56
FOGHORN
which caused catastrophic mechanical 
damage to the engine.”
One lesson learned from this incident 
reminds vessel operators of the need 
to be vigilant in conducting emergen-
cy drills including firefighting. The 
quick action by the vessel crew to se-
cure machinery space ventilation and 
fuel supply lines resulted in removing 
two elements of the fire tetrahedron 
and thus extinguishing the fire. 
The other lesson learned in this inci-
dent is that the manufacturer’s planned 
maintenance and service schedules 
such as oil changes need to be followed 
to mitigate the risk of equipment mal-
function or premature failure.
NTSB OFFICE OF MARINE 
SAFETY DATA DASHBOARD
The NTSB recently released an inter-
active dashboard that summarizes and 
visualizes NTSB marine investigations 
occurring from 2012 to the present. 
According to the dashboard website, 
data for investigations occurring before 
2012 will be added in future releases.
Users can view data using the Investi-
gation Map and Case Summary dash-
board pages. Both dashboard pages can 
be filtered by event date, vessel name(s), 
case status (open or closed), NTSB ves-
sel group, and NTSB casualty category. 
Investigation Map: This dashboard 
page is an interactive map showing 
NTSB investigations all over the world. 
The color of each map dot corresponds 
to the type of vessel(s) involved. 
Note: While “passenger” vessel en-
compasses both foreign and domestic 
passenger and small passenger vessels, 
PVA is seeking a delineation between 
foreign cruise ships and domestic pas-
senger and small passenger vessels in a 
future update to the dashboard.
Case Summary: This dashboard 
page provides statistical graphs show-
ing the number of investigations by 
NTSB vessel group and NTSB casu-
alty category.
The data table below the map and 
graphs provides basic casualty infor-
mation and links to the investigation 
page and docket for each selected 
investigation. More detailed infor-
mation for each investigation can 
be found on the investigation page, 
linked by NTSB Number in the first 
column and in the docket URL linked 
in the second column.
PVA staff have a very good working 
relationship with the NTSB Office of 
Marine Safety. 
The NTSB is the only federal organiza-
tion that performs independent, com-
prehensive, and transparent investiga-
tions to determine the probable cause 
of marine accidents, with the goal of 
making safety recommendations to 
prevent similar events from occurring 
in the future. While operating jointly 
or concurrently with the Coast Guard 
on major marine casualties, the NTSB 
will release their own final reports that 
may not align with the Coast Guard’s 
conclusions and recommendations. 
NTSB is also less constrained by 
potential or actual criminal investiga-
tions by the Department of Justice. 
SAFETY MATTERS
The new NTSB interactive dashboard visualizes investigations by the agency since 2012. 

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