Ship Manuevering Evaluation

How do you know which of a hundred decisions required to get a 21,000-ton ship through a narrow channel was the wrong one?

Ship Maneuvering Evaluation Case Study

S-E-A was contracted by maritime attorneys to evaluate and offer an expert opinion about the activities of a commercial cargo ship transiting the upper reaches of the Houston Ship Channel. The ship was under the direction of a Harbor Pilot with tugboat assistance when an allision (collision with a fixed object) occurred with a concrete pier causing extensive damages to the ship and the pier. 

There was no reported failure of the ship's systems and the assisting tugboats were being accused of causing this incident.

S-E-A was provided with a wealth of information that could be used to evaluate the ship's actions. This included: electronic bridge logbook information, voice and data recordings from the ship's bridge, the engine maneuvering electronic data log, GPS track information for the ship, port vessel traffic service “real-time” tracking data, eyewitness reports and incident reports from the ship and tugboats.

Using the information available, S-E-A was able to accurately plot the ship’s track using three-dimensional marine navigation software. This 3-D plot then allowed a comprehensive evaluation of the ship’s rate of advance, and more importantly, its position within the narrow confines of the ship channel as it approached the intended berth. 

From the 3-D plot, S-E-A produced a graphical representation of the entire approach of not only the ship but also the assisting tugboats.