What Happened
What Happened
On January 16, 2023, about 0050 local time, the dredging vessel WB Wood capsized near mile 85 on the Lower Mississippi River about 10 miles east-southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. The sole crewmember was rescued by a Good Samaritan towing vessel; there were no injuries. An estimated 5,500 gallons of oil were released from the sunken vessel. The WB Wood was salvaged but the vessel, valued at $1.5 million, was declared a total loss.
What We Found
What We Found
We determined that the probable cause of the capsizing of the dredging vessel WB Wood was a lack of company requirements for crew to regularly check compartments below deck, which resulted in undetected flooding from a through-hull pipe that was missing its overboard check valve and subsequent progressive flooding from compromised watertight bulkheads.
What We Recommended
Conducting Routine Checks of Voids and Hull Spaces
Vessel crews should regularly check tanks and voids that are adjacent to the vessel’s hull to identify hull integrity issues (such as potential corrosion and steel wastage, and watertight integrity deficiencies) that can lead to flooding. The presence of water can indicate an issue with watertight integrity or wastage and should be addressed. Vessel operators should ensure crews have procedures for anticipating, preventing, and addressing the potential for water ingress and flooding, including establishing scheduled checks. Bilge alarms set to detect water at a low level in voids and other spaces are another means to ensure early detection.
