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Ferry understaffed in accident?

Since May 17, 2019, the "Røst" was being docked in Svolvær after it allided with the quay at Skrova. The ship had suffered damage to the inner bow port, so it had to be taken out of service. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the ferry suffered major damage. The "Røst" was being repaired at the Lofoten Sveiseindustri now and remains out of service until further notice. It turned out that a sailor was at the helm of the ship at that time. The sailor maneuvered to the quay as part of the exercises for substitute function. Approximately three meters before the vessel hit the ferry quay, the speed was approx. 0.5 knots. The captain asked the sailor to slacken further, but he put the pitch full forward, not a little aft and the ship hip hit the quay with great speed. Back in 2013, the shipping company had decided to send an application to the Norwegian Maritime Directorate to cut the number of employees on the ferry and reduce them from seven to four employees. The company received a blank rejection of the application, but did not agree with that. In 2014, they sent a new application, which was processed by the Directorate in 2015. In the ferry's evacuation plan it was proposed that as many as 144 people on board would have to be evacuated by one captain, one engineer and two sailors. The Directorate replied that the requested manning was not sufficient to secure passengers, crew and the ship in an emergency situation such as fire, or any evacuation of the ship. The company complained about the application and receives a new refusal. This put the case dead for this time. In spring of 2018 the company sent in another application for cutting the crew. Some changes had been made in the meantime, but neither major changes nor new ferries were in place. But this time it went straight through. The application was approved by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate due to various measures and technical improvements concerning the rescue equipment on board. These measures were introduced in 2016 and 2017. On the basis of the documentation a new staffing certificate was issued in the summer of 2018. In fact the safety equipment referred to was already in place in 2013, before the first application. The only change shipping company had done was to add an MOB boat. The Norwegian sea officer association has recently filed a complaint with the directorate, and will fight to get the number of employees back to seven. Since the new certificate came in place, the ferry was allowed to sail with 144 passengers on the route to Skrova with only four employees on board. The naval officers are furious with what has happened, and believed that the directorate must reverse the decision as soon as possible and take a review of the safety crew on the boats. If the downsizing had not been done, they would have had a chief officer with the right certificate and qualifications. The ferry resumed its service to Skrova on June 13. Norwegian report with photo: https://www.an.no/lofoten/ferge/ulykke/kapteinen-sa-stopp-matrosen-ga-full-gass-sa-smalt-det/s/5-4-1024519

Ferry suffered leak at propeller

On July 30, 2018, the "Røst" had to be taken out of service, and divers from the lifeboat "Sundt Flyer" went down to check if the ferry had an issue with the propeller. It eventually became apparent that there was a leak which needed to be repaired in a yard. The "Hamarøy" which usually is serving the Lødingen - Bognes route was inserted to replace the ferry which was waiting for dock space in Svolvær now. Norwegian report with photos: https://www.lofotposten.no/skutvikferga/skrova/samferdsel/mf-rost-ma-pa-verksted/s/5-29-402215

Ferry sidelined due to technical trouble

On Jan 21, 2018, the "Røst" had to be taken out of service by Torghatten Nord due to technical trouble. The ferry "Stetind" was deployed from Sortland to enter the Svolvær-Skrova route as a replacement starting in the evening. In the morning, the "Øykongen" was put in service to carry passengers between Svolvær and Skrova. The ship could not transprt cars, however. The "Øykongen" kept on sailing until the "Stetind" had arrived.