WATCHOUT Weather in the news
In this series, we take a look at maritime accident reports and the lessons that can be learned
Heavy weather can cause issues on vessels even when you have prepared for it – and those issues may not be the ones you are expecting. In March 2019, an incident affecting the cruise ship Viking Sky attracted the attention of the world media.
The ship sailed from Tromso, and was bound for Stavanger, down the Western coast of Norway, when all four engines failed in heavy seas. Winds were gusting up to 38 knots, and the Viking Sky was drifting without power just 100 metres from shore in eight-metre waves. As there was a real risk that the ship would be swept on to the rocks, the vessel sent out a Mayday. Rescue services began to evacuate the passengers by helicopter, as it was too rough to use rescue boats. More than 400 passengers were taken off by five helicopters before one of the engines could be restarted, a tow was secured and the vessel was taken into port.
But what caused the Viking Sky to lose power? According to a preliminary report from the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the engine failure was directly caused by low lubricating oil pressure. Although the level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits the movement caused by the heavy seas were thought to have caused movements in the tanks sufficiently large to interrupt supply to the lubricating oil pumps. That triggered an alarm indicating a low level of lubricating oil, which in turn caused an automatic shutdown of the engines.
AS THERE WAS A REAL RISK THAT THE SHIP WOULD BE SWEPT ON TO THE ROCKS, THE VESSEL SENT OUT A MAYDAY
If you find our accident reports useful, check out The Nautical Institute’s Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS). A fully searchable database of incident reports and lessons, updated every month. Seen a problem yourself? Email the editor at mars@ nautinst.org and help others learn from your experience. All reports are confidential – we will never identify you or your ship.