The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently released its investigation report into a loss of cargo and a person who fell overboard in Frobisher Bay, Nunavut, on October 27, 2023.
On the said date, the barge Tasijuaq was being used for transshipping cargo from the vessel Sivumut to the port of Iqaluit in Nunavut with the assistance of tugs. During the operation, the barge began to capsize, sending one crewmember and 23 containers into the water.
Eight minutes later, the crewmember was recovered and taken to a local hospital for medical attention. Sixteen containers were later retrieved.
As part of its investigation, the TSB performed a stability assessment of Tasijuaq and found that it was operating beyond its stability limits, compromising its ability to right itself.
While the barge had not undergone a stability assessment, and was not required to by regulation, the operating company did have a structural arrangement plan indicating the maximum allowable deck load.
However, this plan was kept onshore, and the limits were not communicated to the crew. Without this information, the crew relied solely on previous experience to determine safe operating limits.
The investigation also determined that procedures for transshipment operations within the company’s safety management system (SMS) were limited and dispersed across multiple documents, and that informal operational practices had developed over time, reducing safety margins.
Following the occurrence, the operating company took several safety actions including developing third‑party loading guides for its barges, adding a transshipment procedures manual to its SMS, and installing recovery devices on the tugs.
More information can be found on the TSB's investigation page.