INVESTIGATION

CASE 9
Where’s He Going?
Narrative
On a fine summer’s afternoon, a domestic
passenger vessel set off on a river trip with over
350 passengers on board. The crew comprised
the master, mate and three customer service
agents and the passengers included groups of
school children.
The vessel made its way downriver, making
good a speed of about 6.5kts against a 2kt
tidal stream. The mate was at the helm in the
wheelhouse while the master was on the top,
open deck giving a light-hearted commentary
on the sights and landmarks as they passed by.
There were a number of other vessels in close
proximity and the vessel was navigating close
to moorings on the river’s south bank.
The trip was going well until the passenger
vessel unexpectedly turned or sheered to
port towards a tug towing barges. The tug
was only 100m away. Initially, the passenger
vessel’s mate did not take any action. He
had not intentionally applied port helm
and he therefore assumed that the tug had
turned towards the passenger vessel. After
several seconds however, the mate turned the
helm hard over to starboard and moved the
starboard engine control lever to full ‘astern’.
At about the same time, the master saw the
tug out of the corner of his eye and shouted a
warning to the passengers.
By this time, the tug’s skipper had moved the
tug’s helm hard over to starboard, but this did
not prevent the two vessels from colliding. The
passenger vessel then struck one of the towed
barges, which resulted in significant damage to
its bow and passenger saloon (see figure). The
passenger vessel was then briefly pushed astern
at a speed of almost 5kts before the master
regained control and secured it alongside a
moored barge. Nine passengers suffered minor
injuries.
The passenger vessel was fitted with a rod and
gear steering system and considerable force
was required to turn the wheel hard over
to both port and starboard while the vessel
was making way with the engines running
at their normal speed. It was also difficult
to keep the vessel on a straight course. In
addition, the forward and elevated position
of the wheelhouse meant that the mate had
no visual reference, such as the bow tip, to
accurately judge the rate of turn. The rate of
turn was frequently assessed by looking aft
and watching the movement of the stern. No
rudder indicator was fitted.
MAIB Safety Digest 1/2017
19