C10/​1998M Tug­boat DIM­ITRIS, Ground­ing off Inkoo on 29.11.1998

12.02.2004

Tugboat DIMITRIS and the towed barge MULTIBRAVA, with coal cargo, was on her way from Vysotski Russia to Inkoo Finland on 29.11.1998. The pilot boarded the tugboat at the Porkkala pilot embarking position at 00:05 am. The prevailing weather conditions were unstable. The weather forecast had predicted the conditions: moderate visibility and possible snow fall. Visibility went down to 0,5 Nm – 0,7Nm. The tow proceeded on the Inkoo fairway until the next buoys 7 and 8 were abeam. For some reason the wrong 3.7 meter fairway towards Gåsö was followed. The mistake was observed after about half an hour and a few minutes before the tugboat run aground. The aft anchor from the barge MULTIBRAVA was let go to slow down the speed. DIMITRIS also slowed down. After some five minutes the grounding of the tugboat was felt on board. The barge passed the tugboat on the port side and broke the towing cable. The position of the grounding/DIMITRIS was south of the Gåsöklobben. The barge MULTIBRAVA was anchored west of Gåsöklobben. Personnel injuries and environmental damages were avoided in this accident.

During the investigation it was found out that the steering along the wrong fairway was not observed in time because safeguards were missing from the navigation. Not all the navigational aids nor the fairway knowledge were used with sufficient rigorousness. The communication and exchange of information formed a problem on the bridge. Previous safety recommendations have been issued on those and have been referenced by the investigators.