It is not possible to show that an individual error, whether technical or human, led to the loss of the anchor-handling vessel 'Bourbon Dolphin' on April 12, 2007.
This is the conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry, which submitted its report to Minister of Justice Knut Storberget. Eight individuals died in the accident, while seven survived. The special commission of enquiry chaired by appellate court judge Inger Lyng was appointed by the King-in-Council on 27 April 2007. It has held five open hearings and questioned 38 witnesses, including the survivors, officers from other vessels that participated in the operation, individuals from the owner company, the shipyard, the operator company Chevron, the drill rig 'Transocean Rather', the UK consultancy firm Trident, and The Norwegian Maritime Directorate and the classification society Det Norske Veritas. In addition the Commission has collected and reviewed a large quantity of documentation related to the vessel and the operation in which the 'Bourbon Dolphin' was involved when the accident happened. The Commission has also had access to underwater footage of the casualty taken straight after the capsize and of the wreck in December 2007. The Commission concludes that the proximate causes of the accident were the vessel's change of course to port (west) so as to get away from mooring line no. 3, at the same time as the inner starboard towing pin was depressed, causing the chain to rest against the outer port towing pin. This gave the chain an altered point and angle of attack on the vessel. A combination of weaknesses in the design of the vessel, and failures in the handling of safety systems by the company, by the operator and on the rig, are major contributory factors to the operation of April 12, 2007 coming out of control.
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