The National Transportation Safety Board released a report today that gathers the most important lessons learned from marine accident investigations completed during calendar year 2019.

The Safer Seas Digest 2019 details the lessons learned from 30 maritime tragedies such as the loss of 17 passengers and crew aboard the amphibious vessel Stretch Duck 7 and the 10 sailors serving aboard the USS John S McCain when it collided with the tanker Alnic MC.

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(Sequence of events as the Miss Roslyn headed toward moored barges with a heavy list to starboard and eventually capsized Oct. 8, 2018, near Reserve, La. Credit: Clay Herbert, ITV Kristy Dutsch)

“We investigate accidents not to document what happened, but to understand why and how, so that we might prevent similar accidents from happening,’’ said NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt. “The Safer Seas Digest distills the most important lessons from each tragedy so mariners can use the information to save lives.’’

In his forward to the 2019 edition of Safer Seas Digest, Sumwalt said it is up to the marine industry and its regulators in the U.S. Coast Guard to act on NTSB recommendations to improve marine safety.

The Safer Seas Digest 2019 is available at: https://go.usa.gov/xA3py