Transportation Safety Board of Canada says hydrodynamic forces caused Welland Canal collision in 2020

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says hydrodynamic forces caused a Canadian cargo vessel to veer off course on the Welland Canal and hit another ship.

The collision between McKeil Marine’s Florence Spirit and the dship Carriers Alanis happened on July 11, 2020, near Mile 16 in the Welland Canal. Both vessels sustained extensive structural damage to their hulls. No pollution or injuries were reported.

At the time the Florence Spirit was headed toward Lake Ontario while Alanis was headed toward Lake Eerie. The Transportation Safety Board says in its report that an exchange of short, informal instant messages between the master of the Florence Spirit and the pilot of the Alanis influenced the Florence Spirit’s speed and course alteration decisions.

The safety board says the communication contributed to the master’s attention being diverted from coordinating the meeting with his own bridge team and excluded other bridge team members from having safety-critical information. In addition, diffused responsibility between the master and piloting master on the Florence Spirit precluded coordination and communication between the bridge team members of the Florence Spirit, which affected their ability to monitor the vessel’s progress and detect the effect of hydrodynamic forces acting on the vessel.

The Florence Spirit collided with Alanis at a maximum permissible speed of 9.9 knots, which increased the hydrodynamic forces acting on the vessel and reduced the ability to maintain steering control. The safety board says hydrodynamic forces generated, combined with the proximity of the bank, produced a yawing moment which made the vessel yaw uncontrollably to port into the path of the Alanis and collided with it.