Aerial photograph of the derailment of the 2 locomotives and eight hopper automobiles. Two further hopper automobiles are submerged within the river. Source: BNSF)
A failure by a towboat’s pilot and captain to appropriately establish a warning space on an digital chart is seen by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) because the possible reason for a collision between a tow of 4 empty barges and a coal prepare.
NTSB Marine Investigation Report 22/22 particulars the NTSB’s investigation into the November 13, 2021, collision between a tow pushed by the Southern Towing Company vessel Baxter Southern and a BNSF coal prepare transiting the monitor alongside the shoreline of the Upper Mississippi River. The prepare struck a barge that was overhanging the railroad monitor. Two locomotives and 10 hopper automobiles loaded with coal derailed. Six of the derailed hopper automobiles entered the river. Two prepare personnel sustained minor accidents. The collision resulted in $1.9 million in damages to the locomotive and freight automobiles. The barge sustained minor scrapes.
During a transit downriver, robust wind gusts made the state of affairs unsafe for the Baxter Southern to proceed the voyage as deliberate. Using the vessel’s digital chart system (ECS), the captain and pilot recognized a location on the riverbank that they believed represented a fleeting space protected to push up in opposition to. Neither the pilot nor the captain clicked an exclamation level image on the electrical chart, which might have confirmed that the realm offered a “Railroad Collision and Trackbed Erosion Risk.”
The pilot pushed the tow onto the riverbank, and three crewmembers headed ahead on the tow to confirm the forward-most barge was away from the monitor. While the barge didn’t cross over both rail, it prolonged a few foot over the railroad ties.
When the pilot of the Baxter Southern noticed the sunshine of the approaching prepare, he tried to maneuver the tug and tow away from the riverbank. The prepare’s engineer activated the prepare’s emergency brake when the prepare was about 300 ft from the barge. With solely seconds to reply, the activation of the prepare’s emergency brake and the try to maneuver the tow occurred too late to keep away from the collision.
ELECTRONIC CHART SYSTEM
The full report goes into extra element about using the digital chart system.
“Both the captain and pilot instructed investigators that they believed the magenta dashed line as seen on the digital chart in Rose Point indicated a fleeting space as a result of the pilot mentioned that he had beforehand seen different towing vessels and barges in opposition to the shore within the common space of Mile 372 (a overview of computerized identification system knowledge offered by Southern Towing Company to investigators confirmed that different towing vessels and barges presumably had pushed up in opposition to the shoreline on this space over a six-month timeframe earlier than the casualty).
“Next to the magenta dashed line near Mile 372 on the electronic chart was an exclamation mark icon, which indicated that the area within the magenta dashed line was a ‘Caution Area’ according to the ECS symbol reference table. On ECS navigational charts, magenta dashed lines with an exclamation mark show the limit of a caution area where mariners should be “made aware of circumstances influencing the safety of navigation”; there aren’t any navigational chart symbols for a fleeting space. In Rose Point, a person may study extra details about the warning space by deciding on the exclamation mark by way of “cursor pick” (transferring the mouse pointer over the realm and clicking the suitable button of the mouse) to learn the corresponding warning be aware. When the exclamation mark icon subsequent to the magenta dashed line close to Mile 372 was chosen, a field displayed the next info: ‘Caution Area: RR [Railroad] Collision and Trackbed Erosion Risk’ and ‘Risk of train collision and embankment erosion due to channel proximity to railroad.’ Both the captain and pilot mentioned that they had coaching in utilizing the ECS, however they said they didn’t see the exclamation level icon by the magenta dashed line as a result of the display setting was in nighttime mode, making the exclamation level troublesome to see.”
WEALTH OF INFORMATION
“ECS provide a wealth of navigation information to mariners,” says NTSB.
“Electronic charting display and information systems (ECDIS) enables users to obtain more information about a feature by querying through a cursor pick,” the report mentioned. “There are many features—including warnings and other navigation information—that can be obtained through a cursor pick that are not specifically noted in the default chart display. Mariners should ensure they understand all symbols and applicable advisories identified in their ECS, and owners and operators should ensure that their crews are proficient in the use of ECS.”
