(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) examines and investigates all types of marine accidents to or on board UK vessels worldwide, and other vessels in UK territorial waters.
The MAIB received reports of 1,592 accidents (casualties and incidents) to UK vessels worldwide or any vessels within UK coastal waters during 2023.
A total of 1,741 vessels were involved. Of the reports received, 641 accidents were outside the scope of this overview; as an example, accidents to people that did not involve any actual or potential casualty to a vessel have been omitted.
The investigations started in 2023 represent a fairly broad spread of safety issues but two accidents stand out.
The first was the girting of the tug Biter in February while assisting Hebridean Princess, which resulted in the deaths of the skipper and deckhand. As Azimuth Stern Drive and Voith propelled tugs have become more common there has been a tendency to relegate conventional tugs to tasks such as cold moves or shifting barges. However, when conventional tugs are involved in ship-assist towage the risks today are the same as they always were. The report into this tragic accident should be published later this autumn, and will be accompanied by a short safety video that stresses the importance of using a gob rope on conventional tugs to mitigate against the risks of girting.
The second was the collision between the general cargo vessel Verity and the bulk carrier Polesie in the German Bight traffic separation scheme that resulted in Verity sinking with the loss of five crew. I will not pre-empt here the findings of the MAIB’s investigation and will contain myself to observing that had the vessels involved planned a greater passing distance from the outset the accident would likely not have occurred.
For more details, click on below image to download the full MAIB Annual Report for year 2023:
For more Maritime Accident Investigation reports, click HERE