Boat crashes can happen for any number of reasons. Sometimes it’s a missed rock on the charts. Other times a failed propeller blade is to blame. Sometimes the whole ship sinks because of an autopilot mishap. Or it could be as simple as falling asleep at the wheel.
According to new findings released by the National Transportation Safety Board, sleepiness was indeed the culprit in a 2023 towing vessel crash that ended up causing about $6 million in damages.
Most Read on IEN:
A deckhand aboard the Cindy B was at the helm on Nov. 12, 2023 as the towing vessel pushed the deck barge St. John up the Columbia River North of Portland, Oregon. According to the report, the deckhand fell asleep during the end of his scheduled night watch, which started at midnight and ended at 6 a.m., and the vessel drifted out of the channel and struck a dock.
None of the crew members onboard the Cindy B were hurt but the crash did cause millions in damages to the St. John and the dock.
Falling asleep at the helm was the primary cause for the crash but as the NTSB report points out, there were contributing factors. The agency said the deckhand was at a low point in his circadian rhythm and had just transitioned from day to night watches, which changed his awake/sleep cycle.
In addition, the pilothouse alert in the Cindy B failed to wake the deckhand at the helm since a swinging radio microphone was in the motion sensors’ field of view, essentially tricking the system’s motion detectors into thinking the pilot was awake and causing it to reset its timers.
Working the night shift obviously comes with increased risk for zoning out or falling asleep. But as the NTSB report points out, research on shift workers has shown that there is a greater chance of incidents during the first two nights of a night shift period.
Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.