A Great Lakes freighter ran aground while departing from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in early 2023 and sustained damage to its water ballast tanks, according to a federal investigation, which concluded the captain was alone on the bridge and performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the 715-foot, 15,396-ton American Mariner overshot its turn and grounded on shoals at the edge of the channel at about 0734 on Jan. 7, 2023. Crew aboard the U.S.-flagged bulker recognized signs of damage as the ship continued its voyage to Wisconsin.
“The captain was alone on the bridge … having to multitask the navigation, steering and lookout duties as the vessel departed the dock and attempted to enter the channel,” the NTSB report said, adding that there were neither regulatory nor company requirements for additional bridge watchstanders.
“Without additional personnel on the bridge, the master had to split his concentration between these tasks, which, in conjunction with the darkness, unlit buoys, and not using the ECS (electronic chart system) footprint feature, likely compromised his ability to successfully navigate the vessel into the channel,” the report said.
Regulatory changes in the maritime industry have led to increased workload for seafarers, resulting in numerous accidents when bridge personnel performed multiple tasks at the same time, a shipping industry study said. “Accident reports point out that seafarers fail to follow procedures as expected by shipping companies when conducting tasks simultaneously,” the Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics wrote in the 2022 article, “Simultaneous tasks as a contributory factor to maritime accidents.”
American Mariner departed before dawn from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on the St. Marys River, bound for Superior, Wis. According to the NTSB, other crewmembers on watch were performing other departure-related tasks, leaving the master alone on the bridge. The ship’s first mate was on deck supervising unmooring, which required three crewmembers to go ashore on a workboat to cast off lines. The bosun and an AB were working on the aft deck with the mate to handle the mooring lines.
“As the master straightened the vessel to head outbound, he felt a ‘light shudder,’” the NTSB report said. “The first mate, on the stairs inside to the upper engine room, felt ‘a bump similar to coming up against a dock.’” The first mate noticed stirred-up mud and rock debris in the water off the stern. “He then went to the bridge and reported to the master that he had heard ‘a loud screeching noise’ and thought the ship might have contacted a buoy.”
Engineers were in the process of ballasting American Mariner as it was underway. One ballast tank wouldn’t fill, nor would it lower beyond a certain level. Engineers confirmed the vessel was not flooding, and they later told investigators the nonresponsiveness of the tank likely indicated it was damaged. “In effect, the tank was breached and communicating freely with the lake water,” the NTSB report said. “The company and crew were not aware of the extent of the damage until the ship reached dry dock.”
American Mariner had an 80-foot-long hull indentation and holes in three ballast tanks at the bilge chine and in the outboard bottom plating. Repairs were completed during the vessel’s winter lay-up at a cost of $600,000, the NTSB said. No pollution was reported, and none of the 19 crewmembers on board were hurt during the incident.
The master at the helm at the time of the grounding had 12 years of experience and held a merchant mariner credential endorsed as master at any gross tons, as well as first-class pilot, the report said. “He had sailed as master for about two years, and he told investigators that he had maneuvered off this dock 10 to 15 times.”
The NTSB said the master’s initial angle of departure from the dock, and his close approach to shoal waters, positioned the vessel at a poor angle to successfully maneuver into the channel. This “resulted in the vessel overshooting the turn and grounding on the shoals on the opposite side of the channel.” Furthermore, safety depths were not programmed into American Mariner’s ECS, and the vessel’s footprint overlay was not on the chart display. “Without this, the ship appears as a dot or small icon at the position of the GPS antenna or at an offset reference point,” the report said.
“Without additional personnel on the bridge, the master had to split his concentration between (multiple) tasks,” the NTSB report continued, “which, in conjunction with the darkness, unlit buoys, and not using the ECS footprint feature, likely compromised his ability to successfully navigate the vessel into the channel.”
Attempts to reach Grand River Navigation, which operated the 44-year-old American Mariner, were not successful.