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Accidents

Serval (2015)

During a mooring procedure at Eemshaven on 28 November 2015, electrical power failed aboard the tug Serval, causing a blackout. The Dutch Safety Board's report states that the blackout led to a collision between Serval and supply vessel Nexus. Its Dutch edition says Serval was flying the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while its English edition says Serval was Dutch-flagged; both identify Nexus as Dutch-flagged. The report does not resolve this difference. It classifies the occurrence as less serious and as a mooring incident. (Dutch and English editions, printed p. 12.)

Classification

  • Incident Type: Other (mooring collision following blackout; movement status of Nexus not stated)
  • Severity: Low

Vessel Details

FieldValue
Vessel NameServal
Vessel NamesServal / Nexus
Vessel TypeTug
Flag State
Other vesselNexus, Dutch-flagged supply vessel
IMO Number
Gross Tonnage
LOA (m)

Incident Details

FieldValue
Date2015-11-28
LocationEemshaven, Netherlands
RegionNorth Sea
Fatalities
Injuries0
Missing
Direct DamageThe report says the occurrence caused no serious damage; it does not describe or quantify minor contact damage.
Economic Damage

Key facts

  • The Dutch edition says Serval was flying the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the English edition says Serval was Dutch-flagged. Both editions identify Nexus as Dutch-flagged, and neither explains the discrepancy. (Dutch and English editions, printed p. 12.)
  • During mooring, electrical power failed aboard Serval, causing a blackout.
  • The blackout led to a collision between Serval and Nexus.
  • The Dutch Safety Board reported no serious damage, bodily injury, or environmental damage; it did not describe minor contact damage. (Printed p. 12.)

Narrative

During a mooring procedure at Eemshaven on 28 November 2015, electrical power failed aboard the tug Serval, causing a blackout. The Dutch Safety Board's report states that the blackout led to a collision between Serval and supply vessel Nexus. Its Dutch edition says Serval was flying the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while its English edition says Serval was Dutch-flagged; both identify Nexus as Dutch-flagged. The report does not resolve this difference. It classifies the occurrence as less serious and as a mooring incident. (Dutch and English editions, printed p. 12.)

The report says the occurrence caused no serious damage, bodily injury, or environmental damage. It does not say whether minor contact damage occurred, give a detailed account of the maneuver, establish whether Nexus was moving or stationary, or identify the technical cause of the blackout. The Board listed the case among occurrences that it had not investigated in depth, so the available summary does not establish further causal findings. The report gives no separate fatalities or missing-person count.

Sequence of events

Date/timeEvent
2015-11-28During a mooring procedure, electrical power failed aboard Serval and the tug suffered a blackout.
2015-11-28Serval collided with Nexus. The report records no serious damage, bodily injury, or environmental damage.

Investigation

The Dutch Safety Board included the occurrence in Rapportage Ongevallen Scheepvaart november 2015 - april 2016 and its English-language edition, Shipping Occurrences Report November 2015 - April 2016. It classified the event as less serious and as a mooring incident, but did not investigate it in depth. The editions disagree about Serval's flag state; neither gives a technical cause for the blackout. (Printed p. 12 in both editions.)

References

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