A Svitzer tug’s wheelhouse windows have been smashed in the second incident of its nature in five years, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has reported.
The most recent one happened in February 2025. The tugs Svitzer Avon and Svitzer Brunel were on the approach to Royal Portbury Dock on the English River Severn, Bristol, when they were deployed to assist in berthing the car carrier Auto Eco.
The car carrier had a pilot on board and Svitzer Avon was allocated as stern tug to assist steering and braking. Following an agreement made before departure, Svitzer Avon’s relief master was supervising the mate who was at the vessel’s controls for the move. The relief master was type qualified for the tug ‘but had little experience on Svitzer Avon’, the report found.
The towline connection to Auto Eco comprised a tow rope and pennant joined with a cow hitch via heaving line and messenger rope passed through the tug’s forward staple, the tow rope held by the tug’s winch brake. While a render system was fitted it was not used on this occasion.
Svitzer Avon’s instruction from the pilot was ‘25% straight back’, and an overcorrection in handling as Auto Eco was turning to line up for an approach to the lock caused the tug to shear and heel, whereby the towline parted under increased load.
The tow rope recoiled, striking the tug’s wheelhouse and shattering the forward windscreen glazing, debris also shattering the stern window. The flying glass caused minor injuries to the tug’s master and mate.
After checking for serious injuries, the crew changed tasking with the bow tug to complete the move. Once Auto Eco was safely moored, Svitzer Avon returned to its berth to be met by the port’s medical team, The master and mate were transferred to hospital, later to be discharged following treatment.
The assessment found that the relief master had not been authorised to supervise the mate during the move. References were also made about the history of the tow rope and the towage company’s procedures around visual inspection and tow rope management.
Earlier incident
In December 2019, five crew members in the wheelhouse were showered with glass causing multiple facial, arm and body lacerations in an incident involving the Svitzer Mercurius, which had been deployed as a stern tug to assist with berthing the CMA CGM Marco Polo, an ultra-large container ship, in Southampton.
During the thrust to slow the incoming vessel down, the brake of the forward towing winch slipped briefly then suddenly regained its grip, subjecting the starboard towing pennant to an intense shock load. It snapped completely, and the parted towline and pennant violently recoiled towards the tug, striking the forward wheelhouse, shattering one glass window and heavily damaging three others.
It has brought wheelhouse glazing under the spotlight, despite Svitzer Avon meeting the appropriate standard.
Svitzer Marine was recommended to, where appropriate, ‘employ appropriate laminated glass or other defences to mitigate against the risk of flying glass injuring its tug crews’.
Svitzer Marine has taken action in response to various recommendations following both incidents, including operations and training on tow rope management.
Svitzer Avon is a RAstar 2800 ASD tug built by Sanmar Shipyards, one of a series of six similar vessels delivered to Svitzer in 2016/17. Svitzer Mercurius is also of ASD configuration but of a different design, built by Damen Shipyards. It is one of its most successful models, the ASD Tug 3212, more than 70 of which are in service globally and upgraded since the first example appeared in 2012.
At the time of the Southampton incident Damen was introducing its laminated, shatterproof ‘Damen Safety Glass’ to the wheelhouses (except wheelhouse door windows) of its tugs built since 2018.
The MAIB’s earlier investigation report is particularly detailed and along with the latest preliminary assessment following the Bristol accident examines the wider areas of shiphandling towage operations, in particular the actual towline and consequences of it parting.
While both incidents happened with the same operator it is important to consider the context. Shiphandling towage involves dynamic forces where the limitations of the towline, not to mention the strength of the assisted ship’s bollards, have to be factored in.
Svitzer is one of the world’s largest operators of shiphandling tugs with a history dating back to 1883. It operates a fleet of 446 vessels serving around 2,000 customers in 143 ports and 40 terminals worldwide, where every 3-4 minutes a ship safely sails in or out of a port or terminal thanks to the efficiency of it vessels and professionalism of their crews.
