Following the container loss of the APL England on 24 May, Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responding to the incident by conducting an extensive drift modelling and investigating the matter at hand.
According to AMSA, the incident happened on Sunday 24 May, at approximately 6.10 am, when the vessel experienced a temporary loss of propulsion during heavy seas about 73 kilometres south east of Sydney.
For the records, the vessel was on a journey from Ningbo, China to Melbourne, Australia.
Although the vessel’s power was restored within a few minutes, during this time the ship reported that it was rolling heavily, leading container stacks to collapse and around 40 containers to fall overboard in waters about 2km deep.
Additional 74 containers have been damaged and remain collapsed on the deck of the ship, while six containers are reported to be protruding from starboard side and three containers from the port side of the ship, the master of APL England noted.
At the moment, the vessel is heading toward Brisbane, Queensland and once it arrives AMSA will be responsible for its inspection.
AMSA’s Challenger jet was tasked overnight to look for containers and debris in the water and inspect the ship for any signs of damage or pollution. Some containers were spotted in the water however efforts were hampered by bad weather and poor visibility. The ship has not reported any damage to the hull.
…AMSA said.
In light of the situation, AMSA along with New South Wales Maritime are conducting extensive drift modelling concerning the potential shoreline impacts and Maritime Safety Queensland around potential use of Brisbane Port.
Moreover, initial modelling showed that if there was any floating containers or debris it would likely end up to the north of Sydney.
Concluding, at the moment there are no sightings of containers or debris along the shoreline reported.
