Reporton marine accident, foundering of the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ in Tomrefjorden sout-west of Molde on Tuesday 30 May 2023
Marine report 2024/07
The accident happened as eight passengers were being transported from the coast guard vessel ‘KV Bjørnøya’, which was conducting tests in the Tomrefjord, to the shipyard Vard Langsten. All nien on board ended up in the sea, one of the passengers without a life jacket. It took close to 47 minutes for the passengers to be rescued, which was critical in terms of their chances of survival, considering that the water temperature was only around 9–10 degrees in the area, combined with some wind and waves. It took less than one minute from when the vessel began to take in water until it sank. The person operating the boat managed to send an emergency call on VHF channel 16, but the distress button on the VHF was not used. Since the emergency call did not contain information about the vessel’s coordinates, the emergency services were not immediately informed of their exact location. After about 12 minutes, one of the people in distress managed to call 113 while lying in the sea., and the Emergency Medical Communication Centre (AMK) then became aware of the position coordinates, and the information was conveyed orally to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC). The Coastal Radio South never received the coordinates from JRCC and was therefore uncertain of the distressed people’s whereabouts for a long time. They were therefore unable to effectively direct nearby available resources towards the location. It has since emerged that the phone call made from the sea was most likely decisive for the location becoming known and the fireboat eventually finding them. After the vessel was raised, a large hole was observed at the bottom of the starboard side of the hull. The crack that was observed appeared to be from previous damage that had been attempted to be repaired. The investigation has shown that there was very poor or no adhesion between the repaired fibreglass layer and the old fibreglass laminate. Investigation of the hull damage has shown that the hole was most likely the result of weaknesses in the hull. It is unlikely that the damage occurred as a result of hitting something in the sea.
At present, critical information about the vessel’s name and position, the status of persons and similar is shared between the emergency and rescue response services orally through the various communication channels available, such as Nødnett, maritime VHF and SAR notification by phone. This can result in errors and significant delays in information sharing. Since not all emergency and rescue response services have access to all communication channels, critical information may not be shared efficiently enough with all the key resources. This was the case in this situation.
Mobile phones and the land-based, closed Nødnett network are also increasingly used in maritime rescue operations. This poses a challenge to the current organisation where, among others, coastal radio operators do not have access to Nødnett, and the requirement is that maritime rescue operations for the commercial fleet must be managed via the open maritime emergency network (VHF/MF/HF). Communicating via two networks will create unnecessary delays, and it may take several minutes for critical information provided on Nødnett to be transmitted on the VHF network. In such incidents a few minutes can be decisive, and in the worst case lead to loss of life. The NSIA believes it is crucial for future search and rescue operations that the systems are further developed in order to achieve more effective cooperation and ensure that they are not based solely on the oral transmission of critical information.
The vessel was not registered by the yard as a commercial craft, nor was the yard aware that the shuttle boat activity was covered by a regulatory framework. The NSIA believes that awareness of the use of recreational craft used in a professional context is not sufficient, and that many businesses do not consider themselves a shipping company when this type of use of a recreational craft is part of their business. This is especially true for enterprises whose main activities are not related to transporting passengers and therefore are not familiar with how to operate as a shipping company.
The NSIA has made a total of five safety recommendations to the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB), and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC).
Published 23.04.2024
Safety recommendation
Safety Recommendation Marine No. 2024/21T
On Tuesday 30 May 2023, the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ was en route from ‘KV Bjørnøya’ in the Tomrefjord to Vard Langsten yard with nine people on board, when the vessel started to take in water and quickly foundered south-west of Molde. Everyone on board ended up in the sea, but were later rescued.
After about 12 minutes, one of the passengers managed to call 113 from a mobile phone while lying in the sea. As a result, the emergency services and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) became aware of the position coordinates, but did not forward them to the Coastal Radio South. This meant, among other things, that Coastal Radio South was uncertain of the whereabouts of those in distress for a long time, and was unable to effectively direct nearby available resources towards them via VHF Channel 16. The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority believes that the way in which the JRCC and Coastal Radio South communicated, via a log and orally, was not sufficiently robust for the purpose of sharing critical information, and that the current system could lead to important information being delayed. A closer organisation between the JRCC and Telenor Coastal Radio could be an improvement in terms of sharing critical information.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, in cooperation with Telenor Coastal Radio, implement measures to ensure effective sharing of critical information between the two parties.
Safety Recommendation Marine No. 2024/22T
On Tuesday 30 May 2023, the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ was en route from ‘KV Bjørnøya’ in the Tomrefjord to Vard Langsten yard with nine people on board, when the vessel started to take in water and quickly foundered south-west of Molde. Everyone on board ended up in the sea, but were later rescued.
The way the interaction between the emergency services is organised today, there is not one definite system for shearing critical information between the various emergency and rescue services. In this incident, critical information about the Advanced Mobile Location (AML) position of those in distress did not reach the rescue resources in the immediate vicinity early enough. In the worst case, this could have led to several fatalities among the distressed as a result of the accident. Several of them were already in critical hypothermia from being in the sea for so long. The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority considers it unfortunate that two systems are used for marine rescue operations: maritime VHF and Nødnett, especially considering that Telenor Coastal Radio, which communicates with all sea-based resources, does not have access to Nødnett. It is crucial for future search and rescue operations that the systems are further developed, and to ensure that they are not based solely on the oral transmission of critical information.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB), in collaboration with the Norwegian Police- and Health Directorate, further develop the existing systems to ensure effective sharing of critical information between the various rescue services.
Safety Recommendation Marine No. 2024/23T
On Tuesday 30 May 2023, the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ was en route from ‘KV Bjørnøya’ in the Tomrefjord to Vard Langsten yard with nine people on board, when the vessel started to take in water and quickly foundered south-west of Molde. Everyone on board ended up in the sea, but were later rescued.
As the life raft did not have a hydrostatic release device and was strapped to the roof of the wheelhouse, it did not release when the vessel sank. Access to a life raft will increase the likelihood of being found earlier, as well as significantly increasing the chances of survival. Studies that have investigated the chances of survival for people who have ended up in the water in winter and summer temperatures show that, with a water temperature of 10 degrees, it should not have been possible to survive for that long in the cold water with no other clothing or life-saving appliances than life jackets. The 12 Pax Regulations set out exceptions from the requirement for a life raft during the summer months (1 April–30 September) for trade area 2 or less. There are major variations in sea temperature in Norway, but the temperature is relatively low all year round, which means that the chances of survival will be limited if a person ends up in the sea.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Maritime Authority change the exemption requirement in Section 16 (2) of the 12 Pax Regulations, and that any exemption from the requirement be compensated by safety measures that reflect the risk of ending up in the sea year-round.
Safety Recommendation Marine No. 2024/24T
On Tuesday 30 May 2023, the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ was en route from ‘KV Bjørnøya’ in the Tomrefjord to Vard Langsten yard with nine people on board, when the vessel started to take in water and quickly foundered south-west of Molde. Everyone on board ended up in the sea, but were later rescued.
An important precondition for survival after a vessel has foundered is rapid notification and information about the vessel’s position. In this case, the distress button was not used, and there were no other tracking devices available on board, such as a float-free emergency locator beacon EPIRB, radar transponder (Radar-SART) or AIS transponder. These tracking devices are not required in the relevant trade area, cf. Sections 13 and 14 of the 12 Pax Regulations, but the rescue services would be in a significantly better position to locate those in distress if such tracking devices are being used.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Maritime Authority make the necessary changes to Sections 13 and 14 of the 12 Pax Regulations, so that tracking devices corresponding to the requirement for trade area 4 become mandatory for all trade areas.
Safety Recommendation Marine No. 2024/25T
On Tuesday 30 May 2023, the shuttle boat ‘Toja’ was en route from ‘KV Bjørnøya’ in the Tomrefjord to Vard Langsten yard with nine people on board, when the vessel started to take in water and quickly foundered south-west of Molde. Everyone on board ended up in the sea, but were later rescued.
Many enterprises do not consider themselves to be a shipping company even if a vessel is used for passenger transport as part of their activities. There is insufficient awareness of the use of recreational craft for commercial purposes. This applies in particular to enterprises that mainly have other services than transporting passengers as their main activity, and they are thus not familiar with what it is like to operate as a shipping company.
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority recommends that the Norwegian Maritime Directorate implement awareness-raising measures aimed at enterprises that use recreational craft for commercial purposes, to ensure that the vessels they use comply with the applicable regulations.
Facts
| Location | Tomrefjorden |
| Occurrence date | 30.05.2023 |
| Accident category | Foundering |
| Area | Norwegian Territorial Waters |
| Name of vessel | Toja |
| Accident type | Passenger accident |
| Vessel type | Misc. Ship |
| Register | Not registered |