Report on marine accident - the fishing boat Stortinn Jr's sinking southeast of Røst 6 April 2015
Marine report 2016/09
The fishing boat Stortinn Jr. capsized and sank southeast of Røst. It was two persons on board. One person was rescued and the other person died. Before noon the fisherman finished his fishing for the day, and began sailing with 4-5 knots speed towards Røst. Together with a colleague he had filled the cargo hold with fish, and in addition he had some fish stored on the outside deck. The Accident Investigation Board of Norway's (AIBN) calculations show that the total load on board meant that the boat's stability basically was marginal on the day of the accident.
The boat quickly took in water on the aft deck and over the cargo hatch, it capsized towards starboard at 11:30 and sank stern-down. The AIBN suppose that water got on deck through the aft bilge holes due to the load condition, the hull shape and the wind blowing in on its port side with the result that Stortinn Jr’s starboard side got exposed to swell/waves/ripples.
The small stability reserve they had was further reduced, so that the boat heeled more over to starboard and this led to water penetrating into the hull through the unsealed hatchway, which had a low hatch frame. The boat stability and stability reserve was thus absent, resulting in capsizing and sinking as a consequence.
The bow was the only part of the boat floating above sea-level at this time. The fisherman got himself up on the bow, while his colleague got trapped inside the cabin in his attempt to pick up survival suits.
A sea rescue boat tried to tow the capsized boat to shallow waters, and a bigger sized fishing boat made efforts to attach the boat in order to lift and anchor the boat alongside to rescue the person trapped inside the cabin, but none of the attempts succeeded.
The AIBN makes no safety recommendations, but would still like to emphasize that this is a very serious marine casualty. To ensure safety a boat’s stability and operational limitations should always be calculated on the basis of established stability-standards, and not solely based on previous successfull operations.
Facts
| Location | Southeast of Røst |
| Occurrence date | 06.04.2015 |
| Accident category | Foundering |
| Area | Norwegian Territorial Waters |
| Name of vessel | Stortinn Jr. |
| Accident type | Fatal Accident, Capsize |
| Vessel type | Fishing Vessel |
| Register | The Norwegian Ship Register |