Accident Reports

MAIB have published their report on the flooding and sinking of trawler Ocean Quest.

On 18 August 2019 and about 70 miles north-east of Fraserburgh, the UK registered trawler Ocean Quest, sank as a result of an engine room flood. The source of the flood has not been determined; however, it was almost certainly a result of shell plating or hull weld failure. The crew tackled the flood with fixed and portable pumps but were not able to get the situation under control. The alarm was raised as soon as the flood was discovered, the crew were well prepared for the abandonment and all were rescued safely by a coastguard helicopter.

Safety Issues
Flooding presents an immediate threat, and every effort must be made to pump out the floodwater. In this case, the crew followed their onboard routine for bilge pumping, which meant that sea suction valves were left partly open. This potentially restricted the bilge pumps’ Continue reading “Flooding and sinking of trawler Ocean Quest report published”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published an investigation report on the flooding of the towing vessel ‘Alton St Amant’ while moored in the Harvey Canal in New Orleans. The incident resulted in an oil discharge into the water. The investigation identified lack of pre-inspection and monitoring procedures for water transfer as a key cause of the incident.

On May 17, 2020, about 0530 local time, a shipyard worker reported that the towing vessel Alton St Amant was partially submerged while moored at a shipyard in the Harvey Canal in New Orleans, Louisiana. There were no crew members or shipyard workers aboard the vessel. Approximately five gallons of diesel fuel were released into the water. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $1.5 million. No injuries were reported. Continue reading “Flooding of towing vessel caused by a lack of monitoring”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released an investigation report on the engine room fire aboard the towing vessel City of Cleveland on the Lower Mississippi River in February 2020. The investigation has identified that catastrophic engine failure caused fire along with crankcase breach of the port main engine.

On 26 February 2020, the towing vessel City of Cleveland was pushing 18 dry cargo barges (15 loaded and 3 empty) upbound on the Lower Mississippi River, approximately 15 miles south of Natchez, Mississippi, when the vessel experienced a main engine failure followed by an engine room fire. All nine crew members safely evacuated to the barges and were rescued by nearby Good Samaritan vessels, which worked to extinguish the fire. The City of Cleveland was later towed to the operator’s facility in Rosedale, Mississippi. There was no pollution or injuries. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $2 million.

Probable cause

Continue reading “Engine failure caused fire on another towing vessel says NTSB report”