MAIB Issues Report on Grounding

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) released the report of the joint investigation on the grounding of the CP Valour in Baia da Praia do Norte, Faial, Azores on 9 December 2005. The Governments of Bermuda (where the ship was registered) and Portugal (the coastal state involved) participated in the investigation. The ship suffered an engine failure en route from Montreal to Valencia. The master decided to divert to the Azores and anchor in a sheltered bay so that the engine could be repaired. Passage planning to the bay was poor and bridge team management during the approach was negligible. As a result, the master became overloaded with duties and inadvertently left the engine on half ahead for several minutes while looking for the best anchorage. The ship grounded while proceeding at six knots. Efforts to free the ship were unavailing. It eventually broke up. It appears that, while the master and officers could demonstrate proper bridge team management techniques while being audited, they failed to utilize those techniques when actually needed. The report recommends that management officials ashore randomly review voyage data recorder (VDR) tapes to see how shipboard personnel actually perform their duties. Report No. 22/2006 Source: HK Law