Close-quarters situation involving liquid petroleum gas tanker monsoon and its contact with mooring dolphin

CLOSE-QUARTERS SITUATION INVOLVING LIQUID PETROLEUM GAS TANKER MONSOON AND ITS CONTACT WITH MOORING DOLPHIN Location: River Humber, England. CONTENTS * Completed PE Summary: Monsoon *

Synopsis * Action taken COMPLETED PE SUMMARY: MONSOON A short summary of the accident and action taken: MERCHANT VESSEL/ACCIDENT DETAILS VESSEL NAME Monsoon MANAGER Bernhard Schulte

Shipmanagement (Cyprus) Ltd SHIP OWNER Jaegers Gas Shipping GmbH OPERATOR Chemgas Shipping BV PORT OF REGISTRY Limassol FLAG Cyprus TYPE LPG Tanker BUILT 1989 in Japan CONSTRUCTION: Steel

LENGTH OVERALL 99.13m GROSS TONNAGE 3219 DATE/TIME 23/08/2008, 1955 (UTC + 1) LOCATION OF INCIDENT River Humber INCIDENT TYPE Contact PERSONS ONBOARD 17 INJURIES/FATALITIES None

DAMAGE/POLLUTION Damage to vessel’s stem and to a mooring dolphin SYNOPSIS After loading a cargo of butane, Monsoon was due to sail for sea with a pilot and the assistance of a tug. The ship

was port side alongside and was heading upriver. Just before boarding, the pilot met the berthing master, who drew his attention to the port side stowed anchor, the crown of which sat proud

of the ship’s hull. The berthing master was conscious that the ship did not have a bow thruster, and was concerned that the anchor could cause damage to the jetty fenders if the ship was

manoeuvred off the berth as normal using the forward back-spring and the ship became bowsed in excessively. The wind was light but a strong flood tide was flowing and the berthing master had

recommended the use of a tug. The tug was made fast to the starboard main deck bitts at the break of the aft accommodation superstructure. Once singled up, VTS gave permission for the ship

to sail. The pilot ordered all lines to be let go, the engine to be placed astern and the tug to push, with the intention of swinging the bow off the jetty in preparation for proceeding into

the river and then turning to starboard. When the ship’s head had altered about 1º to starboard, the pilot instructed the tug to pull at 20%, which caused the bow to fall back towards the

jetty. He then decided to use the rounded downriver end of the jetty to swing the ship’s head into the river. This was achieved, but as he then attempted to manoeuvre the ship clear of the

jetty, he was surprised to see an outbound vessel that appeared to be approaching the area in which he intended to make the starboard turn. VTS had broadcast information about the outbound

vessel, but the pilot had not heard this and had not been made aware of the broadcast by the bridge team. To prevent a close-quarter situation developing with the outbound vessel, the pilot

manoeuvred the ship ahead to pass closely off the berth. The engine was then placed full astern, but this failed to prevent the ship from making contact with a mooring dolphin, located about

a ship’s length upstream of the jetty. ACTION TAKEN The Deputy Chief Inspector has written to the pilot, strongly advising him to: * Carefully plan any intended manoeuvre, taking full

account of the potential effect of the tidal stream * Keep VTS fully informed of any intended course of action; and * Maintain full situational awareness by gaining information on all

scheduled ship movements before boarding, and utilising the bridge team to relay relevant communications and traffic information as necessary. The Deputy Chief Inspector has also written to

the ship’s management company, strongly advising it to instruct its masters to: * Discuss all intended manoeuvres in detail during the master/pilot exchange so that they are able to

challenge decisions or actions taken by pilots at an early stage, and enable effective corrective action to be taken when required. Published: October 2008 ------------------------- UPDATES

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