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Report: Deviation from planned route seen as cause of grounding accident

The decision of the master of the 'Stellar Banner' to deviate from the planned route was among the causal factors in what an investigation conducted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator identified as a “very serious” marine casualty. The vessel contacted the bottom after departing from Ponta da Madeira on Feb 24, 2020, laden with 294,871 tonnes of iron ore. The apparent lack of information sharing between the master and the officer-on-watch prevented them from having good overall situational awareness regarding where the ship was, where it was heading, and whether it was approaching any potential hazards to navigation. The vessel, which was bound for Qingdao in China with an expected arrival in early April, was about 40 minutes delayed in departing due to the late arrival of the pilots, with the ship's drafts no more than 21.5m. That was also almost 50 minutes after low tide. The passage plan was not updated. The master had managed the route 10 times before and so “should have known” the tide would be falling when the vessel approached the seaward end of the buoyed channel. The deviation passed within 1 nm of a 20m shoal which was based on limited hydrographic information. Correction factors had not been adequately considered. The ship’s hull was damaged, resulting in flooding of multiple voids and water ballast tanks. “The ship anchored. while the crewmembers assessed the damage and attempted to control the flooding using fixed and portable pumps. After several hours, it was determined that sea water was flooding the damaged voids and tanks faster than the fixed and portable pumps could pump it out. Based on this assessment, the master moved Stellar Banner to shallower water and intentionally grounded the ship on the morning of February 25 2020.” Subsequently salvors removed 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil and 140 tonnes of diesel fuel that had been on board the ship. They then began lightering the ship’s cargo. By May 27, 2020, about 145,000 tonnes of cargo had been lightered and the ship was refloated. The ship was immediately towed and reanchored in deeper water, where a damage survey was conducted. Based on the findings. it was determined that 'Stellar Banner' was a constructive total loss. On June 12, she was scuttled with the remaining cargo on board approximately 55-60 nautical miles northeast of the entrance to the Baía de São Marcos approach channel in more than 2,700 meters of water. All hazardous materials had previously been removed from the ship before it was scuttled. The marine safety investigation conducted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands identified that causal factors that contributed to the casualty included the master’s decisions to deviate from the planned route during the outbound transit of Baía de São Marcos and pass within 1 nautical miles of a 20 meter shoal based on limited hydrographic information provided on the chart. The report also identified ineffective bridge resource management (BRM) during the ship’s outbound transit of Baía de São Marcos and notes that “the company’s navigation watchstanding procedures did not provide clear expectations and guidance regarding the use of BRM by members of the ship’s bridge team when the master has the conn.” The report listed several preventive actions, including a revision of the company's safety management systems, which require masters to conduct safety navigation briefings with any change of course to be approved by shore-based staff. The company, which has also issued operational guidance for this particular section, will be installing 11 closed circuit television cameras on all its vessels.

Damaged vessel will be sunk

After three months and 13 days stranded in São Marcos Bay, the final destination of the 'Stellar Banner' was decided: it will be sunk 150 km off the coast of Maranhão. The salvage team has already started preparing the ship for the sinking. The removal of the remaining oily residues, floating objects and contaminants on board the vessel has also begun. The International Tanker Owners Polution Federation (ITOPF), contracted by the shipping company Polaris Shipping, was monitoring the activities to evaluate good practices related to environmental issues involved in the dumping process. The AHTS 'Bear', the OSRV 'Àgua' of the Brazilian Navy, the OSV 'Normand Installer' and the Patrol Ship 'Guanabara' remained on site to monitor the entire jettisoning process to avoid possible environmental impacts. The Brazilian Navy, through the Command of the 4th Naval District (Com4ºDN), had analyzed the reports of the ship owner Polaris Shipping on the structural inspections carried out by divers and a ROV, pointing out that the bulk carrier must be sunk in deep waters, about 150 km from the coast of Maranhão. On June 3 the ship had been towed to deeper waters, where these analyzes had been done. Since the vessel ran aground on Feb 24, after a maneuver in the vicinity of buoy 1 in the Bay of Sao Marcos, about 145.000 tons of iron ore and 3.900 cubic meters of oil were removed from the vessel. On June 12 the 'Stellar Banner' was scuttled in the Atlantic. Due to the condition of the ship, the decision was made to sink the vessel in deeper waters with any remaining iron ore on board. Authorities did not believe the remaining iron ore poses a threat to the marine environment. The ship went down fast, with huge plumes of red iron ore fines shooting into the sky. The funnel broke off when it submerged bow first and was left bobbing momentarily in a giant ochre circle. Report with video: https://splash247.com/stellar-banner-scuttling-caught-on-dramatic-video/

3.900 cbm oil drained

The oil removal from the 'Stellar Banner' has been completed 100 kilometers off Maranhão by March 27. About 3,900m³ of fuel oil were transferred onto the 'ALP Defender' and 'HOS Brass Ring', which supported the operation. There were no traces of oil in the area. Monitoring has been carried out by aircraft, drones and vessels in the vicinity of the 'Stellar Banner'. The agencies and companies involved remained in close coordination with the Maritime Authority in order to remove the ship as soon as possible, obeying safety rules and procedures, prioritizing the mitigation of risks to pollution and pollution. navigation. On May 8, 40.000 tons of iron ore have been removed from the vessel. The barges 'Leeuw' and 'Jan Blanken' were working on the removal and disposal of the cargo in the dump area. Another 100.000 tons of iron ore must be removed in order to begin the phase of refloating the vessel. The operations took place under the supervision of the support ship 'Iguatemi' of the Brazilian Navy, the Captaincy of the Ports of Maranhão and by the environmental authorities of the State of Maranhão, the Instituto Brazilian Environment and Renewable Natural Resources and the State Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources. On April 30, the bulkcarrier 'Alfred Oldendorff' removed 2,850 tons of iron ore and transferred it to the 'Jan Blanken', which was responsible for dumping the cargo safely. Spanish reports with photos: https://oimparcial.com.br/meio-ambiente/2020/03/retirada-do-oleo-do-navio-encalhado-no-maranhao-deve-durar-10-dias/ https://oimparcial.com.br/politica/2020/03/mais-uma-etapa-concluida-terminada-a-retirada-de-oleo-do-navio-encalhado-no-maranhao/