The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (Statens Haverikommission; SHK) has completed its investigation into a passenger ferry grounding incident that occurred in Gothenburg on November 9, 2023.
At 06:00 local time on the said date, the ferry Vipan departed from the Saltholmen ferry terminal in Gothenburg to its final destination of Vrångö. On board was only the crew of three people, and it was rainy, windy and still dark outside.
After leaving the lighted harbor and as the vessel entered the dark fairway, the master found the light from two instruments to his left to be blinding. He began to dim the instruments and at the same time, the ship went off course.
At 06:03, the ferry ran aground at a speed of just under 16 knots at Lerholmen, only a few hundred metres from the ferry terminal. No injuries were reported, and the rescue operation was completed at 07:27.
The SHK said the accident was caused by the fact that the risks on the bridge, in terms of the location and ease of use of the various instruments, had not been identified and thus not properly addressed. In connection with the handling of the instruments, the master had failed to notice the ship´s heading.
An additional reason was that the automatic steering did not provide any clear feedback that alerted the helm operator when the operating mode switched between automatic and manual steering.
The measures taken by the shipping company after the accident are considered sufficient and SHK sees no need to make any recommendations.
