About 0400 e.d.t. on May 9, 1978, the clam dredge PATTI-B capsized and sank in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,500 yards east of Ocean City, Maryland. Two crewmen were killed; one crewman was rescued by a Coast Guard 44-foot motor lifeboat which was standing by; and one crewman was rescued by another fishing boat which had been called to the scene after the capsizing. The PATTI-B has been salvaged and will be put back into service. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the capsizing of the PATTI-B due to the combined effects of water trapped on its deck, its being temporarily poised on a wave, and the overturning moment of the anchor line. Contributing to the accident were the decisions of the captain of the PATTI-B to anchor by the stern and to attempt to enter Ocean City Inlet without sufficient water depth.
Marine Accident Report. Grounding and Capsizing of the Clam Dredge PATTI-B, Ocean City Inlet, Ocean City, Maryland, May 9, 1978
1979
20 pages
Report
No indication
English
Transportation Safety , Marine & Waterway Transportation , Boats , Accident investigations , Fishing , Stability , Ship anchors , Casualties , Storms , Ocean waves , Accidents , Rescue operations , Maryland , Marine accidents , Patti B vessel , Capsizing , Ocean City(Maryland) , Human factors , Fishing vessels