Incident Evaluation during Operations Carried out by Anchor Handler Tug Vessels

Resumen

This study analyses the incidents which took place on board Anchor Handling Tug vessels during the period from 2014 to 2015. The main objective is to determine which incidents are happening more often, with the view to develop, in a second study, their possible prevention. By using a new approach, operators on board Anchor Handlers were contacted to answer a questionnaire. To the author’s knowledge, this subject has been scarcely investigated from the point of view of the operators serving on board this special kind of vessel, and it is always interesting to have the opinion of the people directly involved. The answers have been analysed using statistics software. The analysis included a profile of the seafarer, data about the vessel and her occupation and finally the incidents, indicating possible causes and outcomes of the same. Based on the results, it can be concluded that equipment failure and human error have been the main causes of the incidents evaluated in the study.