On 10 February 2017, the Portuguese-flagged container ship VICTORIA went aground at the entrance to the deepwater channel Lillegrund, Denmark. Though the bridge crew were aware of the shallow waters ahead, they were caught by surprise when the grounding occurred. The grounding resulted in serious damage to the ship’s hull and several fuel oil tanks and ballast tanks were ruptured resulting in a minor pollution of the environment.
The grounding of VICTORIA was considered a serious accident of special concern to the potential risk of harm to the marine environment due to oil leakage. Therefore, the Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) in agreement with the Portuguese authorities initiated an investigation of the accident to establish the circumstances leading to the grounding of VICTORIA. The purpose of the investigation was to explain why VICTORIA went aground on 10 February 2017 under circumstances which the bridge crew considered to be normal.
The report can be downloaded in PDF format here.