BC Ferries is suing a German manufacturer of ship control systems in connection with a 2011 incident in which a ferry rammed a dock in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
The British Columbian ferry operator is seeking at least $4 million in damages from SAM Electronics GmbH for the Dec. 20, 2011 crash at Duke Point, which injured seven passengers and nine crew members and required several months’ worth of repairs.
In its court document, BC Ferries alleges that an isolating amplifier in the bow propulsion pitch control system, which controls the angle of the propeller blades, was not properly shielded against electromagnetic interference, resulting in the crash. In addition, the controls for the equipment were difficult to decipher and no audible alarm to warn the crew of danger was available.
An investigative report released by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board following the accident also said that the equipment malfunctioned, but added that the problem in the propulsion controls was missed because crew members did not follow proper procedures for testing the equipment before docking.
The ferry struck the Duke Point dock at a speed of approximately 5.6 knots, resulting in damage to both the vessel and the dock. The ferry was reportedly out of service for 23 days, while the dock was closed for repairs for three months.
BC Ferries has since implemented a variety of new systems and operating procedures designed to prevent similar accidents and better prepare the crew in the event of a problem.
Mike Violette says
Hmm. Interesting. It worked fine for 3+ years and, suddenly, the shielding of the IA is inadequate?
Richard Nute says
The picture on the IT website is a single-ended BC ferry. The incident involved a double-ended ferry!
Ian C Evans says
This is very interesting, especially since we have seen similar EMC emissions conducted and radiated on other ships built in China which has same company some involvement. EMC electro-magnetic compatiblity ignores at it peril. Right now all classification pays cant regard to EMC and harmonics to a lesser extent with little or no compliance testing. In 2010 we the Queen Mary 2 capacitor explosion which left the vessel dead in water for 32 minutes yet IMO does not take harmonics and power quality seriously. Instead they use standards which are not fit for purpose in the 21st Century. More of these incidents WILL happen.
Bill C says
For Mike.
Entirely possible that EMC performance was fine when new. After a few years in a salt spay environment, the grounding of the cable shield may have degraded to the point when susceptibility performance was inadequate. Not suddenly, but a gradual decline until it fails.