Classification
- Incident Type: Other
- Severity: Medium
- Occurrence classification: Serious, mooring and piloting incident in the Dutch Safety Board report.
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Smit Elbe |
| Vessel Type | Tug |
| Flag State | Bahamas [BS] |
| IMO Number | 9389485 |
| MMSI | |
| Call Sign | |
| Gross Tonnage | |
| LOA (m) | 28.75 |
| Breadth (m) | 9.80 |
| Bollard Pull (t) | |
| Power (kW) | |
| Owner/Operator | |
| Year Built | 2007 |
| Crew Size |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2016-01-14 |
| Location | Mississippihaven, Botlek, Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 51.9244, 4.4778 |
| Region | Netherlands |
| Fatalities | |
| Injuries | 2 |
| Missing | |
| Cargo Loss | |
| Direct Damage | Towline snapback broke the tug's bridge windows; two crew members were injured by broken glass. |
| Economic Damage | |
| Environmental Damage |
Key facts
- Smit Elbe was a Bahamas-flagged tug assisting a departing seagoing vessel from Mississippihaven in Rotterdam.
- The Dyneema-Kevlar towline parted after the order to prepare the line and begin towing.
- The line snapped back and broke the bridge windows; the captain and a sailor on deck were injured by broken glass.
- The shipowner's investigation found that abrasion against the assisted vessel's hawse-hole caused the rope to fail.
Narrative
On 14 January 2016, the Bahamas-flagged tug Smit Elbe was assisting a departing seagoing vessel from Mississippihaven in the Botlek area of Rotterdam. The tug used a Dyneema-Kevlar towing line. Two crew members secured the line, and an order was later given to prepare it and begin towing.
Shortly afterwards, the towline parted and snapped back toward Smit Elbe. It smashed the bridge windows on the side where the captain was at the wheel. The captain and a sailor on deck were injured by broken glass. The Dutch Safety Board report states that the owner, Smit/Boskalis, investigated the failure and found that abrasion against the hawse-hole on the assisted seagoing vessel caused the rope to fail.
The occurrence report places the event among incidents that were not investigated extensively and classifies it as a serious mooring and piloting incident. It does not provide an independent detailed investigation of the towline failure or a monetary damage estimate.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2016-01-14 | Smit Elbe assisted a departing seagoing vessel from Mississippihaven. |
| 2016-01-14 | The towline parted, snapped back, broke bridge windows, and injured two crew members. |
Contributing factors
| Factor | Evidence status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Abrasion at the assisted vessel's hawse-hole | Reported | The Smit/Boskalis owner investigation identified abrasion against the hawse-hole as the reason the towing rope failed. |
Investigation
The Dutch Safety Board included Smit Elbe in its Shipping Occurrences Report for November 2015 - April 2016, under incidents that were not investigated extensively. The report records the towline snapback, injuries, and damage, and attributes the rope failure to the shipowner's investigation finding of abrasion at the assisted vessel's hawse-hole.