The National Transportation Safety Board released its investigative report on the loss of the F / V Miss Annie in 2019 after the fishing vessel hit a submerged wreck that had shifted from its previously known position.
Three crew members were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after the December 19, 2019, incident in Calibogue Sound, between Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Tybee Island, Georgia. The ship later parted. No pollution or injuries were reported, but the vessel had a total loss estimated at $ 60,000.
The NTSB detailed the accident in the Maritime Accident Report 21/01.
Although it has not been proven, Miss Annie is believed to have hit the submerged wreckage of Miss Debbie, a 12 meter shrimp fishing boat that sank during a storm in May 2017. On November 1, 2019, the owner of a yacht known as Chanticleer also reported to have hit a “significant object” a few hundred meters from where Miss Debbie was known to have sunk. In the weeks following the Chanticleer incident, NOAA conducted a survey of the area, revealing a submerged shipwreck just about 4 feet below the surface at low tide.
“The Coast Guard published a repeated warning of danger to navigation on a shipwreck submerged in the [Local Notice to Mariners], as of November 6, 2019, and NOAA updated the charts on November 12. Both updates observed the sinking in the area and gave an approximate position. However, the location was provided based on the last known position of the Miss Debbie wreck, which was more than 800 yards southwest of the site of Miss Annie’s attack, ”wrote the NTSB in the report.
“It looks like Miss Debbie’s previously mapped wreck has moved to the northwest over 2 years since his wreck and last mapped position,” added the NSTB.
The NTSB briefing did not make any safety recommendations. “However, the NTSB urged navigators to be alert to new dangers that may arise along the intended route. Sailors must adopt a process for identifying new hazards that are not marked on their paper or electronic chart system, ”he said.
The marine accident report 1/21 can be found on the NTSB website here.