Capsize and sinking of cement carrier Cemfjord with loss of 8 lives

Location: The Pentland Firth, Scotland.

Accident Investigation Report 8/2016

Investigation report into marine accident including what happened, safety lessons and recommendations:

MAIB investigation report 8-2016: Cemfjord

Annexes to MAIB investigation report 8-2016

Video summarising the accident and lessons identified by our investigation:

MAIB investigation for Cemfjord

Summary

On 2 January 2015 and when fully laden, the Cyprus registered cement carrier Cemfjord capsized in extremely violent sea conditions in the Pentland Firth. The rapid nature of the capsize denied the crew an opportunity to issue a distress message or the chance to conduct a controlled abandonment of the vessel.

Cemfjord upturned hull

Safety Issues

  • Passage planning requires that all hazards are taken into account and avoided; the extraordinarily violent and fatal sea conditions encountered in the Pentland Firth were predictable and could have been avoided

  • As well as insufficient passage planning, the master’s decision to press ahead with the voyage, rather than seek shelter, was almost certainly influenced by an underestimation of the severity of the conditions, his personal determination to succeed and an unwillingness to turn the vessel across the heavy sea

  • It is likely that Cemfjord’s stability condition did not meet the required criteria making the vessel more vulnerable to capsize. An accurate stability assessment is vital for every passage

  • Cemfjord was at sea with significant safety shortcomings; there is no evidence that any consideration was given to delaying departure until these problems were fixed; instead, Flag State exemptions from safety regulations were approved to allow the ship to proceed to sea

Recommendations

The MAIB has made a series of safety recommendations to the vessel’s managers, Flag State and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency intended to improve the safety management of cement carriers and also review the safety arrangements in the Pentland Firth.

Updates to this page

Published 21 April 2016