MAIB Accuses Marine Operator of Putting Commercial Gain Before Safety
An urgent need to go to the toilet likely led to a collision between a bunker barge and a general cargo vessel last year, an investigation by UK authorities has found.
A captain’s ‘relief’ turned into despair as the Cargo ship Daroja and the bunker barge Erin Wood collided in broad daylight in August of 2015, off the coast of Peterhead in Scotland.
The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s (MAIB) report outlined a catalogue of errors that led to the collision. The master of the Erin Wood was criticised for not reacting fast enough when he spotted the Daroja bearing down on his vessel as he relieved himself off the side of his tanker. The chief officer of the Daroja, meanwhile, was using his phone and reading paperwork in the moments before the collision, the report found.
Neither watchman on either ship was deemed to have been paying sufficient attention to realise they were on a collision course on August 29 last year.
The investigators also concluded the crew of Erin Wood were not “suitably qualified” to handle a small tanker and that the Buckie-based operators had put “commercial gain ahead of safety at sea”.
The owner and operator is listed in the report as Northern Oils Limited – however the owner and operator at the time of the incident was Impact Trading Limited who went into administration earlier this year. A spokesperson for Northern Oils Scotland based in Buckie advised that they acquired some elements of Impact Trading Limited this year, however they are not the owners or operators of the vessel.
Northern Oils Scotland gave the following statement:
‘Northern Oils Scotland Ltd would like to clarify that we are a lubricant company not involved in the operation of marine vessels, or the supply of marine fuel, and as such wholly reject the recommendations of the MAIB which have been wrongly attributed to our newly formed company. We have contacted the MAIB who have accepted their error in this regard and we have been advised their written confirmation of the same will be issued imminently.
“Inherently therefore the recommendations given in this report are not pertinent to the company Northern Oils Scotland Ltd.
“Northern Oils Scotland Ltd was formed in June 2016 after Aztec Oils Ltd acquired the lubricant division only from the administration of Impact Trading Ltd, who formerly traded as Northern Oils and were operators of the vessel Erin Wood.
Northern Oils Scotland Ltd have since adopted the trading name of Northern Oils however do not own or operate any marine assets and are focused solely on supply of lubricants to the UK and European markets. ”
