Classification
- Incident Type: Allision
- Severity: High
- Casualty classification: Very Serious Marine Casualty
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Ever Judger |
| Vessel Type | Bulk Carrier |
| Flag State | Panama [PA] |
| IMO Number | 9632844 |
| Call Sign | 3ERQ4 |
| Gross Tonnage | 44060 |
| LOA (m) | 224.828 |
| Breadth (m) | 32.272 |
| Year Built | 2011 |
| Owner/Operator | Ever Judger Holding Company Ltd / Fleet Management Ltd |
| Crew Size | 20 |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-03-30 |
| Location | Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, Indonesia |
| Coordinates | -1.255383, 116.790033 |
| Region | Indonesia |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Missing | |
| Direct Damage | Fire and smoke damaged port-side equipment, the accommodation ladder, lifeboat, fire hoses, crane, and hull. |
| Economic Damage |
The report states that all Ever Judger crew were evacuated to shore, but it does not provide a separate missing-person count or a monetary damage estimate.
Key facts
- At about 22:00 local time on 30 March 2018, Ever Judger's anchor hit and dragged Pertamina's submerged 20-inch crude-oil pipeline.
- At about 11:05 local time on 31 March, spilled oil ignited and the fire spread across Balikpapan Bay.
- Five villagers on two boats died, and one Ever Judger crew member was burned and hospitalized.
- The KNKT report cites more than 7,000 kilolitres of crude oil spread over more than 13,000 hectares of the bay.
Narrative
Ever Judger was a Panamanian bulk carrier carrying coal from Balikpapan Coal Terminal. On 30 March 2018, the vessel's departure was delayed by an engine problem. Pilot B boarded at about 20:30, and the vessel began leaving the terminal at about 21:07 with tug assistance. During the shift toward an anchorage, the bridge team and pilot did not share a sufficiently detailed voyage plan. The KNKT report describes confusion over when and how the anchor should be prepared and lowered.
At about 22:00 local time, the port anchor hit and dragged a submerged Pertamina crude-oil pipeline. The vessel stopped at about 22:50 at a position recorded by the report as 01°15.323' S, 116°47.402' E. The report states that the master and pilot did not promptly notify the local harbour master or Pertamina. During the night, oil escaped from the damaged 20-inch pipeline. The source was not immediately identified, despite inspections and the deployment of containment and response equipment.
At about 11:05 on 31 March, the spilled oil ignited in front of Ever Judger and the fire spread across the bay. A crew member working on the aft deck was burned, jumped into the water, and was rescued and taken to hospital. Five villagers on two boats near the fire died. Pertamina, surrounding oil companies, harbour-master fireboats, and other responders fought the fire, which was extinguished in less than an hour. All Ever Judger crew were evacuated to shore.
The fire and smoke damaged the vessel's port-side equipment, accommodation ladder, lifeboat, fire hoses, crane, and hull. The KNKT report states that more than 7,000 kilolitres of crude oil spread across more than 13,000 hectares of Balikpapan Bay, severely affecting the marine ecosystem and local fishing activity. The investigation attributed the pipeline strike to deficient bridge resource management and inadequate emergency response, including communication problems and insufficient information about the restricted pipeline area.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2018-03-30 20:30 LT | Pilot B boarded Ever Judger for the departure from Balikpapan Coal Terminal. |
| 2018-03-30 21:07 LT | Ever Judger began leaving the terminal with tug assistance. |
| 2018-03-30 22:00 LT | The port anchor hit and dragged the submerged crude-oil pipeline. |
| 2018-03-30 22:50 LT | Ever Judger stopped at the position recorded in the KNKT report. |
| 2018-03-31 11:05 LT | Spilled oil ignited and the fire spread across Balikpapan Bay. |
| 2018-03-31 | Five villagers died, one crew member was injured, and all crew were evacuated. |
| 2018-03-31 | Fireboats and other responders extinguished the fire in less than an hour. |
Contributing factors
| Factor | Evidence status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge resource management | Confirmed finding | KNKT identified deficient bridge resource management, including inadequate briefing, unclear allocation of responsibilities, and communication in different languages. |
| Pilotage information exchange | Confirmed finding | The investigation found no specific pilotage procedure for the required exchange of information and insufficient information about the pipeline-restricted area. |
| Emergency reporting and response | Confirmed finding | The master did not promptly report the anchor and pipeline situation, while local procedures and readiness were insufficient for a wide-area oil fire and spill. |
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) of Indonesia investigated the casualty and published Pipeline Damage and Crude Oil Pollution in Balikpapan Bay. The report concluded that deficient bridge resource management and improper emergency response allowed Ever Judger's anchor to hit the subsea crude-oil pipeline. Its findings addressed communication between the ship and pilot, pilotage procedures, restricted-area information, emergency reporting, oil-spill readiness, and fire response. KNKT issued safety recommendations to Indonesian authorities, pilot services, the pipeline owner, the ship manager, and other stakeholders.
References
Related
- Ever Judger
- Indonesia
- Allision
- Bridge Resource Management Failure
- Fire
- National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) Republic of Indonesia