M2013-05 M/V Riona (FIN), grounding off Kasnäs on 4 December 2013

M/V Riona ran aground on the northern shore of Kalholm Island off Kasnäs on the Sea of Archipelago on 4 December 2013.

At the time of the accident the vessel was on her way from Fröjdböle in Kimito, Finland, to Viipuri in Russia. The vessel had departed in the evening after the completion of loading operations which had taken the entire day. Somewhat before midnight the vessel was proceeding along Högsåra open sea area at the speed of nine knots. The vessel passed the wheel over point at Ersgrund without turning and ran aground a couple of minutes later at the shore of Kalholm Island. The grounding resulted in a tear in the ballast tank in the bow and caused some dents elsewhere in the bottom of the vessel. The grounding did not cause any damages to persons or the environment. Preparedness for rescue operations was adequate.

The vessel got permission to refloat on 5 December 2013 following a statement by a Finnish Transport Safety Agency inspector. The vessel was towed from aground with tug assistance, after which it was anchored at Kasnäs area for a detailed inspection of the damages. On the basis of a decision made by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency and insurance company instructions, the vessel moved back to its port of departure in Fröjdböle in Kimito in order to unload her cargo. After the cargo was unloaded the vessel transferred on 9 December 2013 by using her own engine power to Western Shipyard Ltd.’s dockyard in Teijo, where here damages were repaired.

The immediate cause of grounding was the fact that the Master had fallen asleep. The Master was alone on the bridge when the accident took place, and the Bridge Navigation Watch Alarm System (BNWAS) was switched off. According to the investigation, the condition of the vessel and her equipment or weather conditions did not contribute to the grounding.

When the accident took place, the Master’s work period had lasted for approx. 4 weeks. During this period of time the vessel had mainly operated in the Baltic Sea area and visited ports approx. every second day. The vessel’s minimum crew consists of 4 persons in Baltic Sea traffic. The vessel employs a 6/6 watchkeeping system. It is known that this particular system is problematic when it comes to fatigue, in addition to which frequent port calls disturb the rhythm of work and rest and cause extra stress. Because of the incomplete work time records on the M/V Riona it has not, however, been possible to assess the role the workload played in the emergence of fatigue.

On the basis of existing knowledge it can be concluded that risks related to alertness and fatigue are significant in seafaring. In connection with the investigation it was detected that the management of risks related to fatigue is not systematic on the shipping company and authority level and not adequate when compared to the risks.

On the basis of the investigation the Safety Investigation Authority recommends that

1. the Finnish Transport Safety Agency instruct shipping companies to include procedures for the management of fatigue risks in their safety management systems. Risk management practices should cover e.g. the number of crew and the accumulation of cumulative fatigue.
2. the Finnish Transport Safety Agency take measures together with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health to improve seafarers' medical examinations in such a way that special attention is paid to the alertness of watchkeeping personnel and to the prevention and identification of factors related to the tendency to get tired.
3. the Finnish Transport Safety Agency develop, together with the authority supervising working hours at sea, a common operations model for the monitoring and supervision of working hours. Requirements related to both vessel safety and occupational safety should be considered in the model.

M2013-05 Report, in Finnish (pdf, 3.46 Mt)