Chain reaction leads to Golden Cecilie collision

When two bulk carriers collided while both were at anchor in British Columbia, accident investigators identified significant procedural failings, beginning with a failure to collect weather forecasts.

In late February 2020, the 198m bulk carrier Golden Cecilie arrived in British Columbia, Canada, from South Korea and anchored, as directed by the port authority, in Plumper Sound, just south of Vancouver.

Also at anchor, 1,280m away, in the same bay was the 229m bulk carrier Green K-Max 1. Both vessels were in ballast condition and awaiting cargoes that were not yet ready to be loaded.

Three weeks later, Golden Cecilie obtained permission to change over from its port anchor to its starboard one to prevent deposits accumulating on the anchor, in accordance with its safety management system (SMS) manual.

During the changeover, the main engine was used to move Golden Cecilie 370m from its initial position before re-anchoring. The two ships were now 910m apart.

The following afternoon, Golden Cecilie’s second officer logged the barometric pressure as 1007mb with winds of 10 knots. The master retired for the evening at 1700. The anchoring watch checklist specified that he was to be notified if the wind speed reached 28 knots. It also stated that the master, duty engineer, and forward station crew were all to be called at the first sign of the anchor dragging.

Gusty conditions

Later that night, just after midnight on 30 March, the wind speeds had reached 27 knots, and by 0200 they were blowing at 28-33 knots. An hour later Golden Cecilie began to yaw in the gusty conditions, and shortly afterwards the dragging anchor alarm sounded. Realising they were drifting towards Green K-Max 1, the second officer informed the master and duty engineer that the anchor had started dragging, and then asked the duty engineer to prepare the main engine.

At 0325, Golden Cecilie’s master ordered the anchor team to deploy the port anchor – but when they tried they were unable to move it. Instead, they paid out an additional two shackles on the starboard anchor chain to try and stop the ship drifting further. However, due to the high winds pushing its 12m of freeboard, Golden Cecilie began moving towards Green K-Max 1 at around 1.4 knots.

The crew of Golden Cecilie failed to collect the local daily weather forecasts and did not obtain an up-to-date weather warning.

Meanwhile, aboard Green K-Max 1, the master ordered his anchor team to pay out more starboard anchor chain to try and move them away from the approaching Golden Cecilie. Although Green K-Max 1’s main engine was on a 10-minute notice, the master did not call for it to be started.

Stock image. Ships anchored for refuelling (Credit: Shutterstock)

Chains entangle – and collision

Golden Cecilie collided with Green K-Max 1 at 0330.

With its main engine running slowly, Golden Cecilie continued trying to move away from Green K-Max 1, unsuccessfully, and the gusty conditions caused Golden Cecilie to collide with Green K-Max 1 a second time. As this happened, Golden Cecilie’s port anchor became entangled with Green K-Max 1’s port anchor chain, and she started pulling Green K-Max 1 along at around half a knot.

Both masters requested tug and pilot assistance, and at 1030 the anchors were finally disentangled. The ships were re-anchored a safe distance apart.

Golden Cecilie’s damaged hull

The collision resulted in a 30cm diameter hole in Golden Cecilie’s port hull just below the deckline, with Green K-Max 1 incurring relatively minor damage to its starboard bow. All damage was above the waterline, and there was no pollution.

South and North Pender Islands, Gulf Islands, Plumper Sound, Canada (Credit: Shutterstock)

Report conclusions

The accident investigation report, published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), notes that between January 2015 and March 2020 there were a total of 102 dragging anchor incidents along the shores of British Columbia.

In this instance, it said, the crew of Golden Cecilie failed to collect the local daily weather forecasts and did not obtain an up-to-date weather warning.

As a result, they did not follow established procedures to ready the vessel and themselves for the impending adverse weather conditions. Factors that impact dragging an anchor had not been taken into consideration as per the SMS, and the emergency preparedness to respond to adverse weather was inadequate.

Operator initiates safety actions

Following the incident, Golden Cecilie’s operator, SeaTeam Management Pte Ltd, initiated the following safety actions:

• Anchoring watch checklists have been amended to indicate that the master should be informed immediately if the barometric pressure drops by 3mb during a watch or if the wind speed exceeds 21 knots. In such circumstances, the engines are to be placed on standby and the deck watch is to monitor the anchor position
• The checklists have also been amended to specifically indicate the engine notice period as per the master’s instruction
• Vessels have been instructed to document the state of readiness and position of the second anchor in the bridge logbook
• Management refresher training has been arranged for all bridge watch officers.

Dennis O’Neill is a journalist specialising in maritime.