Marine Accident Investigation Procedures Flashcards

When calculating the speed of a vessel involved in a collision using ARPA/radar data preserved in a VDR, the investigator should account for which additional variable to obtain true speed over ground?

Answer: Current set and drift experienced in the area at the time

Speed through water (from radar/ARPA or log) differs from speed over ground; current set and drift must be added vectorially to determine the vessel's actual ground track.

A 'near miss' or 'near accident' report is valuable to a marine safety investigator primarily because:

Answer: It reveals latent hazards and system weaknesses before they result in a catastrophic accident

Near-miss data exposes the same causal factors and latent deficiencies that produce accidents, allowing corrective action before a fatality or major loss occurs.

In marine fire casualty investigations, which piece of evidence is most useful for determining the fire's point of origin?

Answer: Burn pattern analysis and char depth measurements within compartments

Physical burn patterns and char depth measurements objectively trace fire propagation back to its origin point, supplementing (and sometimes correcting) witness accounts or sensor data.

A vessel grounds on a charted shoal in clear weather. The investigation reveals the electronic chart display (ECDIS) was set to a raster chart with incorrect datum offset. This best illustrates which category of causal factor?

Answer: Equipment/technology factor with human factors implications

An ECDIS datum offset error is an equipment/technology factor, but its presence on the bridge without correction implicates human factors (training, watchkeeping, verification procedures) as well.

When a marine investigator identifies a safety recommendation arising from a casualty investigation, what is the most critical quality standard that recommendation must meet?

Answer: It must be specific, actionable, and directed at the party with authority to implement it

Effective safety recommendations are specific and actionable, directed to the entity (operator, flag administration, IMO) actually empowered to make the identified change.

Under the USCG marine investigation process, a 'formal investigation' (Marine Board of Investigation) is convened when:

Answer: A casualty involves loss of life, serious injury, major environmental damage, or significant public interest warranting a formal proceeding

A Marine Board of Investigation is convened for the most serious casualties — those involving loss of life, severe injuries, substantial pollution, or significant public interest — where a formal adversarial proceeding is warranted.

The 'five whys' technique applied during a root cause analysis of a marine accident is intended to:

Answer: Iteratively ask why each cause occurred until the root systemic cause is identified

The 'five whys' method drills through successive symptom-level explanations by repeatedly asking 'why' until the underlying systemic root cause — often a policy, training, or design deficiency — is uncovered.