Article

First investigation report of "Milano Bridge" Accident on April 6th 2020 in Busan


by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 13 May 2020 10543 -

According to an article from "Safety at sea" the Korean Investigation Authority has published the first report about accident of container vessel "Milano Bridge" on April 6th 2020 in Busan.

The report confirms that the accident caused by excessive speed during manoeuvring and the underestimated effects of the ship in ballast, such as partially submerged propellers and rudder blades with limited manoeuvrability, are considered to be the causes of this serious accident when berthing with a destroyed gantry crane.

The MOF’s Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal’s (KMST) investigations showed that Milano Bridge entered the port with about one-third of its propeller exposed above the water surface because it was not carrying sufficient ballast water. Milano Bridge was ballasting at the time, having departed from Zhoushan DDW PaxOcean Shipyard in China, after undergoing repairs.

KMST noted that Milano Bridge sailed towards the pier at a speed of 8 knots, which was higher than the usual speed of 6 knots when berthing. Wind speed at the time was 5 to 8 metres per second, which is considered normal.

KMST also calculated that the accident could have been avoided if Milano Bridge had slowed to less than 7 knots when approaching the pier.

The "Milano Bridge" is now undergoing repairs in Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company’s yard in China.

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MR
Merv Rowlinson United Kingdom
on 22 March 2021, 17:00 UTC

Hi Manjit:
Milano Bridge - the "Timeline" refers to a head tug as well as a stern tug!. What do you think? Given the speed of the vessel on approach I think that attaching the head tug would have been precarious!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Dr. Merv Rowlinson
Southampton
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MH
Manjit Handa Australia
on 21 May 2020, 09:44 UTC

The ship had only one tug in attendance. ( It appears that the second tug in the background was attending the vessel at berth ahead.)
That is rather odd, isn't it? Such a high windage area and only one tug? No surprise then that the only tug was unable to arrest the vessel's transverse speed.
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Video AIS track of MILANO BRIDGE on 6 April 2020 (Busan port)

published on 8 April 2020

According to AIS past track data, the vessel was obviously too fast on 9 knots and also going down the wind (4-5 bft., take a look at the exhaust from the stack) when entered the inner harbour considering the size and displacement. That speed was approximate 3 ship lengths to the pier and there was the on pier wind after the turn. Why the ship entered the port so fast will be the subject of the investigations to be awaited. Knowing South Korea procedures there will be no just marine...

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