| UK & Corsica. “Passage planning is not an optional extra” says report on Land’s End sinking |
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; "LandsEnd: Credit Marine Nationale")
| Monday, 10 April 2006 | |
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Marian Martin: The 48 metre Land’s End grounded in good weather on a well charted reef. “The vessel was badly holed and sank to a semi-submerged position.” says the MAIB report. “Two days later, the vessel slipped off the reef and disappeared below the surface.” The report makes it clear that the ex-Belgian Navy chief officer was responsible for navigation and drew a planned track on a small scale chart, choosing a course close to the shore to ensure a good view for the passengers, and made use of some waypoints of key headlands; previously programmed into the GPS. It points out that the master, Chris Jones, was never far away, but there was no positive handover of watch between him and the chief officer. Although a switch was made to a larger scale chart, only 2 fixes – about 30 minutes apart - were made on it, using a single radar range and bearing from a headland, backed up with a GPS check. The report says that, about the time of the second fix, the master decided to head to another bay slightly further down the coast and asked the chief officer whether they were clear of a charted, but unmarked, reef, between their position and the intended bay? The chief officer said they were but, when the Land’s End shuddered to a halt, both officers were able to see over the side the rock they had grounded on. The Lessons MAIB says “Sadly, the lessons learnt from this accident are not new and are common to many accidents investigated. 1. Passage planning is not an optional extra, it is vital, if you are to avoid grounding on clearly charted obstructions, as is the case in this accident. There may have to be a great deal of flexibility in where a vessel goes, but this is no excuse for not conducting proper passage planning beforehand. 2. Ensure you use all the tools available to monitor your position. When working close inshore: fix regularly; do not rely on a single bearing and range for position fixing; use clearing bearings; use parallel indexes on your radar. All of the above are aids to keeping your vessel safe. 3. Make sure the officer responsible for navigation is provided with sufficient time to complete a passage plan. Once on passage, it is too late, and ‘local knowledge’ is not always reliable. 4. Ensure your vessel’s management has an external review. Relying solely on the master to effectively manage and command a vessel may mean unsafe and sloppy practices creep in unnoticed and unchecked. Read the story of the loss of the Land’s End as it unfolded: Holed megayacht threatens Corsican beach Tug standing by stricken megayacht Captain in second megayacht sinking Land's End holed in four places Land's End salvage contract signed Land's End sinks completely Captain Jones charged French naval divers to assess sunken megayacht Land's End tanks to be pumped out Land's End Captain was Designated Person Ashore says Gaspard Yachts First officer on bridge says Land's End Captain; pumping tests successful; MAIB preliminary Fuel being pumped from the Land's End Land's End pumping completed August 17 Quotes sought for raising or dismantling the Land's End 2 holes patched on Land's End; mate plotted final course Land's End owner looking for repair yard View pictures of the Land's End on the reef and on the bottom. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 10 April 2006 ) |
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