Report on marine accident - foundering of the fishing vessel Leif Roald after grounding at Brakan in Hustadvika, 17 January 2015
Marine report 2016/03 eng
At 21:24 on 17 January 2015, the fishing vessel Leif Roald with a crew of nine ran aground at Brakan, a rocky reef in the Hustadvika bay, while on route from Sandnessjøen to Steinshamn, Harøy. The vessel's Mayday message on VHF channel 16 was heard by Florø Radio and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Southern Norway (JRCC-S) as well as by vessels in the vicinity. The crew were able to evacuate to a life raft and were later rescued by two other vessels that took them to Vestbase near Kristiansund.
The crew had crossed these waters before, and they regarded the voyage from Troms county to Møre og Romsdal county as a routine voyage. Hence, the sea voyage was not subject to further planning and there were no strict wheelhouse procedures en route. The voyage was not plotted on Norwegian nautical charts in paper format, nor were paper charts used while they were sailing. The voyage was checked using a chart plotter and radar, and the navigator's visual observations of the fairway. At the time of the accident, only one of the vessel's two radars was in use and the echo sounder had been switched off.
The investigation has shown that during the decisive minutes before the vessel ran aground, the skipper had his attention on an oncoming northbound vessel and Leif Roald no longer followed the course line that had been saved during a previous voyage. The skipper's understanding of the situation during this phase was mainly based on his visual observations, in addition to information from the map plotter and radar.
Based on this investigation, the AIBN recommends that the vessel owner establish and implement procedures for planning and safe execution of voyages.
Safety recommendation
Safety recommendation MARINE 2016/01T
The fishing vessel Leif Roald ran aground at Brakan, Hustadvika on 17 January 2015. The shipping company had not established or implemented clear procedures for voyage planning or for how the vessel's crew and navigational aids were to be used en route. These factors can partially explain why a clearly marked reef was overlooked.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway recommends that the shipping company establish and implement procedures for planning and safe execution of voyages.
Facts
| Location | Brakan, Hustadvika 63°05.15'N 007°29.54'E |
| Occurrence date | 17.01.2015 |
| Accident category | Foundering |
| Area | Norwegian Territorial Waters |
| IMO number | 8406494 |
| Name of vessel | Leif Roald |
| Accident type | Grounding |
| Vessel type | Fishing Vessel |
| Register | The Norwegian Fishing Vessel Register |