C6/​2004M Ketch VAL­BORG, ground­ing in Por­voo Arch­i­pel­ago on Au­gust 4, 2004

08.09.2004

The ketch VALBORG sailed on August 4, 2004 at 12.45 hours from Pirttisaari in Porvoo archipelago to Stora Brokholm. Onboard there were the crew of four and a group of young people in preparation for confirmation. As the master was turning the vessel from Hummelkobba line to northwest to the Ygglasö stern line, the vessel got north of the fairway and grounded at 20.45. Two blanks in the stem loosened and she got a leakage. The situation was kept under control by pumping and VALBORG was able to sail to Tirmo where she was berthed. After diver’s inspection VALBORG moved to Helsinki with her own machinery and was taken to dry dock for reparation on August 16, 2004. The basic reason of the grounding was the lack of route planning beforehand. The curve was too gentle and it was not finalized as the vessel reached the narrow part of the fairway guarded by spar-buoys. At the same time the master was dazzled by the sunshine from west. As a contributing factor the investigators found the common habit to corner cut the routes marked in charts. This kind of habit has been found in numerous cases investigated by AIB.