Flooding and sinking of seiner/trawler Christine Nielsen
Location: 120 miles north-east of River Tyne, England.
Accident Investigation Report 38/2001
Read our marine accident investigation report, which includes what happened, actions taken and subsequent recommendations:
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Summary
On 18 March 2001, fishing vessel Christine Nielsen suffered substantial flooding and sank 120 miles north-east of the River Tyne.
Safety Issues
- a breach in the hull plating
- failure of a non-return valve in an overboard discharge, resulting in back-flooding
- engine room seawater piping failure due to erosion/corrosion
- the wheelhouse was unattended for approximately 8 hours
- lack of a watertight bulkhead between the engine room and cabin
Recommendations
A recommendation has been made to the skipper/owner of the vessel to ensure the wheelhouse is manned at all times at sea on any future vessel under their ownership.
This report was published in November 2001.