In January, the Maritime Self-Defense Force announced the results of an investigation into an accident in which an escort vessel landed in shallow water off the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture, attributing inappropriate supervision, such as the captain instructing the vessel to change the route without considering safety.
In January, the Maritime Self-Defense Force announced the results of an investigation by its internal accident investigation committee into an accident in which the Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ship "Inazuma" landed in shallow water off the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture while conducting a test voyage in the Seto Inland Sea.
According to the report, the captain did not consider safety considerations when he gave instructions to change the planned route because the test proceeded ahead of schedule, and the command and supervision were inappropriate because he sailed at a maximum speed of about 1 kilometers per hour.
In addition, the executive who directs navigation on the bridge said that when instructions to change the course were issued, they did not check the obstacles on the course with nautical charts and other means, and did not inform the command post that guards the surrounding area that they were changing the route.
In addition, although the command post informed the bridge multiple times that there was an obstacle ahead, it was not communicated to the executives, and communication on board was not possible.
In addition to stating that these factors were a factor in the accident, as measures to prevent recurrence, the government will review the education and training of captains, enhance safety surveys when navigating, and add communication methods to ensure that safety information is conveyed to executives.
The cost of repairing the escort ship in this accident is about 9 billion yen, and it is expected to take several years to complete the repair, so the Maritime Self-Defense Force will consider disposing of those involved based on the results of the investigation.
In this accident, the Japan Coast Guard is investigating the suspicion of negligent traffic danger in the course of business.