The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its investigation report (M11N0047) into the November 2011 striking incident involving the supply vessel Maersk Detector and the mobile offshore drilling unit GSF Grand Banks
in the White Rose oil field off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Report Found Poor
communication between the vessel’s bridge officers, as well as between
the vessel and the rig, allowed the cargo operation to continue with key
personnel unaware that the risk of striking was high.
After the incident, the GSF Grand Banks was towed to Halifax for repairs. Full coverage can be found at http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/search/label/GSF%20Grand%20Banks
On the afternoon of , the Maersk Detector
was loading cargo from the drilling unit. Weather was deteriorating at
the time, with increasing swells arriving from the south. During this
operation, the vessel maintained its position relative to the drilling
unit by means of an electronic control system called dynamic
positioning. At 15:30, Newfoundland Standard Time, the Maersk Detector‘s port stern struck a column of the GSF Grand Banks, holing both the vessel and the rig. There were no injuries and no pollution resulting from the striking.
The investigation found that the relevant weather information was not
provided proactively to the bridge officers, so they were unaware that
the weather limits for the operation had been reached. Furthermore, the
bridge officers did not work as a team, nor did they thoroughly use
electronic data available to them to maintain separation distance. As
well, the Master prioritized his visual assessment of distance and
position over the dynamic positioning alarms and warnings, which were
indicating that the vessel was not maintaining its position well. The
Board also found that, without formal bridge resource management
training and continued proficiency, there is an increased risk to the
vessel, its complement and the environment.
The ship operator, Maersk Supply Services Canada Ltd., and Husky Oil
Ltd., the oil field operator, have made important changes to their
operations to mitigate the risk of a similar accident happening again.
Transport Canada has also proposed amendments to the Marine Personnel
Regulations regarding bridge resource management training.
