NTSB reports on ITB allision with USCG buoy tender

Damaged port bulwark plating and frames of Sycamore

​FEBRUARY 26, 2015 — The National Transportation Safety Board has published a report on  the July 28, 2013 allision in Cordova, Alaska, of the Bering Marine  ITB Krystal Sea/Cordova Provider and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore, a 225 ft buoy tender.

The NTSB says the ITB, with four crew members on board, was maneuvering to dock at the Alaska Marine Lines pier in Cordova, when the bow ramp of the barge struck the moored U.S. Coast Guard cutter Sycamore at the adjacent pier at 6.16 a.m. The Sycamore, with 11 crew members on board, suffered about $244,000 in damage. The Cordova Provider’s bow ramp sustained about $5,000 in damage. No injuries or pollution were reported.

Probable Cause

The NTSB determines that the probable cause of the allision was the loss of directional control of one of the tug’s two azimuthing stern drive propulsion units during an unsuccessful attempt by the Krystal Sea’s new captain to transfer from autopilot to manual control while approaching the intended dock.Contributing to the accident was the lack of function-testing of manual steering and propulsion control after disengaging the autopilot at a distance from the dock sufficient to allow time for corrective action.

Read the report HERE