COLUMN | A fatal capsizing in the UK and why it should serve as a wake-up call for the tug industry [Tug Times]

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

My own enjoyment of the festivities was dampened slightly by my choice of reading matter, because I finally got around to reading the MAIB report into the capsize of the tug Biter on the River Clyde in February 2023 in an accident that claimed the lives of both men who were on board at the time.

The accident must have been particularly painful for the shipping community on the Clyde, who will still recall the tragic loss of the tug Flying Phantom from similar causes less than 20 years ago.

According to the MAIB report, Biter capsized because it was unable to reverse direction to operate directly astern of the ship it was assisting before weight came on the towing bridle. When this happened, the gob rope was unable to withstand the force applied and started to render, so the tug was towed sideways and capsized within seconds.

Tugmaster George Taft (65) and deckhand Ian Catterson (73) were experienced mariners who held all the necessary qualifications and had attended regular training courses.

The MAIB stated that the ship’s speed at the time, at just over four knots, resulted in the load on the towlines being two to five times more than if it had been within the port’s recommended speed range. In addition, the rapid capsize left the crew no time to operate the emergency tow release mechanism.

As you would expect, the investigators looked at various aspects including pilot and tug training, communication between the parties, local towing guidelines, and risk assessments. A number of sensible recommendations were made.

As always, they seek to learn lessons so that similar accidents can be prevented in the future.

Organisations like the MAIB and the NTSB in the United States carefully avoid blaming people in their investigations (they leave that to the lawyers) but there are a couple of passages in the report that almost amount to banging everyone's heads together and telling them they must raise their game.

First, they include the shocking fact that, since 1998, they have investigated eight tug capsizes and point out that all involved conventional tugs. A total of nine lives were lost in those accidents. As an industry, we must do better, and I think the MAIB is telling us that in no uncertain terms.

Secondly, the report includes several diagrams and extracts from Tug Use In Port – A Practical Guide by Captain Henk Hensen. Perhaps the most telling is the following statement:

"During a certain phase of manoeuvring, it may be necessary for a ship with headway to have the port or starboard quarter tug move astern of the ship to assist in steering or speed control.....This manoeuvre is dangerous to conventional tugs when carried out at too high a ship’s speed. This is at speeds of more than about three knots.....The gob rope system should be strong enough and fully reliable, otherwise such a manoeuvre becomes really dangerous for the tug."

And there you have it. The information is out there, but people are still ignoring it. I suggest the MAIB is becoming frustrated and is making an effort to shame people into taking these matters seriously.

I have stated several times that Tug Use In Port should be in the wheelhouse of every tug and on the desk of every tug manager. Perhaps I should have added that people should be forced to read it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the good people over at the NTSB are dealing with another case where fatigue contributed to an accident, and I wondered if they were close to losing patience with what I consider to be the under-manning on many tugs in the United States.

It turns out the NTSB are quite proactive in publishing Safety Research Reports on various aspects of transportation safety, and have a searchable database, so I typed in "fatigue" and found it is mentioned 4,679 times, including in 92 different marine accident reports. With so many cases, I imagined there would be Safety Research Reports on the topic, so I tried to find them.

I found reports on parasailing safety, safety of parachute jump operations, curbside motorcoach safety, pedal misapplication in heavy vehicles, and even a report about truck parking areas, but nothing about fatigue for at least the past quarter of a century.

What a shame!