Marine Accident Investigation News

It’s time to consider the role of “digital watchkeepers” as the become an increasingly complex tool for bridge teams.Releasing its annual report in July 2025, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch said that significant collisions between merchant vessels show no sign of reducing. The collision between Scot Explorer and Happy Falcon, the fatal collision between Verity and Polesie and the dramatic and tragic collision of the Solong into the anchored Stena Immaculate indicate…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the death of a crew member on board the roro Laureline at Purfleet, England, on July 13, 2024.A crew member on board the Malta-flagged Laureline was fatally injured when he was crushed between the rear of a moving trailer and the vessel’s structure. The accident happened while Laureline was alongside, loading and discharging trailers using tugs driven by shore workers under the direction of the ship’s…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the loss of propulsion in heavy weather experienced by Spirit of Discovery in the Bay of Biscay which led over 100 injuries and one fatality. Shortly after 1230 on 4 November 2023, the passenger vessel Spirit of Discovery lost propulsion in heavy weather while crossing the Bay of Biscay, France. Over 100 passengers were injured during this period. Eight of the seriously injured passengers were taken…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the girting and capsize of tug Biter with the loss of two lives while assisting passenger vessel Hebridean Princess off Greenock, Scotland.At about 1527 on 24 February 2023, the twin screw conventional tug Biter girted and capsized off Greenock, Scotland while attached to the stern of the passenger vessel Hebridean Princess, which was making its approach to James Watt Dock. Biter’s two crew were unable…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the collision between the bulk carrier Polesie and the general cargo ship Verity that resulted in the sinking of the Verity with five fatalities.The collision occurred on the morning of October 24, 2023, when the Isle of Man registered general cargo carrier Verity collided with the Bahamas registered bulk carrier Polesie in the German Bight traffic separation scheme.The investigation found that both…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its investigation report into the collision between the crude oil tanker Apache and the stern trawler Serinah (GH 116) in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland on 25 April 2024.At about 1503 on 25 April 2024, the crude oil tanker Apache and the stern trawler Serinah collided in the Firth of Clyde resulting in Serinah sinking rapidly. All three of the fishing vessel’s crew were able to abandon ship to the liferaft and were uninjured.When the collision happened Serinah was fishing a seabed depression in the middle of the Firth of Clyde…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the flooding and foundering of the stern trawler Opportune off Scotland, with uncertainty remaining about the cause.On 24 March 2024, the 23.95m UK registered Opportune foundered 36 miles east of Lerwick, Scotland. Opportune’s eight crew were later rescued uninjured from the vessel’s liferafts by coastguard helicopters. The vessel was not recovered. The key safety issues identified were:• The vessel foundered due to a rapid and uncontrolled engine room flood.• The source of the flood could not be established.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the death of a pilot while attempting to board Finnhawk from the pilot vessel Humber Saturn, in Humber Estuary on 8 January 2023.The Humber pilot fell from a pilot ladder after likely suffering a cardiac event while boarding the roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel Finnhawk from the pilot vessel Humber Saturn. The pilot hit the deck of Humber Saturn before falling into the water and losing consciousness.

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has announced the establishment of the Marine Accident Investigation Unit (MAIU) within the Department of Transport. From January 1, 2026, the MAIU replaces the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) as the permanent body responsible for marine accident investigations. The MAIU will take over ongoing MCIB investigations.The MAIU is led by Chief Investigator David O’Driscoll. It will carry out marine safety investigations into accidents involving vessels in Irish waters, and Irish-flagged vessels anywhere in the world.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its preliminary assessment of a cargo fire on the bulk carrier Atlay on June 27, 2025.The Marshall Islands registered vessel was loading scrap metal into its aft cargo hold at Albert Dock, Hull, England.At 0948, the master observed smoke rising from the cargo and immediately activated the general alarm and called for the shore grab operator to discharge cargo to remove or expose the source of the fire. Meanwhile…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published a report into the uncontrolled launch of a fast rescue craft during a training exercise.At 1645 on August 23, 2025, the crew of the passenger/car ferry Lord of the Isles were carrying out an exercise involving the launch of the vessel’s fast rescue craft (FRC) using stored power. The FRC fell 9m to the water on launching. There were no injuries, but the FRC was damaged beyond repair and had to be replaced.At 1558, Lord of the Isles departed Lochboisdale, South Uist, Scotland on a scheduled service to Mallaig on the mainland.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report on the fire and subsequent loss of power on board the Finland registered roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Finnmaster at Hull, England.At 2013 on 19 September 2021, a fire broke out in the auxiliary engine room on the Finland registered roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Finnmaster during departure from Hull, England. Finnmaster lost power, but the fire was later extinguished and the vessel safely re-berthed with the assistance of tugs.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report on the investigation of a fatal man overboard from the fishing vessel Kingfisher (DH 110), approximately 30 nautical miles east-north-east of Wick, Scotland.On July 12, 2024, as the crew were engaged in manually shooting a string of creels, a deckhand became entangled in a creel’s leg rope and was pulled overboard. His personal flotation device (PFD) inflated on immersion, but he was pulled underwater by the weight of the fishing gear.

There’s a master on the run right now.It was 4am, about 10 years ago. Two crewmembers died, 15 others were hospitalized. The master didn’t receive prior notification of the cargo fumigation that occurred, yet it is the master who is being held accountable.Captain Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General of InterManager, recounts the story as he explains why he is pleased about some of the outcomes of MSC 100 but feels more work still needs to be done.“Very often people onboard a ship do not have enough information.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its interim report on the foundering of the Bayesian, saying the yacht may have been vulnerable to high winds and that such winds may have been evident at the time of the accident.On 19 August 2024, the UK registered large sailing yacht Bayesian foundered in high winds 0.5 nautical miles south-east of the port of Porticello, Italy. There were 12 guests and 10 crew on board at the time the vessel sank. Six of the guests and one crew member died.The report recounts events onboard…

The investigation into the deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, banker Jonathan Bloomer and members of their families who perished when a luxury yacht sank last year will take many months, a British inquest was told on Tuesday.Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and Morgan Stanley International chairman Bloomer and his wife Judith died when the superyacht "Bayesian" sank during a severe and sudden storm off the port of Porticello, near Palermo in Sicily on August 19, 2024.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a time line of the collision between the Portugal registered container ship Solong and the US registered oil/chemical tanker Stena Immaculate.The collision resulted in one fatality, 14 nautical miles north-east of Spurn Head at the entrance to the Humber Estuary, England, on March 10, 2025.On 27 February 2025, the Stena Immaculate departed Agioi Theodoroi, Greece, with a cargo of aviation fuel. The tanker was bound for Killingholme…

This week, the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued its report on the deaths of three stevedores in a cargo hold access space on board a bulk carrier.Berge Mawson was in Indonesia, loading coal from barges using a floating crane. During a pause in loading due to heavy rain, all hatches were closed. After the rain stopped, a stevedore mistakenly entered the access space of a cargo hold and was overcome. Two other stevedores collapsed while attempting to rescue him as crew collected rescue equipment.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has issued its report on the deaths of three stevedores in a cargo hold access space on board the bulk carrier Berge Mawson.On the morning of 27 June 2022, three unconscious stevedores were found in a cargo hold access space on the Isle of Man registered bulk carrier Berge Mawson at Bunyu Island Anchorage, Indonesia. Despite prompt medical attention all three men died.Berge Mawson was loading coal from barges using a floating crane. During a pause in loading due to heavy rain, all hatches were closed.

Fears of an environmental disaster eased on Wednesday, two days after a container ship ploughed into a stationary U.S. fuel tanker off northeast England, as the vessel's owner said the detained captain was a Russian national.The Portuguese-flagged Solong had crashed with no obvious explanation into the larger Stena Immaculate, a tanker carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military.Huge fires and explosions charred the Solong and left the Immaculate with a gaping hole, but owner Stena…

Newly released video footage captured by advanced AI-powered cameras has provided crucial insights into the collision between the container ship MV Solong and the U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Immaculate off the port of Grimsby earlier this week.The footage, recorded by Orca AI’s SeaPod lookout unit mounted on the anchored tanker Ionic Aspis, reportedly shows the exact moment of impact. The recordings include two separate videos: one from the system’s day cameras, highlighting the dense fog that likely obstructed the Solong crew’s visibility…

InterManager has collaborated with The Nautical Institute and IMarEST have launched an industry-wide survey which aims to collate feedback from those working on ships about enclosed space risks.The detailed online survey, which can be completed anonymously, asks seafarers to identify what aspects of enclosed space entry present risks for them and questions how involved in safety procedures they have been.InterManager Secretary General, Captain Kuba Szymanski, said: “InterManager carried out a widespread survey in 2018 where we asked seafarers why fatal mistakes were still being made.

British police arrested a man on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after an unexplained collision at sea left a tanker carrying U.S. army jet fuel with a gaping hole in its side and a charred container ship adrift.The tanker, Stena Immaculate, which carries jet fuel for the U.S. military, was at anchor on Monday when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions, releasing fuel into the sea, and potentially posing a danger to wildlife.Neither vessel is now expected to sink, transport minister Heidi Alexander said in a statement after an earlier assessment had said the Solong was unlikely to remain afloat.One crew member from the Portuguese-flagged Solong is assumed dead maritime minister Mike Kane told parliament earlier.