Crewman fell asleep before tug grounded
• The Transportation Safety Board has called for more training on fatigue in the marine industry after finding a crew member fell asleep and missed a planned course change before a tug boat ran aground off British Columbia’s coast.
About 107,000 litres of diesel and more than 2,200 litres of lubricants, including gear and hydraulic oils, leaked into the Pacific Ocean after the Nathan E. Stewart partially sank near Bella Bella in October 2016 as it was towing an empty barge.
Board chair Kathy Fox said the second mate had been working a schedule of six hours on, six hours off for more than two days, which didn’t allow for sufficient rest.
“It’s hard enough to work a six-on, six-off shift for days on end without getting a good night’s sleep,” she said Thursday after the board issued its report. “It’s harder still to do it without the means to recognize and combat the fatigue that this schedule inevitably generates.”
Alarms meant to alert crew members when a vessel goes off course weren’t switched on when the 30-metre tug ran aground, Fox said.
“They were sometimes turned off just to avoid what’s perceived to be nuisance alarms, but in this case could have provided warning to the watchkeeper,” she said.
The report recommends watchkeepers be trained to help identify and prevent the risks of fatigue and that all vessel owners have fatigue management plans tailored to individual operators.
Fatigue has been identified by the board as a “casual or contributory factor” in a number of other marine accidents and Fox said this case was compelling enough to prompt a call for change.
“We think that just regulating time off isn’t in and of itself enough. It’s got to be part of a global strategy that includes education, scheduling principles and alertness strategies and other defences,” she said.
The second mate was alone on the bridge at night and did not have training that would exempt the vessel from needing a marine pilot, both of which are contrary to Canadian regulations, the report says.
Another investigation into the possible contraventions is underway, Fox said.
“Transport Canada is the safety regulator so it’s their responsibility to look at whether there was non-compliance and then what enforcement action may need to be taken after the fact.”