NTSB Issues Report on Passenger Vessel Sinking

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its report into the grounding and sinking of the uninspected passenger vessel SAFARI SPIRIT in Kisameet Bay, Canada on May 8, 2003. The vessel was carrying ten passengers and a crew of six on a voyage from Seattle to Juneau. The vessel grounded on a charted submerged rock and subsequently sank. The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the casualty was failure of the master to use appropriate navigational procedures and equipment to determine the ship’s position. A contributing cause was failure of the operator to have and require its masters to use a voyage planning and procedure manual. Marine Accident Brief No. DCA03MM028 (HK Law)