NTSB: Two Tankers Had the Same Accident in Two Years on Cooper River

The NTSB has determined that the tanker Hafnia Amessi struck a pier on the Cooper River last year because the pilot let the vessel get too close to the riverbank. The combination of bank effect and current overwhelmed the force of the tanker's rudder and propulsion, sending it into the end of the pier - much like the tanker Bow Triumph, which hit the same pier under similar circumstances in 2022. 

"Bank effect can have an undesired effect on vessels, even for the most experienced ship handlers.