Pasha Bulker 243 - Independent investigation into the grounding of ...

of the prevailing circumstances and always avoid undermining safety. Appropriate
support from ship operators, managers, ports and terminals can assist masters in this
regard. However, masters are ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety of their
ships and crew as well as preventing damage to the environment.
Not taking early and appropriate action on 7 June exposed many ships to the risks
of being caught on a dangerous lee shore with little sea room, heavy traffic and
manoeuvring difficulties in heavy weather. This resulted in some of these ships
experiencing serious difficulties.
2.3.1 Betis and Sea Confidence
Both Betis and Sea Confidence were not appropriately ballasted for heavy weather
and got underway after 0500 on 8 June, when the wind was strong gale force. While
both encountered serious difficulties, fortunately neither became a casualty.
Sea Confidence’s master used the ship’s anchors and main engine effectively to
prevent it from grounding. He also took heavy weather ballast but at a dangerously
late stage. Ballast water sloshing in the ship’s partially filled heavy weather ballast
hold in the severe weather could have damaged the ship’s structure.
Betis’s master also used the ship’s engine effectively to relieve the tension in the
anchor cable and maintain its position. He requested tug assistance and finally,
when he realised that the weather would deteriorate even further, cut the anchor
cable and put to sea. The ship was anchored more than three miles from the coast
and this provided more time for the master to consider the available options.
Therefore, circumstances and some positive actions taken by the masters of Betis
and Sea Confidence helped counter the adverse effects of some of their earlier
decisions. It was also fortunate that during the afternoon and evening of 8 June, the
weather abated sufficiently to allow both ships to successfully put to sea.
2.3.2 Other ships
The following are other known events that occurred on 8-9 June:
• Santa Isabel fouled its anchor and had related problems.
• A ship dragged its anchor and closed to within two cables of another
anchored ship.
• A number of ships experienced difficulties in weighing anchor of which
two, besides Betis, had windlass breakdowns and subsequently lost their
anchors.
• A number of close-quarters situations developed between ships as they
manoeuvred in the severe weather when departing the congested anchorage
to put to sea.
Considering these events, Pasha Bulker’s grounding and the serious difficulties
encountered by Betis and Sea Confidence, the consequences of the period of severe
weather on 8-9 June could have been much more severe. Unlike the masters of the
seven ships that wisely put to sea on 7 June, the ones that remained in the
anchorage placed themselves in a situation where they had to rely on their
seamanship and a large measure of good fortune to avoid an incident involving their
ships.
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