Ship groundings defy logic

You would think in this high-tech age, where electronic gizmos rule our daily lives, where cars park hands-free, orbiting satellites and autopilots steer you course at sea, and alarms on everything from radars to depth sounders alert you to what you can’t see, that our lives would be getting safer.

So what’s with the recent spate of shipping and commercial-boat groundings around the world? It’s not like they’re travelling in unchartered waters, rather dedicated shipping channels and routes, and it’s not like their sailing by sextant.

As impetus for this article, a Queensland-registered 100-tonne, 23.5-metre steel longliner washed up on the rocks near Cronulla Point on Sydney’s south this week after the boat’s Indonesian crew abandoned ship (opening photo courtesy of Marine Area Command). 

Longliners have been increasingly active in the local Bate Bay purse-seining yellowtail and slimy mackerel for bait while on the anchor. But in the absolutely benign conditions, you have to wonder how this could ever come to be. Lost pin on the anchor shackle?

A Roads and Maritime investigation is underway, after salvage crews successfully dragged the trawler to deep water on high tide in the early hours of Thursday morning. Reports state there’s 6000 litres of diesel and 400 litres of lube oil aboard but the main hull wasn't breached. The massive live-bait tanks were drained so the longliner floated higher in the water and the vessel towed to Sydney Harbour for repairs and inspection.

But this is a drop in the ocean compared with the shipping follies taking place around the world, which go so far as to envelope the US Navy. And more than once. Look through the records and you’ll find untold examples of operator error, fatigue, poor maintenance, broken gear, adverse weather and, well, bravado and foolhardiness. Worldwide, global shipping is increasing, but it doesn’t appear to be getting safer and, with ailing fleets on our high seas, it’s only a matter of time till the next environmental catastrophe. Consider the following:

- June 2007, the 76,741 metric ton bulk carrier and Japanese-owned Pasha Bulker runs aground off Newcastle’s Nobby’s Beach. The ship is salvaged on the third attempt at a cost of $1.8 million. A NSW Maritime report finds horrendous weather conditions combined with poor seamanship by the master of the vessel were to blame. At the height of the incident, the ship's master had left the bridge to have breakfast, failed to realise the impact of the forecast weather in the anchorage, and did not ballast the ship for heavy weather. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau identifies several other safety issues.

- March 2009, the 1,123 TEU container ship, MV Pacific Adventurer, loses 230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers of ammonium nitrate off South East Queensland and the Sunshine Coast during Cyclone Hamish, creating the "worst environmental disaster Queensland has ever seen," says then Premier Anna Bligh. Owners Swire Shipping (UK) agree to pay $25 million compensation after total clean-up costs reach $34 million. It was determined that improperly stowed cargo dislodged from the deck and damaged other cargo and containers onboard, breaching the hull and causing various substances to spill into the ocean.

- April 2010, the Chinese bulk coal carrier, MV Shen Neng 1, runs aground in a restricted area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, off Rockhampton, more than 10km outside the shipping lane. The incident caused the longest-known grounding scar on the Great Barrier Reef of some 3km in length, plus a 2km-long oil slick. A third of the cargo was removed, the ship towed to Singapore, and the ship's captain and officer-on-watch were charged. The maximum fine for shipping companies that cause damage to the Great Barrier Reef was increased thereafter. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the chief officer-on-watch had neglected to program a proposed course change into the ship's GPS navigation system due to fatigue. The chief officer-on-watch failed to plot the ship's position on the nautical chart in appropriate intervals and for that reason was not aware of the proximity of the shoal.

- October 2011, the 3,351 TEU Greek-owned container ship Rena runs aground off New Zealand’s North Island, on the Astrolabe Reef off the Bay of Plenty, causing the worst maritime oil spill and container loss in the country’s history. Daina Shipping Company pay $27.6 million to settle a bunch of claims, leaving a shortfall of about $20 million on the clean-up costs that were heading beyond $50 million last we checked, but with salvage costs it’s more like a $275 million bill. Insurers now want to leave part of the wreck in situ, but local Maori chiefs demand its removal. The Captain, Second Officer responsible for navigation, and other Filipino crew were charged.

- January 2012, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground in calm seas after hitting a near-shore reef off Tuscany during an unofficial salute to the local islanders. Thirty-two lives are lost. To perform the indulgent manoeuvre, Captain Francesco Schettino deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route. He was arrested on preliminary charges of multiple manslaughter in connection with causing a shipwreck, failing to assist 300 passengers, and failing to be the last to leave the wreck, but later charged with failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster and with abandoning incapacitated passengers. The insurance company declares the ship a "constructive total loss" and her salvage is anticipated to be the biggest operation of its kind. The ship is expected to be refloated in summer 2013 and towed away to be cut up for scrap.

- January 2013, the USS Navy minesweeper Guardian ignores a warning from local park authorities and runs aground on Tubbataha Reef about 130 kilometres south east of Palawan in the Philippines. After a port call and fuel stop in Subic, the ship lost its way and ended up high and dry, damaging a reported 1000 square metres of reef, say Philippine officials. The 79 crew and ship’s commander Lieutenant Commander Mark A. Rice were evacuated. The United States Navy announced last month that the ship will be cut into three pieces on the reef and removed, resulting in the total loss and mooted fines of $300 per metre of damaged reef.

Of course, this is not the first time a US Navy ship has run aground in friendly waters. In February 2009, the USS Port Royal ended up on a coral reef off the Hawaiian island of Oahu, damaging and necessitating repairs to both the ship and the reef in an environmentally sensitive area, about a half-mile south of the Honolulu International Airport, in full view of landing and departing aircraft much to the embarrassment of the Navy. An investigation found a misinterpreted navigation system, a sleep-deprived commanding officer, faulty equipment and an inexperienced and dysfunctional bridge team. The ship's fathometer (depth sounder) was broken, as were both radar repeaters on the guided-missile cruiser's bridge.