Yacht Sinks Tanker in Bahamas: NTSB Says Neither Had Proper Lookout
Follow-Up to Loose Cannon's First News Story
On Dec. 23, 2021, a superyacht plowed into a tanker in the Bahamas and sunk her. The disaster did not make the news right away, probably because media outlets were short staffed for Christmas. Loose Cannon’s debut had been planned for after the first of the new year, but the date was moved up to Dec. 27 for this story, the first-ever Loose Cannon report from its new Substack home.
The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday released its report on the Dec. 23, 2021 collision that sunk a small tanker in the Bahamas, and it blamed not only watchstanders on the yacht that hit the tanker but those on the tanker, too. Neither were keeping a proper lookout, the NTSB concluded.
(The downloadable NTSB report may be found at the bottom of the story.)
Both M/Y Utopia IV and tanker Tropic Breeze had departed from New Providence island in the evening. Around 10 p.m. as they transited the Northeast Providence Channel Utopia IV slammed into Tropic Breeze’s stern, causing the latter’s engine room to flood. As Tropic Breeze was sinking, her seven crewmembers abandoned ship and were rescued by a another passing yacht. Utopia IV had 19 people on board; three of her crew were injured.
Utopia IV was built for James (J.R.) and Loren Ridinger of North Carolina. J.R. He is president and CEO of the online retail giant Market America. In 2016, comedic Last Week Tonight host John Oliver scorched Market America in a segment on multi-level marketing schemes. According to the qCaptain website, Utopia IV is currently for sale on the Moran Yacht & Ship website for $49.9 million.
With the tanker chugging along at 5 knots and the superyacht at 20, the accident had the feel of a slow-speed car wreck, which the NTSB said was captured on a closed circut camera in Utopia IV’s galley:
Several of the yacht’s crew were thrown to the deck or into bulkheads as Utopia IV struck the tank vessel at a relative speed of about 15 knots; three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. The Utopia IV’s captain was in the main dining area and was thrown into the “forward bulkhead and door frame.”
NTSB investigators found that not only was Tropic Breeze not operating with AIS that night, but the AIS had not been working for the past 11 months. Both vessels had operating radars, and both were set to three-mile range. At 20 knots, the time from a blip on the outer ring of the radar display to reach center would have been 12 minutes. Based on that, the NTSB concluded that watchstanders on neither vessel had checked the radar during the 12 minutes preceding the accident.
The Utopia IV’s crew told investigators that the plumb-bowed yacht tended to throw sea spray onto the windshield, hampering visibility. Nevertheless, the captain left the bridge at a key moment to “check on guests.” The NTSB wrote:
Visibility conditions were good (10 miles), and the captain and bosun should have been able to see the Tropic Breeze’s stern light as the yacht approached the tank vessel, even with bow spray on the windshield; however, neither reported seeing the Tropic Breeze, indicating they were not maintaining a proper lookout through visual scanning. Because the Utopia IV was traveling at 20 knots, it would have been prudent for the watchstanders (captain and bosun) in the wheelhouse to be attentive in their lookout duties in order to mitigate the effects of the bow spray—perhaps by having a lookout with no other duties assigned. However, shortly before the casualty, the captain left the bosun, who was not certified as mate or captain and therefore was not allowed by regulations to conn the vessel alone, to perform watchstanding duties by himself.
The NTSB concluded that both captains bore some responsibility:
As the Utopia IV approached the Tropic Breeze from nearly directly astern, the yacht (as the overtaking vessel) was required by 72 COLREGS to give way to the tank vessel. However, because the watchstanders on the Utopia IV were not maintaining a proper lookout using all available means, they did not identify the risk of collision. Although the Utopia IV bore responsibility as the overtaking vessel to maneuver away from the tank vessel, once the yacht’s intentions were unclear and a close-quarters situation had developed, the tank vessel should have taken action. However, the watchstanders on the Tropic Breeze did not detect the Utopia IV approaching. If they had seen the yacht, they likely would have signaled the potential danger in some way, whether by radio communication, whistle, or other means. Therefore, the Tropic Breeze’s watchstanders were also not maintaining a proper lookout. Had either kept a proper lookout, they likely would have detected each other and could have taken action to avoid the collision.
Yacht Sinks Tanker in Bahamas: NTSB Says Neither Had Proper Lookout
As crew from Utopia IV I can say there are many incorrect details here and it’s willfully incorrect dozens of times. I hope the author will issue a correction article highlighting all the misinformation from the previous article.
OK, so who is going to be responsible for the sunken fuel? That the tanker was breaking several regulatory safety rules, and the 'super yacht' think's it owns the oceans...no surprises there, SOS.