In SwedishGrounding
The ship’s mate was working at the computer, but not with navigation, and forgot to look up and check the course. A few degrees of drift caused the grounding. The ship’s captain, who came to the bridge immediately before the grounding, had time to reduce the speed by a few knots but this was not sufficient to prevent the accident.
The lookout, who was also on the bridge, was sitting in his chair and not looking out. Had he done so, the grounding could have certainly been avoided.
When the fire doors were closed (upper red button) the lower button was also pressed, which then unintentionally blocked the loudspeaker system. The lower button had no function and should really have been removed during a previous overhaul.
After the grounding the procedures on the ship worked smoothly: watertight doors and fire doors were closed. HowÂever, an oversight with a button resulted in the loudspeaker system not working as intended. Passengers were kept informed by other means.
One factor involved in this was that buttons with completely different functions were identical and located close to each other. In addition, one button did not have its original function and should really have been removed earlier.
The event illustrates the risks of carrying out other tasks than those concerned with navigation. It also shows the importance of the lookout being active and participating in the ship’s course, and not just being physically present.
Iu no. 080201-07-17335
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