TROPIC BREEZE

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Report: No proper lookout ahead of collision

The NTSB has published its report on the collision between the yacht 'Utopia IV' and the 'Tropic Breeze' on Dec 23, 2021, in the Northeast Providence Channel, 20 miles northwest of Nassau, Bahamas. At 6 p.m. the 'Tropic Breeze' departed Clifton Pier on New Providence Island at a speed of five knots en route to Great Stirrup Cay—a voyage north-northwest that was estimated to take 12 hours. At 8.30 p.m. the 'Utopia IV' weighed anchor offshore of Albany, headed to Bimini Island at a speed of about 20 knots. The planned route took the vessel around the west side of New Providence Island and north of the Berry Islands. The yacht carried seven passengers in addition to 12 crew members. Just before 10 p.m., the bosun on the 'Utopia IV' turned his attention to recording the hourly log entries and navigation fix, leaving his back turned to the forward windows. About the same time, the master of the 'Tropic Breeze' started toward his cabin, immediately aft of the bridge, to use the restroom. At 22.00.48 p.m. the bow of the yacht struck the transom of the 'Tropic Breeze' from directly astern, slightly to port of the tank vessel’s centerline. Several of the yacht’s crew were thrown to the deck or into bulkheads as the 'Utopia IV' struck the other vessel at a relative speed of about 15 knots; three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. The chief engineer investigated the tanker’s damage. He found the engine room was flooding rapidly. He went to the bridge and reported the flooding to the master; he stated that he did not see the source of flooding, but the engine had stopped once it was submerged. 15 minutes after the collision, the captain made a VHF distress call and decided to abandon the vessel. The crew launched the rescue boat and a liferaft. One or two of them boarded the rescue boat, and the remainder of the crew boarded the liferaft. The 'Utopia IV'’s chief engineer restarted the yacht’s engines, which had shut down after the collision. The chief mate, who had come to the wheelhouse, made a distress call by VHF radio. The yacht was maneuvered to recover the 'Tropic Breeze'’s crew, and the stern swim platform was lowered to allow them to board; however, sea swells and the height of the platform prevented them from boarding. The yacht 'Amara' heard three VHF distress calls from the 'Utopia'. She arrived on scene and dispatched a tender with a crew of three, whch then recovered all of the tanker’s crew from the liferaft and rescue boat. The crew members on the tender and the Amara’s captain concurred it was not safe to get 'Tropic Breeze'’s crew aboard either the 'Amara' or the 'Utopia IV' due to the sea state, so they were taken ashore to Lyford Cay Marina in Nassau via the tender, arriving on Dec 24 at 02 40 a.m. The 'Tropic Breeze' continued to flood and sank about 25 minutes after the collision. Both ships equipped with radar—regulations require systematic observations of radar targets to determine risk of collision—set to a 3-mile scale. With the Utopia IV approaching the Tropic Breeze at a relative speed of 15 knots, a target would close 3 miles in just 12 minutes. However, none of the watchstanders on the 'Utopia IV' (captain and bosun) or 'Tropic Breeze' (master and AB) reported seeing the other vessel on radar; therefore, it was likely none of them had looked at the radar in the 12 minutes before the collision. Additionally, there was no evidence that they used radar for long-range scanning. Therefore, neither crew used their vessel’s radar effectively. The National Transportation Safety Board determinesd that the probable cause of the collision between the 'Utopia IV' and the tanker was the yacht’s wheelhouse crew not maintaining a proper lookout and therefore not identifying the tanker they were overtaking. Contributing was the 'Tropic Breeze'’s bridge team also not maintaining a proper lookout. Report with photos: https://safety4sea.com/ntsb-investigation-yachts-improper-lookout-leads-to-collision-with-tanker/

investigation into sinking launched

The Office of the Attorney General has been consulted for legal guidance after the 'Tropical Breeze' sank off the coast of New Providence. The Port Department has begun a formal investigation into the incident, and the Department of Environmental Health was also conducting a review of the environmental impact. T A statement issued by Maritime Management LLC, which managed the ' Tropic Breeze', stated that the vessel was struck at 10.03 p.m. on Christmas Eve by the 'Utopia IV' approximately 15 miles NNW of New Providence. The tanker was travelling on its proper watch en route to Great Stirrup Cay when it was rear-ended by the yacht. The catastrophic force of the collision pierced the stern of the tanker causing the tanker to sink to the ocean floor at an estimated depth of 2,000 feet, Two Guyanese nationals, identified as Chief Engineer Colin Ward and Joshua Campbell, were evacuated from the tanker and that all crew members were also rescued.

Tanker sunk by superyacht

The 'Tropic Breeze' sank on Dec 24, 2021, after the collision with the American flagged mega yacht 'Utopia IV', 986 gt (IMO: 9851050), off the coast of New Providence Island, Bahamas. The incident happened at 10:03 p.m. approximately 15 miles northnorthwest of New Providence Island. The tanker was en route to Great Stirrup Cay when it was struck by the superyacht which pierced the stern of the tanker causing a flooding. The tanker sank at an estimated depth of 2000 feet. The seven crew members remained uninjured and was rescued by the m/y 'Mara' which responded to the distress call. The castaways were safely returned to a company-owned facility on shore. The tanker's cargo included all non-persistent materials – LPG, Marine Gas and automotive gas which were expected to evaporate if exposed to surface air. The Relevant Bahamian authorities have been notified, and the Maritime Management continued to work with local and international maritime authorities and marine experts to ensure a minimal environmental impact. The yacht, which had come from the New Providence southern anchorage, returned back to New Providence after the collision, having sustained some bow damages. Report with photos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/product-tanker-sinks-in-the-bahamas-after-being-hit-by-luxury-yacht