The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) informs that there were 77 reported incidents involving domestic commercial vessels in March 2020. Of these, 1 was very serious and 9 serious. The Authority highlights that reporting incidents is a crucial part in guiding the way they improve maritime safety in Australian waters.
#1 Non-passenger vessel: A crew member hit by a boom while sailing, fell overboard and died. While manoeuvring to save the man, the vessel propeller fouled and became disabled. Water police recovered the man but he couldn’t be revived. During the incident, one crew jumped into the water and suffered hypothermia, another broke their arm.
#2 Fishing (commercial) vessel: Vessel suffered a black out and started taking on water with two crew on board. The crew activated their EPIRB and a search and rescue operation commenced. The crew abandoned the vessel and deployed the life raft. They were subsequently rescued by a nearby fishing vessel. The vessel remained semi-submerged with 2000 L of diesel oil pollution reported.
#3 Non-passenger vessel: An unpowered barge pushed by another vessel, collided with a powered barge carrying passengers to a worksite. Several passengers sustained injuries and some fell overboard. The powered barge was damaged.
#4 Passenger vessel: Fire broke out in the vessel engine room. Passengers were mustered by crew and used fire flaps to smother the fire. Passengers and crew disembarked safely when the vessel returned to port. No injuries reported and the cause of the fire is unknown.
#5 Hire & drive vessel: Vessel took on water during a hire trip. No passengers were injured and they swam to a nearby shore. The submerged vessel was later recovered by forklift. The cause of the water intake is unknown and an investigation underway. No pollution reported.
#6 Passenger vessel: Vessel started taking on water while anchored. To avoid sinking, the master decided to beach the vessel. En route to shore, the vessel collided with another vessel at anchor causing minor damage to both. No injuries or pollution reported.
#7 Fishing (commercial) vessel: Tender vessel caught fire due to a suspected electrical fault. Fire extinguished by buckets of water from a nearby dinghy. The tender was extensively damaged, which affected its stability.
#8 Fishing (commercial) vessel: Vessel swamped with water and capsized. Rescue vessel was unsuccessful in attempting to retrieve the capsized vessel. No injuries reported.
#9 Non-passenger vessel: While completing a towing operation, a tug experienced a mechanical fault. It resulted in unexpected manoeuvring and caused a collision with a towed vessel and broken window on the tug.
#10 Non-passenger vessel: Crew member positioning the gangway lost his footing and fell approximately 3-4 metres to the main deck. The man was transferred by ambulance to hospital for treatment.
See also:
- 11 serious maritime incidents in January, AMSA reports
- AMSA: 11 serious maritime incidents in December
