C10/2002M Passenger Ferry Ms SUOMENLINNA-SVEABORG, Collision with Quay in Helsinki 31.8.2002

Passenger ferry ms SUOMENLINNA-SVEABORG had departed from Suomenlinna according to the schedule on Saturday August 31st 2002. Onboard were 131 passengers and a crew of four. When the master had turned the vessel towards the quay at the end of the journey he observed, that the propeller pitch control was not responding. He switched the control to emergency mode, which did not work. At about 18:15 the vessel collided at a speed of 6 knots with the fender of the quay and she bounced back about its own length.

Altogether 12 persons needed first-aid or hospital treatment. The two most severely injured passengers had descended the stairs and fallen down due to the force of the collision. The vessel received minor damage.

The immediate cause of the collision was established to have been a shortcut in the leads of the lighting of the pitch control display. The shortcut for its part caused a relay in the control system not to function. The chafing and temporary contact had been a consequence of the vibrations of the vessel.

As contributing factors were observed problems related to the pitch control retrofit carried out in 1995 on the vessel, which originally had been built in 1952. The ship owner actions on the recurring faults was found to be inadequate.

As safety recommendations it has been released that both the ship owner and the Finnish Maritime Administration should improve their roles so that the safety management system would better remedy the observed technical faults and deficiencies in operational practises.

C10/2002M Report (pdf, 1.22 Mt)