with the tanker’s slow manoeuvring response, the accident had become ‘unavoidable’.The BSU report said investigations had failed to clarify why the pilot had not been aware of the latest current sounding chart before joining the ship.
‘Such accidents could be avoided if it was ensured thatsea pilots always have access to current sounding data,’ it adds. ‘This could be achieved by means of so-called portable pilot units. Ideally, sounding data could be made retrievable on such devices not only in portable data format but also in converted data format, this enabling their display on an electronic chart.’
The BSU said the pilot had also left the ship’s bridge team ‘in uncertainty’ over the exchange of information with vessel traffic services ashore, as these communications were carried out in German.