The MAIB has released its report on the grounding of the K-Wave off Malaga earlier this year. I strongly recommend it as it is as classic a tale of chronic stupidity as you are likely to find.
After departure from port, the officers of the K-Wave decided to hold an impromptu party on the bridge to celebrate the 3rd Mate’s birthday. They started at midnight and the fun lasted until around 2am when the 2nd Mate told them to get to bed so he could get on with his watch. A little while later, the ship made a large alteration of course and headed towards the shore and ran aground some time after 5am.
The Chief Officer came onto the bridge a little after 6am to find it deserted, the ship aground and the engine still at full ahead. He called the Master to the bridge.
When the Coastguard eventually managed to contact the vessel, the Master denied that they were aground – they were at anchor. However, he eventually admitted his dilemma. And it went on from there.
The officers and crew then lied their heads off. Getting drunk and running the ship aground (and nobody has worked out exactly why that happened – nobody admitted to altering the course around 120 degrees) was stupid. Lying about it afterwards was extremely stupid as the Voyage Data Recorder captured everything, including the party.
Naturally enough, they all lost their jobs, but otherwise they got away with it. They were not breathalysed after the event, so it other than the evidence of the VDR it could not be proved that they were drunk, so they escaped censure. This is probably because, despite running aground at full speed, the vessel did not sustain any damage (which I find amazing), so there was no oil spill and no oil on the beaches near Malaga. If there had been, I am sure they would be in jail. They should not have been allowed to get away with this classic, crass piece of negligence just because there was no damage.
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