On August 18, 2014, the 132-meter-long ro-ro cargo ferry Amadeo I ran aground at Paso Kirke, Chile. Cause: helmsman error. The ferry departed from Puerto Natales with 17 passengers and 28 crew, along with a cargo of 700 cattle bound for Puerto Montt. Around 10 am, after the helmsman inadvertently put the rudder on the wrong side, the Amadeo I struck an islet at Merion, resulting in a crack in the hull on the starboard side. The rupture caused substantial uncontrolled flooding into the cargo deck and engine room, putting the vessel at risk of sinking. The master of the vessel decided to run the vessel aground before it could sink. The Amadeo I reached shore and put the bow on the beach. Authorities arrived on the scene with rescue boats and safely transferred 17 passengers and 18 crew. Ten crew remained on board, attempting to bring the flooding under control. Unfortunately, the flooding continued, and the Amadeo I heeled over 60 degrees onto her starboard side. By 5 am the following day, the crew had to abandon their efforts and were taken off the ferry. The ferry later capsized onto her side, and the stern section of the vessel sank.
Incident in brief
Ro-ro ferry, 9 737 GT, 28 crew, 17 passengers, 700 cattle
- About 10:00 LT the vessel entered the narrow Merino islet bend of Paso Kirke.
- The helmsman, ordered to put the rudder hard-to-port, inadvertently put it hard-to-starboard.
- Amadeo I struck the islet, tearing open her starboard shell plating. Flooding spread from the cargo deck to the engine room; the master beached the ship to prevent sinking.
- Despite grounding bow-on, progressive flooding caused a 60° starboard heel; by 05:00 the next day the ferry capsized and later sank astern.
How HOM would have broken the chain
| Timeline (approx.) | What really happened | HOM cue (crew-visible) | Likely bridge reaction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:59:40 | Pilot/Master: “Hard-to-port.” | — | — |
| 09:59:42 | Rudder starts hard-starboard instead. | WRONG HELM banner + one short tone | Pilot, Master, helmsman see mismatch; wheel ordered to port immediately. |
| 09:59:55 | Rudder now swinging to port; banner clears. | — | Vessel keeps centreline in the 300 m-wide channel; no contact with Merino islet. |
Detection speed: HOM flags the error within ~2 s of the wrong-way movement—well before the ferry closes the islet’s 0.15 NM safety margin.
Why the single cue works
- Uses plain bridge phraseology—“WRONG HELM”—instantly understood by multilingual crews.
- Audible ping plus banner grabs attention without freezing controls or requiring an acknowledgement.
- Banner remains onscreen only while the rudder deflection conflicts with the command, so no clutter once corrected.
Avoided outcome
- No hull breach, no flooding, no capsize.
- Saves a 9 737 GT ferry and livestock cargo, and avoids the extensive wreck-removal project documented in the post-casualty photos (pages 3–4 of the report).
Take-home message
In Amadeo I, a split-second helm-direction slip led to a total loss. HOM’s immediate WRONG HELM alert would have surfaced that mistake before the bow ever touched Merino islet—turning a high-profile wreck into an uneventful passage.
