The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) states a freshly advertised Captain came to be the single-point of failing as a result of an absence of assistance from his bridge group in the grounding of the roll-on/roll-off vessel Seatruck Performance in Northern Ireland in 2014.

The Isle of Man- signed up Seatruck Performance based prior to twelve o’clock at night on May 8, 2019, while transiting the Greenore Channel not long after leaving Warrenpoint for flow to Heysham, England,

The vessel continued to be underway, yet rapidly created a 7 ° listing to port from a big violation on the ferryboat’s port side hull.

The vessel had the ability to go back to Warrenpoint without support and also there were no injuries to its 11 travelers and also 22 team.

The MAIB examination identified that “the ferry’s outbound passage
had not been sufficiently planned and, specifically, the effects of squat had not been adequately considered; the electronic navigation system was not being used effectively; and the newly appointed master, who was mainly navigating by eye, was not being effectively supported by the other officers on the bridge.”

According to the MAIB record, the 52-year-old Polish captain had actually simply been advertised to Master after offering for 7 years as a primary police officer. He was likewise aware of the path, having actually done it on 10 celebrations in the past.

The May 8 trip occurred to be his very first in command of the ship adhering to a 2-day handover.

The record kept in mind that the master approved the promo on the problem of a 6-month test duration where he would certainly be permitted to go back to primary police officer “if he felt uncomfortable with the additional responsibilities of command, particularly in the winter months,” the record claimed. The evening prior to the trip the master did not rest well.

The ferryboat based after getting in the western end of the Greenore Channel “as a result of its heading being altered later than intended,” the record claimed.

“The visibility was good, and the buoys were lit. However, unlike the previous departures, the master had ultimate responsibility, and his apparent hesitancy to continue the turn to starboard in the half-minute between 2241:51 and 2242:23 was possibly influenced by the pressure of the situation. The master’s insistence on taking command for a ‘trial period’ and the delegation of shiphandling to the chief officer during the ferry’s arrival in Warrenpoint suggests he was nervous and/or not confident. Such nervousness and/or a lack in confidence probably led to a self- imposed pressure, compounded by the fact that it was the master’s first departure from Warrenpoint in command, it was dark, he had not slept well the previous night and he had not rested during the day. The unexpected heading movement to port shortly after selecting hand-steering, and the presence of the confident chief officer on the bridge, potentially unsettled the master even further, causing him to falter under pressure, a behaviour where a person performs below expectation given their skill level, possibly due to overthinking a task rather than it happening automatically,” the MAIB composed in the record.

The MAIB has actually made a referral to Seatruck Ferries to “take further measures to enhance the safe navigation of its vessels by optimising its use of electronic navigation systems to provide real time positional information, and enhancing its Bridge Resource Management training.”

The MAIB’s complete record can be found here.