Report on the investigation of the foundering of the fishing vessel Piedras

MAIB

78 nautical miles south-west of Mizen Head, Ireland on 1 June 2022

 

MAIBInvReport 5/2024 - Piedras - Very Serious Marine Casualty

 

SAFETY FLYER TO THE FISHING INDUSTRY

Flooding, capsize and foundering of the stern trawler Piedras (FD528), 78 nautical miles south-west of Mizen Head, Ireland on 1 June 2022 Narrative At 1234 on 1 June 2022, the UK registered stern trawler Piedras capsized and sank about 78 nautical miles south-west of Mizen Head, Ireland, following an uncontrolled ingress of seawater into the engine room that started during fishing operations. The crew first became aware of the flood at about 0600, but the source of the flooding was not determined and their attempts to pump out the floodwater were unsuccessful.

The skipper of Piedras had contacted a nearby fishing vessel Armaven Uno and, over 2 hours into the flood, sent an undesignated distress message via the Global Marine Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). Deciding that the vessel was lost, the skipper of Piedras gave the order to abandon ship.

The abandonment was hampered as one of its two liferafts failed to function correctly. Fortunately, the second liferaft was successfully deployed and used by the 11 crew members. By 0949, the crew of Armaven Uno had rescued the entire crew of Piedras from the liferaft. Piedras eventually capsized and sank to the seabed. Piedras Image courtesy of Irish Air Corps Extract from The United Kingdom Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 – Regulation 5: “The sole objective of the investigation of an accident under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 shall be the prevention of future accidents through the ascertainment of its causes and circumstances. It shall not be the purpose of an such investigation to determine liability nor, except so far as is necessary to achieve its objective, to apportion blame.”

NOTE

This safety flyer is not written with litigation in mind and, pursuant to Regulation 14(14) of the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012, shall be inadmissible in any judicial proceedings whose purpose, or one of whose purposes is to attribute or apportion liability or blame. © Crown copyright, 2024 You may re-use this document/publication (not including departmental or agency logos) free of charge in any format or medium. You must re-use it accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and you must give the title of the source publication. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

 

Safety lessons

1. The crew of Piedras were alerted to the flood by the engine room bilge alarm but recovered their trawl before fully investigating the flood source. Floods are dangerous and should be dealt with immediately; early identification of a flood source provides the best opportunity to stop the leak and pump out floodwater. Securing watertight doors and hatches in the closed position can help to keep a vessel afloat, even if one compartment is flooded. The Fishermen’s Safety Guide1, published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, details what actions to take in the event of a flood.

 

2. The skipper of Piedras sent the initial requests for help using WhatsApp, which limited the options for assistance and rescue to just one vessel. Sending an early distress message via GMDSS gives the best opportunity to alert rescue teams and receive external help and resources such as salvage pumps. Very high frequency radio calls and the use of handheld, parachute, and smoke flares can be an efficient way of indicating distress to nearby vessels that might have missed the original GMDSS messages.

3. The multinational crew of Piedras crew were unable to understand the vessel’s safety documents, including risk assessments, which were not available in their native language. It is essential that safety critical information can be understood by everyone on board.

Lecciones de seguridad

1. La tripulación del Piedras fue alertada de la inundación por la alarma de la sentina de la sala de máquinas, pero recuperó su red de arrastre antes de investigar a fondo el origen de la inundación.

 

Las inundaciones son peligrosas y deben la fuga y bombear el agua de la inundación. Asegurar las puertas y escotillas estancas en posición cerrada puede ayudar a mantener la embarcación a flote, incluso si se inunda un compartimento.

La pronta identificación de la fuente de la inundación ofrece la mejor oportunidad para detener la fuga y bombear el agua de la inundación.

La Guía de seguridad de los Pescadores1, publicada por la Agencia Marítima y de Guardacostas, detalla qué medidas tomar en caso de inundación.

2. El patrón del Piedras envió las solicitudes iniciales de ayuda por WhatsApp, lo que limitó las opciones de asistencia y rescate a una sola embarcación. El envío temprano de un mensaje de socorro a través del SMSSM ofrece la mejor oportunidad para alertar a los equipos de rescate y recibir ayuda externa y recursos externos, como bombas de salvamento. Las llamadas de radio de muy alta frecuencia y el uso de bengalas de mano paracaídas y bengalas de humo pueden ser una forma eficaz de indicar la situación de socorro a los buques cercanos que podrían haber perdido el mensaje original del SMSSM.

3. La tripulación multinacional del Piedras fue incapaz de entender los documentos de seguridad del buque, incluidas las evaluaciones de riesgos, que no estaban disponibles en su lengua materna. Es esencial que la información crítica sobre seguridad pueda ser comprendida por todos a bordo.

 

TRADUCCIÓN REALIZDA CON DEEPL

 

COMENTARIOS DE AEMC

Vigo, ¡otra vez Vigo¡. Capitanía Marítima de Vigo,. Ministerio de Transportes. Tecnoburocracia naval. 

 

Prevaricación, arrogancia, ignorancia y temeridad.

 

Se debería haber cesado a los responsables de una situación hace mucho tiempo.

La política marítima del bipartidismo español es inadmisible en un Estado de Derecho.

Los silencios de complicidad también están contribuyendo a la degradación de la Seguridad de la Vida Humana en la Mar.

El cao "Villa de Pitanxo" aún continúa impunemente en el congelador de la CIAIM 

La Justicia debería ser más rigurosa con los armadores que basan su negocio en el desprecio por la ley y por la vida de sus tripulantes.