Priscilla grounding on Pentland Skerries

Classification

• Incident Type: Grounded
• Severity: High

Vessel Details

Incident Details

Key facts

• Priscilla, a Netherlands-registered general cargo vessel, grounded on Pentland Skerries at about 04:40 local time on 18 July 2018 while sailing from Klaipeda to Silloth with six crew and 3,300 tonnes of fertiliser.
• The officer of the watch had not monitored the vessel's progress for about two hours after changing from track control to a standalone autopilot and watching videos on a mobile phone.
• When the deviation was noticed, the officer selected an apparent radar passage between islands without checking the electronic chart; the route crossed the Pentland Skerries reef.
• Shetland Coastguard and Orkney VTS issued two warnings, but the avoiding action was ineffective. The vessel was later refloated after partial cargo discharge and sustained extensive forward-hull damage.
• MAIB recorded no fatalities, injuries, or pollution and recommended improvements to the owner's watchkeeping and safety management.

Narrative

On 18 July 2018, the Netherlands-registered general cargo vessel Priscilla was sailing from Klaipeda, Lithuania, to Silloth, England, with six crew and about 3,300 tonnes of fertiliser in bulk. During the night passage toward the Pentland Firth, the officer of the watch changed from track control to a standalone autopilot. For about two hours he did not monitor the vessel's progress and watched videos on a mobile phone. A southerly tidal stream set Priscilla south of the planned track.

At about 04:00, the officer noticed the deviation and chose what appeared on radar to be a passage between two islands. He did not first check the electronic chart, which showed a shallow reef between them. Shetland Coastguard and Orkney VTS then issued two radio warnings. The officer's responses did not produce an effective alteration, and Priscilla grounded on Pentland Skerries at about 04:40 local time.

The master sounded the general alarm, accounted for the crew, and requested tug assistance. A salvage team was appointed on 20 July. The MAIB report contains a chronology discrepancy about the refloating date, while the RNLI reported that Priscilla was refloated at about 21:00 on 25 July after salvage efforts. Priscilla subsequently proceeded to Scapa Flow and then to dry dock, where inspection found extensive structural damage in the forward hull, including gouging and distortion of shell plating. MAIB recorded no fatalities, injuries, or pollution.

MAIB concluded that the grounding resulted from the failure to monitor the planned track and the choice of an unsafe alternative route. Distraction by the mobile phone, the absence of an additional lookout, the switched-off BNWAS, and unused ECDIS warning functions removed independent safeguards during the night watch.

Sequence of events

Contributing factors

Investigation

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report 12/2019 investigated the grounding as a serious marine casualty. MAIB found that the vessel drifted south of its planned track, that the officer chose an unsafe route based on radar without using the electronic chart, and that the night watch lacked effective independent safeguards. MAIB also recorded that shore warnings did not prevent the grounding and issued recommendation 2019/118 to improve the owner's watchkeeping and safety management.

References

• MAIB: Grounding of general cargo vessel Priscilla
• MAIB investigation report 12/2019: Priscilla
• RNLI: Longhope RNLI escort Priscilla safely to Scapa Flow

Related

• Priscilla
• United Kingdom
• MAIB
• Grounding

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