NTSB -- NTSB FINAL REPORT ON ALLISION OF ORANGE SUN AND DREDGE

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NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 9, 2008

SB-09-65

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NTSB CITES ACTIONS BY BRIDGE CREW AS PROBABLE CAUSE OF

ALLISION OF THE ORANGE SUN WITH THE DREDGE NEW YORK

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The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that

the probable cause of the January 24, 2008 allision of the

MV Orange Sun with the dredge New York was the master's

failure to appropriately use bridge resource management and

to communicate; specifically, to familiarize his bridge crew

with and inform the pilot of the vessel's occasional

tendency to sheer, a characteristic that he had personally

experienced.

Contributing to the accident were the inappropriate

starboard rudder movements made by both the helmsman and the

master, which interfered with the pilot's ability to take

appropriate action to prevent the accident. Also

contributing was the second officer's failure to accomplish

his primary duty as officer of the watch, which was to

properly monitor the helmsman, the Board found.

The 672-foot-long Liberia-registered fruit juice carrier

Orange Sun, operated by the Swiss shipping line Atlanship,

struck the dredge New York while the juice carrier was

outbound under pilotage in Newark Bay, New Jersey. The

dredge was moored off the main shipping channel and about to

begin dredging operations.

The Orange Sun's navigation watch consisted of a docking

pilot, a master, a second officer, and a helmsman. About 25

minutes into the transit, as the Orange Sun approached the

dredge, the pilot ordered a slight alteration of course and

a speed reduction. The helmsman experienced difficulty

trying to steady the ship on the ordered course. He and the

master then made several wheel inputs to try to correct the

vessel's heading, including some that the pilot had not

ordered. The actions by the helmsman and the master allowed

the ship to sheer towards the dredge and strike it. No one

was injured in the accident.

After the accident, the master informed the pilot that he

had previously experienced similar problems while

maneuvering the Orange Sun.

As a result of this accident, the Safety Board made a

recommendation to Atlanship to provide its officers

recurrent training in the principles of bridge resource

management that encourage and emphasize correct and

unambiguous communication, information management, role

responsibility, and contingency planning.

A summary of the findings of the Board's report is available

on the NTSB's website at

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2009/MAR0903.htm.

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NTSB Media Contact:

Terry Williams

(202)314-6100

terry.williams@xxxxxxxx

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