The bulk carrier Sparna was outbound on the Columbia River with a load of wheat when it left the navigation channel and struck a charted reef near Wauna, Ore., leaving large rocks lodged inside the hull.
The accident occurred on March 20, 2016, at 2337, just after the 623-foot ship narrowly missed two barges tied to a wood chip dock alongside a mill. A pilot from the Columbia River Pilots was guiding the Panama flagged vessel, operated by K Line and owned by Santoku Senpaku of Japan, during the voyage. Total damage exceeded $560,000.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the helmsman did not follow the pilot’s rudder command just before the accident. Rather than move the rudder to starboard 20 degrees as requested, he set it for 20 degrees to port.
In the minutes leading up to the grounding, the NTSB said, “No bridge team member detected the helmsman’s incorrect rudder input or noticed that the Sparna was moving toward the wood chip dock and grounding line.”
The agency cited the failure of the pilot and bridge crew to monitor the helmsman’s response to the pilot’s orders as the probable cause of the accident.
Capt. Rick Gill, president of the Columbia River Pilots, said the ship was executing a difficult turn that required the pilot’s full attention in the moments leading up to the grounding.
This story is from the August 2017 edition of Professional Mariner.
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This story is from the August 2017 edition of Professional Mariner.
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