Report of marine accident M/S Synne foundering outside Hirtshals on 12 June 2020
Marine report 2021/03
Friday 12 June 2020 at 1355 Synne left the harbor in Hirtshals after repairs. After approx. 50 minutes of sailing, the skipper saw that water came in on deck from the freeing ports and water was observed in the cargo hold. The skipper steered the boat towards starboard, up against the wind and the vessel got a starboard list and the railing was submerged. The shrimp hatch was not secured and a lot of water flooded into the cargo hold. When the hatch was submerged in water, there was no way to avoid foundering. The location of the hatch and the low height of the coaming and the fact that it was not secured led to water flooding the hold, and the boat sank.
The documentation for the temporary sailing permit was incorrect and The Norwegian Maritime Authority had not been made aware of the new hatches when they assessed the vessel's seaworthiness. If the documentation had been correct, the vessel would not have received a temporary sailing permit.
The vessel's approved stability calculation was not in accordance with regulatory requirements. At the same time, the NSIA believes that the error in the stability calculations weakened the boats safety and the premises for approval were therefore not present.
As of today, there are no requirements for those who perform stability calculations and The Norwegian Maritime Authority does not carry out a detailed control of the calculations. The NSIA believes that the accident also shows that the barriers to prevent stability calculations that do not meet the regulatory requirements are too weak.
The NSIA does not submit any safety recommendations as a result of this investigation, but refers to Report Marine 2021/01.
Published 08.04.2021
Facts
| Location | North of Hirtshals |
| Occurrence date | 12.06.2020 |
| Accident category | Foundering |
| Area | Other Nation's Territorial Waters |
| Name of vessel | Synne |
| Accident type | Loss of stability |
| Vessel type | Fishing Vessel |
| Register | Not registered |