NTSB: New Delhi Express grounding could have been avoided

NTSB: New Delhi Express grounding could have been avoided    U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said Wednesday that the grounding of a Hapag-Lloyd containership in 2006 in New York Harbor could have been prevented.
   The NTSB said 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,' a narrow waterway that separates Staten Island from New Jersey and leads to the port's major marine terminals.
   Failure of both the docking and Sandy Hook pilot on the ship 'to practice good bridge resource management' contributed to the cause of the grounding, the NTSB said.
   'This accident could have been prevented if previously issued safety recommendations regarding bridge resource management had been implemented,' Rosenker said. '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.'
   The containership arrived at the entrance of New York Harbor on April 15, 2006 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 just after passing under the Bayonne Bridge. The ship 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 or oil spill.
   Robert Pouch, executive director of the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York, and Charles Licata, executive director of the New Jersey Maritime Pilot and Docking Commission both said they wanted to see the full NTSB report and complete their own investigations before commenting. The Coast Guard is also investigating the incident.
   Licata said the New Jersey investigation was taking longer than is usual to complete, because some of the raw data has not been available while the NTSB did its investigation.
   It was noted that a buoy just west of the Bayonne Bridge that is normally in deep water was apparently off station and over the ledge. Also, the channel was smaller than normal because of dredging work taking place near the bridge.
   The NTSB said the Coast Guard should disseminate information 'to appropriate personnel, emphasizing the need to verify all buoy positioning data during routine position checks and during buoy redeployments.'
   The NTSB also told the state commissions to 'require your harbor and docking pilots to take part in recurrent joint training exercises that emphasize the concept and procedures of bridge resource management.'
   But Licata and Pouch noted both men had competed bridge management training.