Concerns of a Coastal State

by

Christian Breinholt

Groundings and collisions in the Great Belt

from

1 January 1997 to 1 July 2005

8 years and 6 months

Delimitation of the area

012345

6789

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Number

Facts on the groundings

Red: Collisions

Green: Groundings

Where do the groundings occur?

At Hatter DW route (19 m) 9 At Hatter diagonal route (15 m) 10 At Route T – Elefantgrunden 1 At Route T – Egholm Flak 1 At Route T – Agersø Flak/Vengeancegrund 5 Langelandsbælt DW route (19 meters) 3 At Route H 4 Kerteminde Bugt (Kerteminde Bay) 4 Ships that did not follow the routes 5 Not indicated 4 Total 46

Leveret

Hatter

Resolution MSC.138(76) on recommendation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea entered into force on 1 December 2003.

On ships with draught of 11 m or more

On ships carrying shipment of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive wastes

- when following the established routing system through the entrances to the Baltic Sea (Route T).

The resolution recommends use of pilot:

None of the ships involved in the 46 groundings had a pilot on board

The ship was penetrated over a length of 40 m of the bottom

The oil polluted the coast over a long distance

More than 4,000 seabirds died or had to be put down

The latest oil pollution in the Great Belt took place in January 2005

A pollution response vessel is sent to the scene and remain standby until the grounded ship has been set afloat and there is no longer any risk for pollution.

The ships await the authorisation of the authorities before it may be set afloat or continue its journey.

The Danish authorities detain all grounded ships until it is considered safe for the ships to proceed.

It is often necessary to lighter the ship before tugboats set it afloat

Lightering of a grounded ship lasts up to one week

The maximum period of time that a ship grounded in the Great Belt had to wait before it was set afloat was 30 days

Typically, it is the relevant classification soceity which on behalf of the flag state – sets out the criteria for the ship’s further navigation

Off-hire loss USD 1,450,000

Repair expenses USD 1,000,000

Salvage expenses USD 350,000

Environmental protection USD 30,000

Total USD 2,830,000

Estimated costs of the grounding that took place during last year’s MARE FORUM in St. Petersburg

•The Great Belt is part of the Baltic Sea, which is recognised by the IMO as a particularly sensitive area, highly vulnerable to oil pollution

•There is a high political and public attention on the risk of groundings in the Danish waters, particularly in the narrow straits including the Great Belt

•Further groundings will continue to fuel the negative image that the public has of the shipping industry

Conclusion

Not taking a pilot in accordance with Resolution MSC.138(76) on recommendation on navigation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea is:

• a repellent exploitation of a legal regime established long before any one could imagine the type and size of cargo of today

• detrimental to our common goals on safety and protection of the environment

• and very bad business

Conclusion – continued

www.dma.dk

Safety Study:

Groundings and Collisions in the Great Belt 1997 - 2005

can be downloaded from the DMA’s homepage under Casualty Investigation – Safety Studies