The importance of the duties and responsibilities of the vessel’s owner highlighted in safe water transport

The Safety In­ves­ti­ga­tion Au­thor­ity, Fin­land (SIAF) has com­pleted the in­ves­ti­ga­tion into the ac­ci­dent in front of Vaasa on 24 Oc­to­ber 2020. The fire­boat FIR­RP1083 of the Os­tro­both­nia Res­cue De­part­ment drifted out­side the fair­way due to a nav­i­ga­tion er­ror, touched the bot­tom, which caused a leak and fi­nally sink­ing of the boat.

Two firefighters and two paramedics were on their way to carry out the emergency medical service assignment with the rescue department’s boat. The people on board were rescued before the boat sank. The emergency medical service assignment that had been interrupted was completed by the Finnish Border Guard.

“The investigation showed that the role of the vessel’s owner was not fully clear with regard to the technical condition and maintenance. This means that by clarifying the responsibilities of the owner, the safety of the activities can be improved,” says Veli-Pekka Nurmi, Executive Director, Professor.

According to the findings of the investigation, there were also deficiencies in the training of the boat’s users. “The owner, which in this case was the rescue department, is responsible for ensuring that the boat is manned by qualified personnel,” Nurmi adds.

“In addition, deficiencies that impeded navigation were found in the ergonomics of the cabin of the boat; they made keeping a lookout and safe and effective use of the navigation equipment more difficult. Ergonomic solutions of the boat’s cabin are supposed to reduce errors.No attention had been paid to deficiencies in the daily use or in the inspections conducted by the appropriate authorities,” says Investigator-in-charge Risto Haimila.

The right kind of preparation for an emergency medical service assignment was also considered significant. Due to the urgency of the assignment, it was decided that the paramedics were to be transported to the site with the rescue department’s fireboat. The paramedics only found out about their boat transport at the harbour. Due to the deficiencies in communications, the paramedics were not able to prepare correctly for the boat transport.

As a result of the accident, the Safety Investigation Authority has issued safety recommendations related to the safe and smooth implementation of emergency medical service assignments and the use of a positioning device. In addition, the Safety Investigation Authority repeats the recommendations related to ensuring good ergonomics in the cabins of vessels and developing the vessel operations of the rescue department.

Further information:

Mr. Risto Haimila, Investigator-in-charge, tel. +358 2951 50730

Dr. Veli-Pekka Nurmi, Executive Director, Professor, tel. +358 2951 50701