Collision in anchorage area, 8 February 2016, Maas Approach
Status :
Closed
On Monday, 8 February 2016, the Hong Kong tanker Atlantic Jupiter collided with the Dutch cargo vessel, Arklow Rambler. Both ships were seriously damaged.
The collision occurred in anchorage area 4E, close to the Port of Rotterdam, where both ships were at anchor. Due to adverse weather conditions, the anchors of both ships provided insufficient grip and both ships drifted from their position. The Atlantic Jupiter decided to hoist anchor and wait for the weather to improve while under power. During the manoeuvre, the distance between both ships became increasingly smaller, up until the point at which a collision was unavoidable.
Publication
This involved a serious accident as specified in the Casualty Investigation Code of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and EU Directive 2009/18/EC. This means that The Netherlands, as flag state, has the obligation to make an initial assessment of the accident for possible significant safety lessons (assessment).
The conclusion of this assessment was that there were times when it appeared that the accident could have been prevented. Since the accident did nevertheless occur, the Dutch Safety Board assessed that there were safety lessons to be learned and the Dutch Safety Board must therefore ensure that a safety investigation is carried out. This duty to investigate is also laid down in the Besluit Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid (‘Dutch Safety Board Decree’). This report is the result of this safety investigation.
Report
