200859 Collision with sinking and fatalities

Official report: Preliminary Inquiry no. 3 2006; www.mardep.gov.hk/en/publication/pdf/mai060823.pdf

A container ship collided with a small general cargo ship at night in clear weather under slight sea conditions, immediately after which the smaller cargo ship sank, with the loss of three crew members.

Results of inquiry
The container ship had sailed from port about two hours before the incident and having disembarked the pilot, departed the fairway, and was increasing to her normal sea speed of 24 knots. The master and the third officer were on the bridge at the time of the incident.
The cargo ship was on a coastal voyage with steel cargo and at the time of the incident; the bridge was manned by the master and an officer, both of whom went missing, presumed dead.
The incident occurred within the surveillance area of the port's VTS, so the tracks of both vessels were recorded and used in this inquiry. Before the collision, the container ship was on a course of 149ºT (and was altering rapidly to 180ºT to avoid collision) and at a speed of about 20 knots. The cargo ship maintained a course of about 229ºT at a speed of about 8 kts until the collision.

Root cause/contributory factors
The cargo ship, which was the give-way vessel, appeared to have failed to comply with Rule 15 of the Colregs, to keep out of the way of the container vessel in a crossing situation.
The container ship, being a stand-on vessel, appeared to have failed to comply with Rule 8 of Colregs, to take early action to slow down, stop or reverse her engine in order to avoid collision.
Fatigue, alcohol and drugs were not found to have contributed to this incident.

Lessons learned
Masters and navigating officers should comply with Colregs at all times.
When a close quarters situation or risk of collision is likely to develop, early action to avoid collision should be made in compliance with Colregs.