NTSB

The flooding and sinking of fishing vessel North American in Seattle, Washington, USA was a result of hull corrosion, said the National Transportation Safety Board.

What happened

On May 14, 2024, about 0550 local time, vessel representatives for the fishing vessel North American, which was uncrewed and docked on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, in Seattle, Washington, were notified that the vessel was flooding.

Salvors arrived on scene and attempted to dewater the vessel Continue reading “Hull corrosion sank fishing vessel”

A corroded cooling supply pipe caused US$1 million worth of damage to a sailing school ship after the vessel’s engine room flooded, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

What happened

About 2200 on May 10, 2025, the sailing school vessel Oliver Hazard Perry started taking on water while moored at Fort Adams State Park dock in Newport, Rhode Island. At about 0730 the following morning, a crewmember was awoken by an alarm and discovered the flooding. An estimated 21,000 gallons of seawater entered the engine room and the forward auxiliary machine space. Continue reading “Pipe failure cause of Oliver Hazard Perry flooding”

Heavy weather and an improperly secured cargo of lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) units led to two fires on board the cargo vessel Genius Star XI – causing $3.8 million in damages, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

What happened

​On December 25, 2023, at 0830, while the cargo vessel Genius Star XI was transiting the North Pacific Ocean in heavy weather with a cargo of lithium-ion battery energy storage system units on board, a fire was discovered in a cargo hold. Continue reading “NTSB says lithium-ion batteries caused Genius Star XI fires”

​​​The US National Transportation Safety Board said a single loose wire on the Dali containership caused an electrical blackout that led to the vessel hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which then collapsed, killing six highway workers.

At a public meeting, investigators said the loose wire in the ship’s electrical system caused a breaker to unexpectedly open – beginning a sequence of events that led to two vessel blackouts and a loss of both propulsion and steering near the 2.37-mile-long Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Investigators found that wire-label banding prevented the wire from being fully inserted into a terminal block spring-clamp gate, causing an inadequate connection. Continue reading “NTSB: loose wire on containership Dali led to Scott Key Bridge collision”

The US National Transportation Safety Board has said a steering control system component failure on a multi-purpose carrier was the cause of a collision with a bulk carrier in the Houston Ship Channel. The multi-purpose carrier BBC Africa lost steering as it was departing the channel on August 25, 2023, and struck the moored bulk carrier Common Faith. No injuries or pollution were reported. Damage to the vessels was estimated at $1.1 million.

​The crew told investigators they did not find any issues with the steering control systems during the pre-departure tests. Continue reading “Component failure cause of BBC Africa collision according to NTSB”

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said in a report that inoperable battery management systems was the probable cause of a fire on yacht Flagship last year.

What Happened

​On April 28, 2024, at 1031 local time, a fire started on board the uncrewed yacht Flagship while it was docked at an enclosed bay of a shipyard on the Miami River in Miami, Florida. Shoreside firefighters moved the vessel to a nearby sea wall, where they extinguished the fire. The vessel eventually sank at the sea wall. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. The Flagship was declared a total loss, valued at $5 million.

Continue reading “NTSB report says lithium-ion battery bank cause of yacht fire”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said a catastrophic engine failure led to a fire aboard a towing vessel, Johnny M, on the Tennessee River last year.

An engine-room fire broke out on January 30, 2024, aboard the towing vessel Johnny M, which was pushing four barges on the Tennessee River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky. The six crewmembers aboard were unable to extinguish the fire using the CO2 fixed-fire-extinguishing system and abandoned ship to a Good Samaritan vessel. Continue reading “NTSB report on fire on board towing vessel Johnny M”