Jacky Moon-Reading

A At 0430 on 1st September 2004 the Antigua and Barbuda registered general cargo vessel “Jackie Moon” ran aground in The Clyde, just outside the Port of Glasgow, Scotland. Damage was limited to the hull and there was no pollution. The crew onboard at the time consisted of The Master, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer and 3 AB’s. One of the AB’s was the cook. All the crew were Ukrainian and the normal contract length for the officers was 6 months. The crew were carrying out shifts of 6 hours on and 6 hours off. The Chief Officer had been at sea for 20 years and worked on various types of vessels, mainly in the Mediterranean and Black sea. He had visited Glasgow on 4 previous occasions. He was the OOW at the time of the grounding.

B It was discovered that at the time of the grounding the OOW (the Chief Officer) had been asleep. When the harbourmaster and MCA enforcement officer boarded the vessel they noticed the Chief officer smelt strongly of alcohol. He was breathalysed and found to be over twice the legal limit. He explained that he was exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping well. His father had died the previous day and he was also worried about his pregnant wife back in Ukraine who was suffering from health problems. As he felt so depressed and upset he had drunk quarter of a bottle of Brandy. He explained that usually he never drank alcohol and this statement was supported by The Master.

C On 3rd September the MCA conducted a Port State Control inspection while the ship was at anchor. Twenty deficiencies were noted. These included: 1. There was no record of unannounced drug and alcohol testing 2. The ship’s safety manuals were written in English and were not clearly understood by the crew, except the Master and Chief officer. 3. The hours of rest were not recorded as required by the regulations. It was also discovered that Lloyd’s register had audited the vessel previously and non-conformities included the fact that they weren’t provided with watchkeeping arrangements. In addition, machinery instruction books were written in German and not understood by the Chief Engineer.