NTSB Report out on NYC Container Ship Grounding

By John Konrad On May 31, 2007

Our favorite email newsletter Maritime Executive (better known as MarEx) brings us the NTSB report on the New Delhi Express Accident in New York Harbor. The main cause: a lack of bridge team management.

“This accident could have been prevented if previously issued safety recommendations regarding bridge resource management had been implemented,” said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “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.”

On April 15, 2006, the container ship New Delhi Express arrived at the entrance of New York Harbor 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, 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.

Read MarEx’s full story on this incident to get the details: LINK

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About The Author

John Konrad

Captain John Konrad is co-founder of Unofficial Networks, Editor In Chief of this blog and author of the book Fire On The Horizon. He is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and, since graduating from SUNY Maritime College, has sailed a variety of ships from ports around the world. John currently lives in Morro Bay, California with his wife and two children.