On September 23, 2014, about 0635, the 110-foot-long US Coast Guard cutter Key Largo collided with the 42-foot-long fishing vessel Sea Shepherd in the Virgin Passage, about 9 miles east-northeast of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Just before the collision, the two Sea Shepherd crewmembers, who were hauling lobster traps on board, jumped in the water. No one was injured. The Key Largo sustained minor damage; the Sea Shepherd sank about 2 hours after the collision.
The probable cause of the collision between the Coast Guard cutter Key Largo and the fishing vessel Sea Shepherd was the failure of the cutter’s officer of the deck to detect and avoid the Sea Shepherd, most likely because he had fallen asleep prior to the accident. Contributing to the collision was the officer of the deck’s failure to report to the commanding officer his unfitness for duty due to lack of sleep.
As a result of this investigation, we made one safety recommendation to the United States Coast Guard:
Address the risks associated with watch stander fatigue by implementing Commandant Instruction 3500.2, Crew Endurance Management, issued on March 30, 2006, in all operational units. (M-16-004)
