Angus Mitchell News

A fire on board a multi-purpose vessel chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) while transiting the Southern Ocean highlights the risks and challenges of operating in harsh, remote conditions.On April 5, 2021, the 145 meter MPV Everest was en route from Antarctica to Hobart with 37 crew and 72 Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) staff on board when a fire broke out in its port engine room.The fire was contained and eventually extinguished using the engine room water mist fixed fire-extinguishing system after about 2.5 hours…

Managers of the two vessels involved in a fatal crew transfer accident off Brisbane, Australia, had not ensured personnel had a common and complete understanding of how the transfer would be conducted, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has concluded.On 9 August 2021, crew were being transferred to and from the bulk carrier Formosabulk Clement via the launch boat PT Transporter in the Port of Brisbane anchorage, about five nautical miles off the coast.The operation involved multiple visits from PT Transporter to transfer crew on and off the anchored bulk carrier.

An interim report from an ongoing Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has detailed the sequence of events of a loaded iron ore carrier’s grounding in a channel while departing Port Hedland, Western Australia in 2022.The interim report details factual information but contains no analysis or findings.In the early hours of April 9, Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Hagen Oldendorff departed its berth at Port Hedland, with a harbour pilot onboard. About 50 minutes after departure…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its investigation report into a bulk carrier’s collision with two tugs in Tasmania last year highlighting the importance of bridge resource management (BRM) and the design of bridge systems to reduce the risks of human error.On January 28, 2022, the Australian-flagged bulk carrier Goliath was turning in the swing basin to berth at the Port of Devonport, Tasmania, when it collided with two moored tugs, which subsequently sunk.

A fire that broke out during the maiden voyage of the world's first liquified hydrogen (LH2) carrier gas carrier Suiso Frontier was caused by an onboard electrical issue, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation foundThe 116-meter vessel, built as a prototype ship to assess the technical aspects of transporting LH2 by sea, had arrived at the Port of Hastings, Victoria on January 20, 2022, on its maiden voyage.The ship had departed Kobe, Japan on December 25, 2021 with 55 t of LH2…

Fixed container securing arrangements on containership APL England were in poor state of repair and corroded prior to loss of dozens containers in heavy seas off Sydney, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation found.The Singapore-flagged containership was making way down the east coast of Australia on May 24, 2020 when, in adverse weather, it underwent a series of heavy rolls that resulted in the loss of 50 containers overboard, and shutdown of the main engine.The…

A cargo ship lost 83 containers over-board during heavy seas off Australia and items including nappies and sanitary pads are washing up on beaches while there are fears the ill-fated containers will pose a hazard for shipping and whales.The YM Efficiency, operated by Taiwan shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, was sailing from Taiwan to Sydney when it encountered 5-metre swells in the Tasman Sea, about 30 km off Australia's east coast late on Thursday."They're 40-foot containers, they sit about a foot or two off the water ... even in the best of conditions they're difficult to spot, but at night and in a swell, almost impossible…