MSC Shipmanagement fined US$6 million over MSC Michigan VII runaway incident

MSC Shipmanagement Limited has been fined US$6 million following a 2024 incident involving the containership MSC Michigan VII in Charleston, South Carolina.

The vessel operator pleaded guilty to failing to report a hazardous condition aboard the ship and obstructing an investigation by the US Coast Guard (USCG) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

MSC Shipmanagement was also sentenced to four years of probation. In addition, the company must conduct a root-cause analysis of the hazardous conditions linked to the incident.

The vessel’s chief engineer, Fernando San Diego San Juan, was fined US$2,000. He had previously pleaded guilty to failing to report a hazardous condition and obstructing the investigation.

MSC Michigan VII accelerated to 16-17 knots

The incident occurred on 5 June 2024 after MSC Michigan VII departed Charleston.

During its outbound transit, a linkage rod disconnected from the vessel’s governor after crew members made a manual adjustment. The governor controls engine speed.

As a result, the main engine could not be slowed and the containership accelerated to approximately 16-17 knots.

Authorities evacuated the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge amid concerns that the vessel could strike the structure. However, the ship was successfully navigated beneath the bridge and continued out to sea.

Local beaches were also cleared because of concerns about the vessel’s wake. According to the US Department of Justice, the wake injured two people and damaged ships and piers.

Hazardous engine practice went unreported

MSC Shipmanagement and San Juan admitted that the engineering crew had manually adjusted the linkage rod between the governor and fuel rack on previous occasions.

The adjustments were used when the engine failed to reach the exact revolutions per minute requested from the bridge.

According to the Justice Department, only trained technicians should make such adjustments. None of the engineering crew aboard MSC Michigan VII were qualified to perform them.

San Juan admitted that he knew the practice was hazardous because manually adjusting the linkage rod could cause it to fail. However, the practice continued.

The Justice Department said both the engine’s failure to achieve the requested RPM and the manual adjustment of the linkage rod were hazardous conditions that should have been reported to the USCG.

Investigation led to obstruction charge

The case also involved false statements made during the subsequent investigation.

According to the Justice Department, San Juan repeatedly told USCG and NTSB investigators that the crew had not adjusted the linkage rod.

He also denied knowing about previous manual adjustments.

Investigators later determined that the engineering crew had made such adjustments. The chief engineer also instructed other crew members to give investigators the same account he had provided.

“The hazardous condition onboard this vessel, and MSC’s failure to report it, could have ended in a fatal bridge strike as occurred months earlier in Baltimore,” said Adam Gustafson, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division.

The USCG Sector Charleston, Coast Guard Investigative Service and NTSB investigated the case.

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