An Australian report has revealed how a massive AP Moller-Maersk container ship crunched a sail training ship against the quay at Fremantle last year.
Two crew members on the docked 236-gt Leeuwin II (built 1986) were injured in the accident involving the Singapore-flagged, 8,814-teu Maersk Shekou (built 2010).
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) interim report outlined the sequence of events leading up to the collision, without drawing conclusions.
The 333-metre Maersk vessel was being piloted towards its assigned berth in Fremantle’s inner harbour when it hit and damaged the Leeuwin II alongside Victoria Quay on the morning of 30 August.
Footage from the port showed masts being torn from the sailing vessel.
The Maersk Shekou and its crew had waited a week offshore Western Australia, first due to industrial action at the port and then because of unfavourable weather, before two harbour pilots boarded just before 5 am on the day of the accident.
“During the initial southerly transit, wind gusts of up to 50 knots from the south-west, almost on the bow of the vessel, were being encountered,” said ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell.
“Around an hour later, as the ship entered port, three tugs were connected, but with persistent winds now on the starboard quarter, up to 30° of port helm was required to maintain the course.”
Despite carrying a hard port rudder, the Maersk Shekou was experiencing a 1° per minute rate of turn to starboard and struggling to maintain the entry course.
In a further attempt to bring the vessel’s head to the ordered course, the pilot ordered full ahead on the main engine.
This action, combined with the tugs, eventually brought the course from 087° to 086°. The helmsman, without positive oversight of the pilot, then applied 30° of opposite starboard helm to stop the turn and steady on the previously ordered course of 083°.
“Fifteen seconds later, the primary pilot realised they were in trouble with the Leeuwin now almost right ahead, and the ship’s heading was no longer continuing to turn to port as expected, and as required to navigate the bend,” Mitchell said.
The tug on the starboard shoulder then had to abandon its position due to the danger of being crushed between the quay and the closing hull of the boxship.
“Moments later, the starboard bow collided with the Leeuwin, dismasting it, with the two crew members on board escaping via the gangway just on impact,” Mitchell added.
“The outermost stack of the containers on board the Shekou then collided with the roof of the WA Maritime Museum as the vessel’s starboard quarter continued to swing around and contact the wharf.”
The ship was subsequently brought back under control in the inner harbour and conducted to its berth.
The ATSB has interviewed the vessel’s master and crew, along with both pilots, tug skippers and port operational staff.
It has also reviewed relevant communications, bridge recordings, port procedures, weather data and the vessel’s logs and records.
The bureau said the wider investigation will review and examine pilot and crew actions, including bridge resource management, the ship’s safety management system, weather information, and port and pilotage procedures for inbound vessels at Fremantle.
