NTSB reports on tanker allision with bridge

Allision damage to the Overseas Reymar’s aft starboard side

DECEMBER 27, 2013 — The National Transportation Safety Board has published a Marine Accident Brief on the January 7, 2013 allision of the 752 ft tanker Overseas Reymar with the San Francisco‒Oakland Bay Bridge.

The accident occurred at 1118 local time when the ship allided with the fendering system of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge’s Echo tower. The vessel was outbound in San Francisco Bay. No one was injured and no pollution was reported. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $220,000, and the cost to repair the Echo tower’s fendering system was estimated at $1.4 million.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Overseas Reymar allision with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was the pilot’s decision to alter course from the CD span to the DE span without sufficient time to avoid alliding with the bridge’s Echo tower, and the master’s failure to properly oversee the pilot by engaging in a phone conversation during a critical point in the transit.

You can read the full accident brief HERE