A US Coast Guard marine casualty investigation into the grounding of the Ever Forward in Chesapeake Bay in March has revealed that the pilot of the containership was distracted by his cell phone when the incident occurred.
The 2020-built, 20 124-TEU vessel was stuck for more than a month before it was eventually refloated.
The Coast Guard says that during the course of the outbound transit, investigators discovered the pilot had made a series of five phone calls amounting to over 60 minutes. He also sent two text messages and began drafting an email immediately before the grounding occurred, regarding issues he experienced with line handlers back at the terminals - issues that slightly delayed the vessel’s departure.
According to the report, quoted by news portal gCaptain, Ever Forward’s Master was not on the bridge at the time of the grounding, as he had departed more than a half hour before to get dinner. On the bridge at the time was the Third Officer, Deck Cadet, and an Able Bodied Seaman, who was at the helm, along with the pilot.
The investigation determined that the incident had been caused by the pilot’s failure to maintain situational awareness and attention while navigating, and inadequate bridge resource management.
Based on their findings, the Coast Guard is recommending that marine operators develop and implement effective policies outlining when the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices is appropriate or prohibited, and that vessel owners and operators ensure and promote crew awareness of policies regarding the duties and obligations of officers on watch for the safety of the ship, even when a pilot is embarked.
