The 260 TEU Coastal Isle.
The Chief Officer of cargo ship has been fined after his ship ran aground when he apparently fell asleep while going to the head.
The U.K.’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency reports that on July 2, 2012 the Antigua and Barbuda registered cargo ship Coastal Isle was en route from Belfast to Greenock when at 0500hrs it grounded at Garroch Point on the southern coast of the Island of Bute.
Fortunately there were no injuries or pollution and the ship was refloated a few hours later. The ship was taken to Greenock where divers found that the ship had suffered serious damage for about one third of its length and the fore peak tank was ruptured.
In court, the ships Chief Officer, Necati Izmir, admitted to leaving the bridge at about 03.00hrs to go to the toilet and has no recollection of events until after the collision when he was found in his cabin. The Captain later testified that the Chief Officer had been found asleep in his bed.
Read: Cheating Sleep – Tips on How to Stay Awake on Watch
Izmir pleaded guilty at the Sheriff Court in Greenock in November 2012 for failing to safely navigate his ship and on Tuesday was fined a total of £5,000.
Captain Singh Grewal, Area Operations Manager (Survey and Inspection) for the MCA commented: “This was a very serious incident. It could so easily have been a dreadful tragedy but fortunately there were no injuries or pollution.”
At first I was embarrassed for the guy for passing out on the pot, but hitting the rack is inexcusable.
This incident shows that the C/O was alone on bridge and no loukout was insured by an A.B.
And/or the deadman alarm//BNWAS(IMO resolution MCS.128(75)) was not activate!
The headline is misleading. The way it is written, it gives the impression that he lost consciousness as the result of head injury, a serious injury. While falling asleep is a natural, but in this case unacceptable act.
I don't think that real mariners are mislead by the article. The Chief Mate claims he went to the head and feel asleep. All I can say is if you are falling asleep on the shitter then you have some serious fatigue issues. If this is in fact true, then the guy is not getting proper rest, or has a health condition that needs immediate attention. The Master later stated that this individual had been found in his bed after the grounding. I would say that this guy was grossly negligent in the safety of his crew and vessel. In the final analysis of his article there are some serious doubt as to the truth being revealed in this case.