Safety board releases report on American Dynasty allision with HMCS Winnipeg

HMCS Winnipeg took a big hit when fishing trawler American Dynasty stuck the port side of the vessel last spring.

After nearly a year of investigation, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has developed a picture of the events leading to the allision between United States fishing vessel American Dynasty and HMCS Winnipeg.
According to the report released March 31, the board found that “a series of failures by crew and equipment led to the collision” on April 23, 2013.

While the vessel was being towed to the Esquimalt graving dock, the vessel’s oiler took a call from the master, as the chief engineer was unavailable.

 “At approximately 0816, the master transferred control to the engine control room. The oiler had never accepted control before, so he asked the electrician, who was also in the engine control room, about the procedure for accepting control.”

The electrician then advised to push a transfer button on the propulsion panel, after which the vessel lost all electrical power. The emergency generator failed to initiate, and the bridge crew noticed the vessel accelerating from 1.6 knots to 5.0 knots and veering to starboard in the direction of Winnipeg.

“Upon noticing propeller wash, the master attempted to call the engine room using the main phone, but the line was dead,” says the report. “The master then requested the first mate to go to the engine room and assess the situation. By this time American Dynasty was approximately 400m from Winnipeg.”

Meanwhile, the tugs pulling the vessel also noticed the problem and attempted to correct course by towing the ship backward. They were unable to stop it when the winch on one of the tugs broke and American Dynasty pulled away.

Below deck in the engine room, the chief engineer, unaware of the drastic change of course, continued to work on restoring power to the vessel. When the auxiliary generator engine shut down the chief engineer left the room to find the cause.

“At approximately 0818, the bow of American Dynasty struck the port side of the Winnipeg approximately 7m abaft its stem, at a relative angle of 145° and an estimated speed of 5 knots,” says the report. “American Dynasty’s forepeak tank split open, discharging ballast water onto the bow of the Winnipeg. Just after the impact, the chief engineer manually set the fuel pump rack to the ‘no fuel’ position, which shut down the port main engine. At that time, the chief engineer observed that the starboard engine had already shut down.”

American Dynasty remained embedded in Winnipeg until preliminary assessments could be completed. “With the assistance of tugs, the American Dynasty was separated from the HMCS Winnipeg at around 17:10.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined American Dynasty did not have procedures in place for putting the vessel in dry dock, or to deal with a loss of power. The exact reason for the blackout and the change of course is still unclear.

Acceleration was deemed to be a product of the blackout, which pushed fuel to the port engines.

“Crew members who have not been adequately familiarized with a vessel and its equipment may not have the knowledge necessary to perform their duties,” the report read. “Furthermore, without procedures and comprehensive drills for emergency situations, crew may not be proficient in taking mitigating action during an emergency.”

Read the full report at www.tsb.gc.ca/eng.

-Shawn O’Hara, Staff Writer