The National Transportation Safety Board said on Sep 24, 2024, that the captain of the 'Montlake' failed to line up his vessel correctly while approaching the Hylebos Bridge in Tacoma, Washington on Oct 12, 2023,, causing the assisting tug 'Olympic Scout' to strike the bridge’s already deteriorated fender system. The 'Montlake', coupled to the 'Sodo', a 289-foot-long, 78-foot-wide barge, forming an articulated tug and barge unit, and was navigatomg outbound on the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma. The captain requested the Hylebos Bridge operator to open the bridge. While waiting, the ATB had to pause,, causing its bow to drift from the channel’s center towards port side. Although the captain attempted to steer starboard to align with the bridge, the drag from the 'Olympic Scout' on the port bow prevented the ATB from moving in that direction. When the ATB began its transit of the waterway, it was 1,276 feet from the bridge. The channel between the Hylebos Bridge fenders measured 150 feet wide. However, the combined width of the 'Montlake/Sodo' (78 feet) and the 'Olympic Scout' (26 feet) was 104 feet, leaving only 23 feet of clearance on each side of the vessels. Because of the short distance to the bridge and the speed of the ATB, there was insufficient time to correct the lineup before the 'Olympic Scout' struck the fender. The investgators suggested that slowing or fully stopping the ATB’s forward motion earlier would have provided the operators more time to correct the lineup and successfully transit through the opening between the bridge’s protective fendering. While the Hylebos Bridge itself remained undamaged, the fender system required replacement at a cost of $2.43 million. Notably, precasualty inspections in 2017 and 2022 had already identified significant deterioration of the fender piles due to marine borer damage and fungal decay. A marine surveying and consulting firm stated, The damage caused by the [Olympic Scout contact] resulted in significantly more damage being sustained as would have been, had the fendering structure been of sufficient structural strength. Full report: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2426.pdf
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KM KARYA NIAGA
During the unloading of cement from a trailer into the cargo hold of the KM 'Karya Niaga', which was docked at the Martapura Baru Port, Banjarmasin Barat District, Banjarmasin City, South Kalimantan, a crane suddenly malfunctioned, causing the crane's boom to fall and strike a private employee, aged 38, and Muhammad Ali Zainudin (35), a foreman, on Sep 20, 20244 at 4 p.m. WITA. Both victims were underneath the crane, After the incident, the victims were immediately evacuated and rushed to RSUD Ulin and TPT Hospitals. Muhammad Ali Zainudin sustained minor injuries, while Toha remains in critical condition with an open head wound. The malfunction was suspected to be due to damage to an unidirectional bearing, which was unable to bear the load being lifted. Further investigation into the cause of the accidentwere ongoing. Preliminary findings suggested that the crane's mechanical failure was the primary cause of the incident. Authorities continued to oversee the investigation to ensure safety at the port. Report withj photo: https://hubla.dephub.go.id/Indonesianmaritimesafetyinformation/page/news/read/23127/kecelakaan-kerja-di-atas-km-karya-niaga-dua-korban-terluka-satu-dalam-kondisi-serius-workplace-accident-aboard-km-karya-niaga-two-injured-one-in-serious-condition
BIG HORN
The USNS 'Big Horn', being deployed to the Middle East, suffered damage on the night of Sep 23, 2024, after apparently running into something in the Arabian Sea and suffered damage to the ship’s rudder post and water flooding into a mechanical space. No crew members were njured in the incident. The extent of the damage was still being assessed and an investigation was ongoing. The 'Big Horn' was anchored off the coast of Oman earlier on Sep 24, but commercial tugboats were deployed to tow the vessel to a nearby port. Officials did not detail the circumstances of the allision, but the incident occurred in a part of the Arabian Sea that can be crowded with small fishing boats and vessels that can make maneuvering a large ship difficult. It was unclear if the 'Big Horn' ran aground or struck an object underwater.
DE XIN SHANG HAI
Three containers were knocked of the 'Vladivostok' (IMO: 9130145) on Sep 21, 2024, at 9.45 p.m. LT in Nansha at the at the Phase III container terminal, when it was hit by the 'De Xin Shang Hai', which was arriving at Nansha from Hong Kong on its maiden voyage. .The Guangzhou MRCC responded and sent two patrol boats along with two tugs to manage the situation. Within two hours, two of the containers were secured to the 'Vladivostok', and the remaining container was secured by another tug to prevent it from drifting off. A salvage boat came by 2:45 a.m., and all three containers had been successfully retrieved on Sep 22 at 8:30 a.m.
ICON OF THE SEAS
The US shipping company Royal Caribbean International had to cancel a cruise of the 'Icon of the Seas', which was due to start on Sep 28, at short notice. The reason for this were unscheduled repairs. Problems had already occurred on the current cruise because the ship was not reaching full cruising speed. Work was being done to resolve the technical problems on board the ship and expected to be completed next week, which is why the one-week Caribbean cruise from Sep 28 to Oct 5 was cancelled. The company will refund all services already booked and compensate guests with a travel credit in the amount of the cruise cost for a future trip with the shipping company. On the current cruise, the call at the port of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas had to be canceled due to the technical problems on board. The voyage had started in Miami en route to Philipsburg on St. Maarten and was continued with two more days at sea via Royal Caribbean's private island Perfect Day at Coco Cay in the Bahamas back to Miami, where the ship will then stop operations on Sep 28 in order to carry out the necessary repairs.