Collision incident between the veteran vessel YSTAD (SCLV) and the passenger ferry SILVERPILEN (SEJW) off Gålö, Stocholm Archipelago

Summary in English

On Saturday, 7 September 2024, the Veteranflottiljen association organized an event at Gålöbasen in Haninge Municipality. During the day, visitors had the opportunity to join as passengers aboard vessels such as the former missile boat R142 YSTAD, which is now used as a civilian passenger ship.

In the morning, dense fog covered the area, but the event proceeded as planned. During the second trip of the day, R142 YSTAD passed dangerously close to the stern of the passenger ferry SILVERPILEN. At the time, YSTAD was traveling at a speed of 35–40 knots. The crew aboard YSTAD had misinterpreted the radar image, and it was only by chance that the vessels didn’t collide.

Although the radar on YSTAD was operational, the automatic radar plotting functions were not used because the crew lacked sufficient knowledge of the functions. To obtain AIS information from other vessels, a private mobile phone was used, but it did not function as intended. Course and speed adjustments were made manually based on orders from the officer on watch. The high speed, combined with a large number of simultaneous tasks for the master and the officer on watch, meant they were unable to maintain proper focus on the radar image, leading to a misinterpretation of the radar echo from SILVERPILEN.

The master of SILVERPILEN, who was monitoring YSTAD's movements via AIS, attempted to contact the vessel via VHF radio before the incident. However, the calls were not received aboard YSTAD because the crew had misunderstood how the radio operated and had accidentally locked it on the wrong channel.
The high speed and the significant workload for the officer on watch and the master on YSTAD ultimately became too high and they lost awareness of the surrounding traffic.
The shipping company has taken a number of actions after the occurrence.

Causes of the incident

The incident was caused by deficiencies in risk management both prior to and during the voyage with YSTAD. This resulted in the vessel being operated at high speed without consideration for the prevailing visibility and traffic conditions.

Contributing factors included the lack of routines within the shipping company to compensate for the fact that YSTAD was rarely used. As a result, it was difficult for the crew to maintain their skills in operating the vessel as well as their knowledge of the vessel's communication and navigation equipment.

Underlying causes were deficiencies in the organizer's planning, coordination, and risk assessment ahead of the event "A Day in Paradise."

Safety recommendations

SHK submits the following recommendations:

The Association of Swedish Missile Boats is recommended to
• Take measures to improve passenger safety on the deck to reduce the risk of falls and tripping hazards, especially during sharp turns or speed reductions.

The Association Veteranflottiljen is recommended to
• For future events, coordination between the participating vessels should be improved, risk assessments conducted, and risk-mitigating measures implemented. Additionally, communication with surrounding traffic should be strengthened.