Maritime News | Major Maritime Accidents and Lessons
The following is the National Transportation Safety Board recently released Safer Seas Digest 2020 that summarizes major maritime accidents and lessons learned including the 2017 collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) off Japan and the collision of then-under construction USS Delbert Black (DDG-119).
The 42 marine accidents included in Safer Seas Digest 2020 involved contact with fixed objects, sinkings, collisions, fires, explosions, floodings, groundings, and capsizings. The vessels involved ranged from the small dive boat Conception, on which the loss of life nevertheless rivaled the worst maritime disasters of recent years, to a US Navy destroyer— the second such investigation completed in the last 2 years.
The accidents recounted here resulted in numerous injuries, significant property damage, and worst of all, the loss of crewmembers and passengers. In the fire aboard the Conception alone, 34 lost their lives. This year also saw the conclusion of the investigation of the collision that took 11 lives aboard the Fitzgerald.
These tragedies remind us that whether we are serving in the nation’s armed forces, scuba diving for recreation, fishing on a trawler, or keeping commodities flowing on tankers and freighters, we are all reliant on the safety measures that must be in place before we step aboard.
The NTSB investigates the voyages that go wrong to ensure that future voyages go right, and, drawing from the findings of these accident investigations, we recommend safety improvements to prevent recurrences. It is up to the marine industry and its regulators in the U.S. Coast Guard to act on these recommendations and lessons learned to improve marine safety.
This digest is organized around NTSB investigations that closed in 2020. They represent a snapshot within the ongoing cycle of accidents, NTSB investigations, and safety improvements that ensures that lessons learned result in changes.
Source : USNI News
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