“The 37-foot M-2 Moose Boat, equipped with firefighting hoses, nozzles, marine radios, radar, GPS, scuba gear and inflatable rafts, went under during routing rescue exercises after “vibrations” were felt coming from the ship’s engines. A civilian safety consultant from Ocean Rescue Systems, a Maine-based firm hired by the Port Authority to oversee the exercises, suggested the officer open the hatch to take a look.
The hatch, though, was under the water line, and should only have been opened in dry dock.”
Why would an interior hatch to the engine compartment be designed only to be opened in dry dock? I hope the builder had a warning on the hatch.
Not that I have a great deal of sympathy for this police sergeant but this is the price for going cheap on training.
As commander of this vessel he should be intimately familiar with every aspect of his vessel. He should know how and when maintenance is performed.
As a vessel that is intended to operate in near shore waters he certainly should know how a fowled impeller is cleared.
There is simply no excuse for this officer or any member of his crew not to have known that opening that hatch would sink the boat. This is more a fault of the Police Department’s training and qualification program than the fault of Sergeant.