FINAL REPORT ON ANALYSIS OF RAMMING AND GROUNDING ACCIDENTS NOT INVOLVING BRIDGES

This report presents results and recommendations of an analysis of ramming and grounding accidents--not involving bridges--for commercial vessels. The casualty cases studied were the rammings and groundings within the intended scope of this analysis contained in U.S. Coast Guard commercial vessel casualty files for FY '73. The intended scope included rammings or collisions not involving bridges in which essentially one moving vessel collided with a stationary vessel or some other stationary object with damages of $5,000 or more, and groundings (with damage) of commercial vessels. The results of the study include an analysis of accident causes (primary causes, initiating causes, and contributing cause factors) plus hypothetical personnel actions and material variants that probably would have prevented the casualties. Recommendations are presented on actions that could be taken by the U.S. Coast Guard to reduce the number and/or severity of the accidents and potential improvements in the casualty inspection and reporting system.