NTSB makes Important Recommendations for Houston Ship Channel Safety

Our Houston maritime accident attorneys recently noted the upcoming Board Meeting of the U.S. NTSB to make a maritime accident report regarding the collision of the tanker ship Elka Apollon with the container ship MSC Nederland. The NTSB has released its findings in the collision and we have included relevant excerpts below.

The NTSB’s conclusions and recommendations regarding the maritime accident have important safety implications for the busy Port of Houston and the Houston Ship Channel in which the collision occurred.

In case you are unfamiliar with the maritime accident, the Houston maritime accident attorneys at Denena & Points present a brief summary. In the morning on October 29, 2011, Greek-flagged tanker ship Elka Apollon was outbound in the Houston Ship Channel heading for Freeport, Texas. Panamanian-flagged container ship MSC Nederland was inbound on the Bayport Ship Channel to the Bayport Container Terminal.

Pilots of the two vessels agreed to pass each other at the Bayport flare, just south of the intersection of the two channels. A tug with a barge, the Mr. Earl, happened to be in the vicinity at the point the vessels met.

During their maneuvers at the intersection point, the Elka Apollon was caught by the Houston Ship Channel’s bank effect. The bank effect pulled the Elka Apollon across the centerline of the channel, where it struck the Nederland’s port side. Our Houston maritime accident attorneys mention that no fatalities resulted from the Houston Ship Channel collision, but millions of dollars in property damages did result.

The NTSB’s conclusions regarding the collision of the tanker ship Elka Apollon with the container ship MSC Nederland:

• The following were not factors in this accident: weather and environmental conditions, visibility, aids to navigation, vessel propulsion and steering systems, and use of alcohol or illegal drugs.
• The combination of the narrow waterway, bank effects at the Bayport flare, traffic density, and vessel speed increased the challenges for the pilot on the Elka Apollon in a waterway with a limited margin for error. (Our Houston maritime accident attorneys point out that the Houston Ship Channel is narrow, but heavily trafficked, which reduces the margins for piloting errors for each vessel.)
• The pilot on the Elka Apollon and the captain of the Mr. Earl should have exercised prudent seamanship by communicating with each other about their intentions and taking early and sufficient action to avoid their subsequent close-quarters situation.
• The conning pilot on the Elka Apollon did not appropriately respond to the varying hydrodynamic forces (bank effects) affecting the vessel during its transit of the Bayport flare, resulting in the pilot’s inability to alter the Elka Apollon’s course sufficiently to avoid the collision with the MSC Nederland.
• Given the presence of the Elka Apollon, a deep-draft tanker, the captain of the towboat Mr. Earl should not have turned into the Houston Ship Channel barge lane as the Elka Apollon was passing.
• The timing of the rudder commands of the pilot of the Elka Apollon suggest that the close-quarters situation that later developed with the Mr. Earl was not a factor in the collision with the MSC Nederland.
• The actions of the pilot navigating the MSC Nederland were appropriate and effective in reducing the amount of damage sustained by both vessels.
• The response to the accident by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston, including the Vessel Traffic Service, was timely and appropriate.
• A U.S. Coast Guard policy to mitigate traffic congestion in precautionary areas of the Houston Ship Channel would enhance safety.
• Because precautionary areas are not currently identified on Houston Ship Channel navigation charts, mariners may be unaware of the existence and location of these areas.

The NTSB has ascribed the cause of the collision of the tanker ship Elka Apollon with the container ship MSC Nederland to the inappropriate response of the pilot of the Elka Apollon to changes in bank effect forces as the vessel transited the Bayport flare. Our Houston maritime accident attorneys note that the pilot’s inappropriate responses caused the tanker ship Elka Apollon to inevitably veer across the centerline of the Houston Ship Channel and into the MSC Nederland’s port side.

The NTSB also concluded that the combination of the narrow ship channel waterway, the bank effects at the Bayport flare, and traffic density at the time of the collision increased the challenges of navigating in a waterway with a limited margin for error and helped cause the maritime accident.

The Houston maritime accident attorneys are pleased to note that the review of the maritime accident in the Houston Ship Channel has led the NTSB to make some important and much-needed safety recommendations for the congested shipping area.

The NTSB recommends that the U.S. Coast Guard develop and implement a policy to ensure an adequate separation between the many vessels operating in the Bayport Channel and the Bolivar Roads Precautionary Areas (two areas particularly prone to accidents in the ship channel) and any other similarly configured precautionary areas in the Houston Ship Channel. The NTSB also recommends that the Coast Guard graphically delineate precautionary areas on appropriate Houston Ship Channel nautical charts so that they are readily identifiable to mariners and vessels have a better chance of avoiding maritime accidents.

The Houston maritime accident attorneys at Denena & Points are dedicated to the goal of helping to prevent Houston Ship Channel accidents and to aiding those seamen who suffer injuries from the periodic collisions and other accidents that occur there. Injured seamen can contact us toll free by phone or using our convenient online contact features to schedule a free legal consultation regarding injuries they have suffered on the job.

The hope of the Houston maritime accident attorneys at Denena & Points is that NTSB’s recommendations might lead to increased safety for all who use the congested Houston Ship Channel. If you are unfamiliar with the term “bank effect” that played such an important role in the collision of the tanker ship Elka Apollon with the container ship MSC Nederland, click here to read our FAQ.