INVESTIGATION INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES
SURROUNDING THE SINKING OF THE TALL SHIP BOUNTY
123 MILES OFF THE COAST OF CAPE HATTERAS, NORTH CAROLINA ON OCTOBER 29, 2012 WITH LOSS OF ONE LIFE AND
ANOTHER MISSING AND PRESUMED DEAD
Conclusions
1. In accordance with reference (d) the Initiating Event (or first unwanted outcome) for this casualty was flooding. BOUNTY began to flood uncontrollably the moment the rate of water ingress exceeded the rate the bilge pumps could dewater. It has been concluded that this occurred on October 27th, when Capt. went to engage the hydraulic bilge pumps, which were seen as “emergency pumps.”
2. The causal factors that led to this casualty are as follows:
a) Environment:
There were four primary environmental causal factors.
1) The weather was clearly a factor from the beginning of the voyage. Although the
conditions related to Hurricane Sandy didn’t directly affect the vessel until Saturday, October 27th, the crew was stowing gear and preparing the vessel for heavy weather from the time they departed New London, CT. Once the conditions began to worsen, increasing seas accelerated the rate that BOUNTY was making water. The increasing winds blew out multiple sails and caused the spanker gaff to break.
2) The impact of the environmental conditions was also detrimental to the crew. The increasing sea state caused many of the crew members to become seasick. The
conditions also made it difficult to get adequate sleep, not only because of the rough seas, but because the crew sleeping quarters became saturated with water that leaked through the deck. As the voyage progressed and conditions worsened, moving about the vessel became increasingly difficult and 3 crew members were injured as a result of falls, including Capt. .
3) As the vessel foundered and the decision was made to abandon ship, the
environmental conditions impacted the crew’s ability to communicate with the US
Coast Guard, any other nearby vessels, as well as each other on deck. Environmental conditions also made preparations to abandon ship, including donning survival suits as well as lifejackets and climbing harnesses, extremely difficult.
4) Once the crew had abandoned ship, the heavy weather conditions made it exceedingly difficult to get into the inflatable life rafts. Crew members testified that entering the life raft took at least one hour once they reached the raft. Wind and seas caused one of the life rafts to flip during the rescue.
b) Personnel: There are eight primary causal factors that involve human error on the part of the company owner and vessel master.
1) The inability and failure of HMS BOUNTY Organization to provide effective
oversight and operating restrictions for their vessel and personnel. Both
and were responsible for and made critical decisions regarding
the maintenance and operation of BOUNTY. They were ill equipped to make such
decisions due to their lack of experience with vessel operations, especially with
respect to an aged wooden vessel. They each had full knowledge that Capt.
intended to take BOUNTY into close proximity to Hurricane Sandy, and
took no action to stop or question his decision making. This constitutes negligence.
2) The failure of HMS BOUNTY Organization and Capt. to effectively
evaluate and determine if prevailing and forecasted weather conditions were
favorable for sailing. This constitutes negligence.
3) The failure of HMS BOUNTY Organization and Capt. to appropriately
evaluate the vessels material condition and suitability for sailing in the forecasted
weather conditions (given what they both knew about the condition of the vessel’s
structure and the lack of testing to ensure all bilge systems were fully functional and up to the task of performing to designed parameters). This constitutes negligence.
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