MAIB releases report on the deaths of two seafarers following the capsize of tugboat
14 November 2024
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the deaths of two seafarers onboard the tug Biter in February 2023.
The tug girted and capsized while attached to the stern of the passenger vessel Hebridean Princess while off the coast of Greenock, Scotland.
At the time of the incident, the passenger vessel was traveling well above the recommended speed of 2-3 knots. The investigation reveals that this led to the force exerted on Biter via its towlines being up to five times higher than if recommended speed levels were adhered to.
Although the reason for the failure of Biter’s gob rope – a safety measure implemented to prevent girting – is unclear, the report argues that the passenger vessel’s speed ‘almost certainly’ contributed to the rope's failure.
Additionally, the report reveals serious communication failures between the pilot onboard the Hebridean Princess and the master of the Biter, revealing that there was a lack of shared understanding as to the planned manoeuvre. While the master of the Biter had extensive experience operating conventional tugs, the pilot of the passenger vessel lacked both training and experience, having only worked with more modern ASD tugs in the past.
The MAIB report flags the use of a conventional tug to tow the Hebridean Princess as inappropriate, and has called on Clydeport Marine Services, which assigned the tug, to review its tugboat allocation procedures.
Following the incident, MAIB has also made several recommendations directed towards to wider industry bodies.
These include issuing further guidance around pilot/tug and master/pilot exchanges, to be included within relevant publications such as the Port Marine Safety Code’s Guide to Good Practice; in conjunction with guidance around matching appropriate tugs to tasks.
MAIB is also calling for extended industry-wide guidance to be issued on the testing of gob ropes and towlines during harbour towage.
Click here to read the full report.
Tags
More articles
MAIB boosts transparency with accident data-sharing portal
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has launched a new data portal designed to provide easier public access to some of its maritime accident data.
MAIB report for 2023 reveals safety issues within the maritime sector
Poor communication contributed to seafarer ventilation shaft death, MAIB finds
A report from the UK Maritime Accident Investigation Bureau (MAIB) into the death of a seafarer, who was killed by a 10m fall down a ventilation shaft, has found that poor communication and poor safety practices onboard contributed to the accident.