The Seadogz report into an accident on the morning of 22 August 2020 when the commercially operated rigid inflatable boat (RIB) crashed into a 4.5m high, 5-ton channel marker in Southampton Water at a speed of 38.4 knots has been published. The RIB’s engine stopped abruptly and two of the passengers were catapulted overboard into the water, where their lifejackets inflated.
All eleven passengers and the skipper were treated in hospital, most for substantial impact injuries. One, a 15-year-old passenger, had sustained severe injuries when she was thrown against the handhold directly in front of the bench seat. She died in hospital that afternoon.
On 7 June 2023, a passenger on a sea safari rigid inflatable boat (RIB) suffered a spinal injury that left them paralysed from the waist downwards. Twelve passengers had boarded the RIB and, once it was clear of the jetty, the two crew gave them a safety briefing and instruction on the wearing of lifejackets. The RIB then proceeded out to sea and was increasing speed in choppy sea conditions when it encountered a steep-sided wave. The boat fell off the wave and slammed violently into the trough, dislodging the passenger from a seat at the forward end of the boat. 
At 0918 on 4 August 2020, the liquefied petroleum gas/ethylene carrier Moritz Schulte suffered an engine room fire while discharging a cargo of ethylene alongside the port of Antwerp, Belgium. The newly promoted third engineer, who was working on an auxiliary engine fuel filter, had not effectively isolated the fuel system and both he and an adjacent auxiliary engine’s hot exhaust were sprayed with fuel under pressure. The fuel spray penetrated the exhaust insulation and ignited.
At about 0300 on 18 February 2021, a deckhand fell overboard from the twin rig stern trawler Copious (LK 985) approximately 30 nautical miles south-east of the Shetland Islands. The deckhand was conscious, wearing a lifejacket and was quickly brought alongside the vessel. However, the crew’s attempts to recover the casualty back on board were unsuccessful. He was unresponsive when recovered from the water by a coastguard helicopter and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Cracks in a muffler coupled with the use of combustible materials in accommodation spaces caused a fire on a towing vessel last year on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Freeport, Texas, is the key finding in the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) report.
The marine environment takes a toll on coatings, and to keep up with maintenance, most ships’ crews use oil-based paints and finishes almost every day that the weather allows. These materials come with an inherent fire risk, the National Transportation Safety Board (
In its report on a May 9, 2022, incident that saw a Royal Caribbean cruise ship strike a cruise terminal pier causing $2.1 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identifies overreliance on an ECDIS electronic chart, miscommunication and an outdated navigational chart as all factors in causing the strike.
The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has published some safety recommendations for vessels featuring battery systems in order to protect them against humid, salty air and seawater intrusion.
Welcome to the eighth annual review of CHIRP Maritime reports, covering all the cases we published during 2022 and including some in-depth articles specially commissioned to highlight important safety topics.
