Although I don't know the specific cause of the grounding my guess would be that it was an unforseen mechanical malfunction. The Nekton vessels, being US flagged, go through an "exhaustive and extensive" US Coast Guard inspection each year about this time. This inspection requires an entire team of Coast Guard inspectors and encompasses every vessel system and safety device. Whatever "caused" the grounding was obviously in proper working order at the time of the inspection. A functional and properly sized anchor, along with a functional and properly sized spare anchor is part of the inspection. By the photos and video it's my opinion that having an anchor out in such shallow water would have hampered the towing attempts and put people in harms way. A SWATH vessel won't tip over. In a grounding event it simply sits solid and straight on the bottom (totally different than a v-hulled vessel which will lean dangerously one way or another when in a grounding situation). Hope all goes well and they get back on charter. Having captained both Nekton vessels and several others much larger I am aware of the extensive concern and top priority Nekton places on safety. Yes I'm a little biased, but I wouldn't have been afraid to step on the Rorqual the day of the incident. A grounding, with similar wind and sea conditions, on most of the other vessels I've operated could have been devastating including personal harm, aquatic damage and the loss of a vessel. It's a fact of life, things break, so do trains, planes and automobiles! Thank God that there are organizations, the US Coast Guard Inspections unit, and operators such as Nekton who do everything possible to maximize our safety.
