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Matters of Interest
updated Thursday, October 30, 2008 ..
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BALTIMORE 31 January - The 28 February 2007 grounding of the bulker' Montrose'
off Baltimore has been blamed by the Coast Guard on pilot
fatigue. A report issued yesterday says, "When the Montrose grounded at
the mouth of the Choptank River, the pilot was either asleep or had, as written
in his statement to investigators, 'lost attention', and did not
see the expected waypoint."
The 75,592dwt vessel, which was en route from Baltimore to Romania, grounded
after failing to make a critical turn in the outbound channel. It was pulled
free without injuries or damage several days later after 7,100 tonnes of the
vessel's cargo of 74,000 tonnes of coal was lightered.
In explaining the pilot's fatigue, the USCG essentially said he had not had
enough sleep the night before the incident. "The pilot awoke at 0600 the
day before the incident and expended considerable energy in taking care of personal
and family affairs. He did not go to sleep until 2000 on February 27 and was
awoken
at 2300 to report for the Montrose transit. His typical rest period is six-plus
hours of sleep; however, he had only had three hours of sleep
prior to commencing transit ."
This article appreared first in Fairplay
Lloyd's Register - Fairplay web links
A Background History of Europilots.
Extract from the Donaldson Report "Safer Ships
Cleaner Seas"
page updated February 12, 2008
