The following is the text of a press release issued by the National Transportation Safety Board: (WASHINGTON) -- The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of the January 24, 2008 allision of the MV Orange Sun with the dredge New York was the master's failure to appropriately use bridge resource management and to communicate; specifically, to familiarize his bridge crew with and inform the pilot of the vessel's occasional tendency to sheer, a characteristic that he had personally experienced. Contributing to the accident were the inappropriate starboard rudder movements made by both the helmsman and the master, which interfered with the pilot's ability to take appropriate action to prevent the accident. Also contributing was the second officer's failure to accomplish his primary duty as…
The dredge New York is partially submerged at its bow after the juice tanker Orange Sun struck the stationary vessel in Newark Bay. (Courtesy Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co.) Errors by the master and helmsman on the world's largest juice carrier caused the ship to ram a stationary dredge in Newark Bay in 2008, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators said. The outbound 672-foot Orange Sun struck the spudded-down dredge New York Jan. 24 in clear weather at 1352 just outside the main shipping channel. New York, the world's largest backhoe dredge, had $6 million in damage, including salvage costs. In a December 2009 report, the NTSB said the docking pilot aboard Orange Sun ordered a course change to follow the channel. Simultaneously, he ordered a speed reduction to…
A salvage crew from Donjon Marine works to stabilize the bucket dredge New York. (Courtesy Donjon Marine) A new tanker that is the world's largest juice carrier collided with the world's largest backhoe dredge in Newark Bay, crippling the dredge and causing a small spill of hydraulic oil. The accident happened at about 1400 on Jan. 24 in New Jersey waters just north of Shooters Island. Newark Bay, which provides access to Port Newark, was closed for about five hours while a flotilla of emergency responders rushed to stabilize the dredge. Orange Sun, a 669-foot tanker built in 2007, was outbound from Port Newark when it struck the stationary bucket dredge New York. The dredge's hull was ruptured on its port side, vertically from keel to deck, the Coast Guard…
The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard: (NEW YORK) -- A unified command with representatives from the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock LLC (the owner of the Dredge New York), Coast Guard Sector New York, New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) and the vessel Orange Sun continue to monitor the repair and recovery of a damaged dredge vessel after a collision with a freight ship in Newark Bay Thursday. The Orange Sun, a 669-foot Liberian flagged vessel and the dredging vessel New York were involved in a collision resulting in the New York taking on water and leaking a small amount of hydraulic fluid. The Dredge New York was carrying approximately 3,000 gallons of hydraulic oil, 50,000 gallons of…
(NEWARK, N.J.) -- Newark Bay reopened after a tug and barge helped stabilize a dredging vessel that had been damaged in a collision with a tanker, the Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark reported. The Melvin Lemmerhirt had been taking on water after it collided with the tanker Orange Sun, which was full of orange juice. A small amount of hydraulic fluid spilled into the bay, the Coast Guard said. Click here to read the newspaper's story.
