A bulk carrier grounded in the Vidal Shoals Channel near Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, in January 2023 as the master worked alone on the bridge during complicated maneuvers, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The 714.8’x78’x19.8’ American Mariner was heading outbound in the channel enroute to Superior, Wisc., when it grounded, resulting in $600,000 of damage to three ballast tanks on the vessel.
The master was alone on the bridge, multitasking during the departure before dawn from the Algoma Sawmill Bay Dock near Sault Ste. Marie. NTSB investigators noted his work was complicated by “transiting in the dark, unlit channel buoys, not using all available features in the electronic chart system and no additional personnel on the bridge.”
According to a report summary, “the master’s initial angle of departure from the dock and close approach to the shoal water positioned the vessel at a poor angle to successfully maneuver into the channel, which resulted in the vessel overshooting the turn and grounding on the shoals on the opposite side of the channel.”
No pollution or injuries were reported. Crewmembers told investigators they heard a sound and felt the vessel shudder from the grounding.
“They then discovered that one of the vessel’s ballast tanks appeared to be communicating with the lake, and therefore was likely damaged,” the report states. “Although the master stated the ship was in the channel, the shoals were located immediately outside the buoyed channel and the AIS data from that time showed the vessel on the far (southeast) side of the channel.”
Afetr arriving in a shipyard Jan. 10, damage was found to three ballast tanks at the bilge chine along the port side, including breaches of the hull to hold No. 6, investigators wrote. Considering the crew reports, damage to the port chine and bottom plating, and the vessel’s position at the southeast edge of the channel, investigators concluded that the American Mariner grounded on Vidal Shoals at the edge of the channel.
The report acknowledged the challenges facing the master on the bridge, and stressed the lack of other available crew was a major factor.
“While maneuvering in confined waters, it is difficult for a single bridge crewmember to effectively drive, lookout, and monitor and use available bridge equipment,” the report said. “Owners, operators, and vessel masters are responsible for ensuring that vessel bridge teams are staffed with a sufficient number of certificated/credentialed mariners who are familiar with all bridge navigation equipment and able to independently take immediate action.”
In its formal conclusion the NTSB determined “the probable cause of the grounding of the bulk carrier American Mariner was the master maneuvering the vessel away from the dock and into the channel while alone on the bridge, which required him to multitask (navigation, steering, and lookout duties) and resulted in the vessel overshooting the turn into the channel and running aground on the shoals on the opposite side of the channel.”
