ECDIS Assisted Grounding Investigated

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has released its report on the grounding of the chemical tanker, Ovit, on the Varne Bank in the Dover Strait on 18 September 2013.

In the early morning of 18 September 2013, the Malta registered chemical tanker, Ovit, carrying a cargo of vegetable oil, ran aground on the Varne Bank in the Dover Strait. The vessel remained aground for just under three hours; there were no injuries and damage to the vessel was superficial. There was no pollution.

Ovit’s primary means of navigation was an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) and analysis of this system, its installation, training and operation form the backbone of this report. Key safety factors identified were:

The passage plan was unsafe as it passed directly over the Varne Bank. It had been prepared in ECDIS by an inexperienced and unsupervised junior officer and was not checked by the master before departure.

The officer of the watch (OOW) followed the track shown on the ECDIS display but had such poor situational awareness that it took him 19 minutes to realize the vessel was aground.

ECDIS safety settings were not appropriate to the local conditions, and the audible alarm was disabled. After the accident, the historical track could not be recovered from the system.

Dover coastguard’s Channel Navigation Information Service (CNIS) had a system and procedure for warning ships approaching the Varne Bank. However, on this occasion, the warning was not issued to Ovit as the coastguard watch officer operating CNIS was unqualified, unsupervised and distracted.

The full report can be read here.