CP Valour

in Baia da Praia do Norte, Faial, Azores

on 9 December 2005



The 15,145gt Bermuda registered container vessel CP Valour, grounded in a
bay off the NW

coast of the island of Faial, Azores, on 9 December 2005. The next day, in
worsening weather

conditions, the vessel's hull began to fracture, eventually causing
substantial pollution to the

coast of Faial, and to the islands of Pico and Sao Jorge. The subsequent
salvage operation

was unsuccessful and she was declared a constructive total loss about 3
weeks later.

The vessel had been on a liner voyage from Montreal, Canada, to Valencia,
Spain, when one

of her main engine cylinder units was found to be overheating due to a
cooling water leak.

The vessel continued on her planned track towards the central Azores at slow
speed, while

the master and chief engineer decided on the best course of action. They
decided to head for

a bay, which they assessed would be sheltered from a heavy SW'ly swell, in
order to make

the necessary repairs. A cylinder head needed to be lifted and calm water
was essential. The

master discussed the proposed action with the managers who then further
discussed the

proposal with the owners. Agreement was reached and the master was granted
permission to

proceed.

The bay contained a charted designated anchorage, but the largest scale
British Admiralty

chart of the island was of 1:175,000 scale. Such a chart is not normally
considered suitable for

close inshore navigation. There was only a single sounding of 36 metres in
the bay.

The passage planning for the vessel's approach into the bay was rudimentary.
The bridge and

anchoring team had different views on how the approach and anchoring
operation was to be

carried out. In the event, the master did not use the bridge team to its
full capability, took on

too much himself and became overloaded.

The vessel grounded at a speed of 6 knots while the master was manoeuvring
the vessel

in the bay in search of calm water. The engine telegraph had been
inadvertently left on half

ahead for several minutes.

Following the grounding, the initial salvage attempts by a local harbour tug
were unsuccessful.

The vessel was driven further aground the next day as the wind veered to
blow directly into

the bay. The 1172 MT of heavy fuel oil and 118 MT of gas oil onboard began
leaking in to the

sea.

A powerful salvage tug was on scene about 24 hours after the initial
grounding but her

attempts to re-float the vessel were also unsuccessful.

CP Valour was abandoned on 25 December 2005, after all the IMO classified
hazardous cargo

had been safely removed, along with 450 cubic metres of oil and water from
her bunker tanks.

Operations to remove the vessel from the beach began in the summer of 2006.

CP Valour's master, and the OOW at the time of the grounding had both
attended bridge

team management training courses run by the ship's manager. That this
training was not

put to good use, in the practices adopted on board CP Valour, raises
questions about the

effectiveness of the ship owner's and ship manager's auditing processes.

A recommendation has been addressed to the ship managers, and the lessons to
be learned

from the accident will be widely circulated to ships, shipowners and
managers.