Marine Accident Report: Collision of Panamanian Bulk Carrier M/V SEADANIEL with German Containership M/V TESTBANK, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, Near Shell Beach, Louisiana, July 22, 1980

摘要

About 2044 c.d.s.t. on July 22, 1980, the upbound Panamanian bulk carrier M/V SEADANIEL, with a Crescent River Port Pilot's Association (CRPPA) pilot aboard, collided with the downbound German containership M/V TESTBANK, also with a CRPPA pilot on board, while meeting in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal near Shell Beach, Louisiana. The SEADANIEL took an unexpected turn to the left due to an erroneous left rudder respose to the pilot's right rudder order and struck the TESTBANK raking down the port side. The damage to the SEADANIEL was light and the damage to the TESTBANK was moderate. There were no deaths or injuries caused by the accident; however, the inhabitants of Shell Beach were temporarily evacuated and the waterway closed for about 3 weeks due to the environmental pollution. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the application of left rudder by the helmsman of the SEADANIEL when the pilot had ordered right rudder.