A large yacht (600 GT, 50m LOA) was berthing at a marina in South East Asia. Wind and tidal conditions were benign and the arrival and mooring procedures followed the yacht’s normal routine. During the mooring operation the yacht was being manoeuvred from the port bridge wing control station. When not in use, this station folds into the bridge house for storage.
After the yacht had completed mooring with four lines ashore, a crew member placed the bridge wing controls in the "full ahead" position and closed the control station. When the control station was closed, the yachts engines were running with control still at the port bridge wing station.
The engines engaged, the yacht proceeded to move ahead and the yacht broke free of its moorings. No mooring ropes parted but three of the mooring points in use on the quay failed. When the moorings failed, two bystanders on the quay were struck by flying debris and / or recoiling mooring ropes. One person was hit on the legs which were fractured. The other person was struck on the head and sustained serious injuries.
Both were evacuated to hospital. The person struck on the legs underwent reconstructive surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. The person struck on the head remained in a critical condition and died five days later.
After the moorings failed, manoeuvring control was taken by the main bridge manoeuvring station and the yacht quickly brought under control. The yacht was then safely moored back alongside the quay.
Due to the design of the bridge wing control station it was necessary to put the engine controls in the "full ahead" position before the control station could be closed.
Safety Issues
- The risks in conducting mooring operations must be rigorously assessed and safe working practices developed. Each vessel should have a set of guidelines for achieving a safe mooring which can be modified to suit operational or environmental circumstances.
- Where novel or unusual designs introduce additional risks, these should be properly assessed and appropriate control measure introduced. Removal or elimination of such risks should be considered
Cayman Islands Shipping Registry
- Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands
- in preference to introducing procedural controls aimed at reducing or mitigating the risks.
- When choosing suitable mooring points ashore for the vessel (bollards, cleats, etc), both the normal mooring loads and exceptional loads associated with emergency situations should be considered.
- Mooring operations are potential dangerous situations where large amounts of stored energy can be instantaneously released if mooring equipment fails. This can result in serious injury and death. Persons not involved in the mooring operation should be kept at a safe distance until the operation is complete.
- Detailed information and guidance on mooring operations is available in publications produced by the Nautical Institute, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).
Note
This document, containing urgent safety information, has been produced for marine safety purposes only, on the basis of information available to date. The sole objective of the investigation of any accident which is conducted under the Cayman Islands Merchant Shipping Law (2008 Revision) is the prevention of future accidents through the ascertainment of its causes and circumstances. It is not the purpose of an investigation to neither determine liability nor, except as it is necessary to achieve its objective, to apportion blame.
The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (CISR) is carrying out an investigation into this accident. The CISR will publish a full report on completion of the investigation.
28 February 2009
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