FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2007 SB-07-29
NTSB DETERMINES PILOT'S MANEUVERING ERROR CAUSED 2006 NEW DELHI EXPRESS ACCIDENT IN NEW YORK HARBOR
Washington, DC -- The National Transportation Safety Board today determined that the probable cause of the grounding of the New Delhi Express was the error of the docking pilot in not using all available resources to determine the vessel's position as he navigated the Kill Van Kull waterway.
Contributing to the cause of the grounding was the failure
of both pilots to practice good bridge resource management.
"This accident could have been prevented if the pilots on the vessel had exercised proper bridge resource management," said NTSB Chairman Mark V.
Rosenker. "Since 1974, the Safety Board has investigated
numerous accidents where the officers on the bridge and
pilots failed to function as a team and we have issued
numerous recommendations to prevent these types of
accidents."
On April 15, 2006, the container ship New Delhi Express
arrived at the entrance of New York Harbor after a
transatlantic voyage. Aboard the vessel were a master, 21
crewmembers, three passengers, and a Sandy Hook pilot. A
docking pilot boarded the vessel near Kill Van Kull and
assumed the navigational control. The ship was traveling
westbound in zero visibility fog when it struck a submerged
ledge, took on water through a hull breach caused by the
impact and ran aground in the waterway. At the time of the
accident, the docking pilot was navigating the vessel. Two
of the three tugs assisting the ship were also damaged.
There were no fatalities or injuries.
As a result of this accident, the safety Board made the following recommendations:
To the U.S. Coast Guard:
1. Use the circumstances of this accident related to the improper redeployment of buoy 14 in Kill Van Kull waterway as a "lesson learned" and disseminate the information to appropriate personnel, emphasizing the need to verify all buoy positioning data during routine position checks and during buoy redeployments.
To State Commissions whose harbor pilots work with docking pilots:
2. Require your harbor and docking pilots
to take part in recurrent joint training
exercises that emphasize the concept and
procedures of bridge resource management.
A synopsis of the Board's report, including the probable
cause and recommendations, is available on the Board's
website, www.ntsb.gov, under "Board Meetings." The Board's
full report will be available on the website in several
weeks.
NTSB Public Affairs: Terry N. Williams
(202) 314-6100
williat@ntsb.gov.
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