NTSB: Parted Anchor Chain and Improper Charting Led to Vessel Loss

An inadequate anchoring operation and failure to use available charts to identify depths and a charted rock led to the loss of a cargo vessel operating in the U.S. Virgin Islands reports the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The bureau issued a report highlighting a series of errors during a storm that contributed to the total constructive loss of a small cargo vessel valued at $1.5 million and a heroic action by the U.S. Coast Guard to rescue 12 people from the stranded ship.

The cargo vessel Bonnie G (780 gross tons), built in 1981, stranded on the rocks off St. Thomas in the USVI on October 4, 2023, while it was waiting out bad weather which had prevented it from docking. The ship, which had been built as an offshore supply vessel for the Gulf of Mexico oil platforms, had been converted in 2020 to cargo operations. It was sailing between San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and other local islands in the Caribbean. It was 172 feet long and registered in Vanuatu.

The cargo shi…