60 SUOMEN MERENKULKU ■ FINLANDS SJÖFART THE GLOBAL SEAFARER Accident investigators have found that the crews of the 18,957dwt bulker Aviator and the 49,999dwt tanker Atlantic Grace failed to use all available means to assess the risk of collision and to take positive action to avoid it. The two ships – both in ballast at the time – collided in the Gulf of Kutch, off the north west coast of India, in November 2021 even though one vessel had first spotted the other 8nm away and 20 minutes before the collision. Although no one was injured, it took more than a week for salvage teams to separate the two ships and the bulker was later declared a total loss. Investigators said both bridge teams were aware of the relative position of the other ship for at least a quarter of an hour before the accident but neither had used equipment such as ARPAs to determine the risk of collision. The two ships had approached each other at a combined speed of Lack of oversight ‘Ineffective’ navigation and failure to properly supervise watchkeeping officers have been blamed for a collision off the coast of India, writes ANDREW LININGTON. 24 knots, with avoiding action being taken only one minute before the collision. A report published by the Marshall Islands maritime administrator notes that both ships were operating in autopilot until a few minutes before the collision, even though Aviator’s standing orders required hand steering when within 3nm of another ship and Atlantic Grace’s safety management system required hand steering within 25nm of land. It says the masters of both ships had failed to properly supervise their watchkeeping officers, spending most of the time leading up to the collision doing chartwork behind the bridge curtains. The bulk carrier’s officer of the watch (OOW) was on his first contract as a junior officer and the tanker’s OOW had only two years’ experience as a third officer and was on his first trip on an Anglo Eastern ship. Investigators said the Hong Kong-flagged tanker’s bridge team appeared to have been aware of a VHF message from the Gulf of
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