Polesie

The collision of the 'Polesie' with the 'Verity' was “wholly unavoidable”, according to the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report into the incident. The 'Polesie' was bound for Spain from Hamburg, loaded with a grain of cargo, and the 'Verity' was on a journey to the UK from Bremen carrying a cargo of steel coils. The ships collided on Oct 24, 2023, at 04.55 a.m. in the German Bight. The 'Verity' began to sink by its bow, listed to starboard, then heeled severely. The ship sank within five minutes of the collision, a speed which did not allow the crew to prepare to abandon ship or deploy lifesaving appliances, the report said. When the 'Verity' was salvaged in two pieces the following year, the starboard side of the hull was found to have a large breach through number three side and double bottom ballast tanks and the ship’s single cargo hold. Three of the steel coils had punched through the cargo bulkhead and were found in the forwarded deck store and hold entrance shaft. The MAIB found that the actions of both vessels and the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) German Bight Traffic all contributed to the collision. While the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) do not stipulate “a safe passing distance”, the MAIB noted that the closest point of approach (CPA) for the two vessels was 0.19 nm when the 'Verity' entered the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), and never exceeded 0.53 nm despite course alterations by both ships. Court judgements give guidance on minimum safe passing distances of 1 nm when passing ahead and 0.5 nm when passing on reciprocal courses. The MAIB said the watchkeepers were willing to accept inappropriately close passing distances, and that when actions were taken to avoid a collision they were neither positive, made in ample time nor readily apparent to others. The first recorded evidence that a risk of collision had been identified was a VHF call to the 'Verity' from VTS at 0450 a.m., when VTS shared concerns over the very small CPA. "The 'Polesie'’s Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) showed that the Officer On Watch (OOW) was very passive in their monitoring of other traffic in the vicinity… it was not until after the VTS assistant’s first call to Polesie, which completed at about 0452, that the OOW selected Verity’s AIS icon on the radar” As the 'Verity' was lost, did not have a VDR and its OOW died, MAIB could not determine whether the ship’s OOW was aware of Polesie or actively monitoring the CPA. The investigators found that actions to avoid collision were made in small increments using the autopilot, limiting the rates of turn and making the actions harder to read by VTS and other vessels. Under rule 15 of COLREGs,The ' Verity' was required to take early and substantial action to keep clear of Polesie, but actions onboard both vessels contributed to the collision. In its immediate investigation following the incident, the MAIB had found certain key personnel were unwilling to co-operate with its investigation. "The key crew witnesses of Polesie, and the administrators of, and staff at, German Bight Traffic, could have provided critical evidence but were either unwilling or unable to, or prevented from expanding on their initial recollections, delivered in difficult circumstances, or providing other information to the investigators," the report said. Under German law, witnesses are entitled to not answer questions that might incriminate them, but MAIB stressed that its investigations are not to determine liability or apportion blame. When witnesses choose not to give evidence in incident investigations, lessons may be missed that could otherwise lead to regulatory and safety improvements. The MAIB said that recommendations had been made to both shipping companies to remind their ships’ crews to comply with COLREGs and the standards for keeping a safe navigational watch. The Isle of Man Ship Registry has been recommended to propose to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) extensions to the voyage data recorder carriage requirements, as Verity was not required to carry a VDR due to being under 3,000 GT and built before 2002.

Almost two years after the collision of the "Verity" and the 'Polesie', the investigation into the accident has been completed. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) in Southampton, UK, conducted the investigation with the support of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Accident Investigation in Hamburg. The report can be presented to the public in October at the earliest, as the parties involved now have 30 days to comment on the findings. The investigation by the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office is still ongoing in parallel. Apparently, the two ships, the "Verity" coming from Bremen and heading for Immingham, and the "Polesie" coming from Hamburg, heading for La Coruña, attempted to evade the collision. However, the maneuvers of both ships could no longer prevent a collision, the Federal Bureau of Maritime Accident Investigation reported. The central focus of the investigation was why the two freighters noticed each other so late in the busy sea area. The Federal Bureau of Maritime Accident Investigation (BMI) attributed the lengthy investigation period to the complexity of the incident. In the weeks following the accident, the German side participated in the inspections on board the "Verity" and "Polesie" and participated in the interviews with all crew members. The wreckage was inspected, and data from the "Polesie"'s voyage data recorder, as well as radar and radio recordings from the Wilhelmshaven Traffic Control Center, were analyzed. The agency's comparatively limited staffing levels could also play a role.

Currently in Grundartangi harbor, Iceland. February 27-Mar 1, 2011.