Calliope was not required to carry a pilot during Sydney Harbour voyages because the yacht was considered to be a recreational vessel, even though the risks it posed to the port were the same as those posed by similarly sized commercially operated vessels.
The examples of non-compliance with the requirements of Whyalla Launch Services’ safety management system indicate that the system was not fully and effectively implemented on board Switcher.
Atlantic Princess’s safety management system provided no guidance relating to actions that should be taken when persons less experienced than a pilot used a pilot ladder to board or disembark the ship.
Whyalla Launch Services’ safety management system did not provide effective guidance in relation to assessing a passenger’s ability to climb a pilot ladder or positioning of pilot launches while passengers were climbing and descending ladders. The system also referenced superseded SOLAS regulations and IMO resolutions relating to pilot ladders.
There were no facilities on board the Floating Offshore Transfer Barge Spencer Gulf that could be used to provide a safe means of access for personnel transfers between the barge and the ship. Furthermore, the barge operator’s procedures prohibited such personnel transfers.
The ship’s pilot transfer procedures had not been revised to incorporate the most recent SOLAS requirements that manropes be secured at the rope end to a ring plate fixed to the deck.
The pilotage company’s procedures for positive communication of readiness between the pilot and the launch crew were adequate. However, it was common for employees to vary these communication protocols, leaving perceptions of readiness open to error and misinterpretation.
The pilotage company’s procedures did not require pilots to inform launch crews whether manropes would or would not be deployed in advance of the transfer.
The pilotage company’s procedures did not explicitly require the pilot to check the pilot ladder and manrope arrangements before disembarking the ship.
The ship’s pilot transfer procedures did not specify a requirement for additional crew members to assist the supervising officer. As a result, the supervising officer was actively involved in deploying the pilot ladder and manropes, and transferring the pilot’s belongings to the launch, and could not focus his efforts on properly checking the arrangements and supervising the transfer.
The condensate drainage pots fitted to Nireas’ main air receivers were not fit for purpose as they were not capable of withstanding the internal pressures that were likely to accumulate in service.
In the past 25 years the ATSB and its predecessor have investigated 39 collisions between trading ships and smaller vessels on the Australian coast. These investigations have all concluded that there was a failure of the watchkeepers on board one or both vessels to keep a proper lookout and that there was an absence of early and appropriate action to avoid the collision.
ClassNK did not have in place a system which ensured that updated service advice from the engine manufacturer was being implemented on board ships with engines which its surveyors were routinely and regularly surveying.
The ship’s planned maintenance system did not include all of the main engine manufacturer’s maintenance requirements. Furthermore, the maintenance records did not include sufficient detail to confirm that the main engine was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements.
The stevedoring company had not identified stevedore fatigue as a risk to the company or its operations and, as a result, had not implemented a system to manage fatigue. Consequently, its operations were exposed to a level of fatigue-related risk that had not been assessed and treated.
While the risk of aluminium ingot stacks toppling over had been identified by the stevedoring company as a result of past incidents, its procedure for loading aluminium products had not evolved to adequately address this risk. Furthermore, the implementation of basic precautions such as using ladders to climb between ingot tiers was not effectively monitored or enforced.
The aluminium ingot lifts in Newcastle, comprising multiple stacks of ingot packs strapped together, with an effective height to width ratio of 5:1 were inherently unstable. Furthermore, handling and stowage of ingot lifts involved the risk of a lift being disturbed and one or more of its packs falling or toppling because the lifting and other straps were not designed to restrain the packs as a single homogenous cargo unit and were prone to failure.
A risk assessment for mooring a ship at the inner moorings had never been undertaken. As a result, the risks associated with leaving a ship at the inner moorings overnight during the swell season were not properly identified and strategies to minimise those risks were not implemented.
While the pilot provided limited advice to masters of ships visiting Christmas Island, the port operator did not provide the master of ships intending to berth using the buoys in Flying Fish Cove with any written or verbal guidance regarding berthing and unberthing arrangements and emergency contingencies.
The port operator was aware that the type of locking pin arrangement on the cantilever line joining shackle was not effective in preventing the shackle’s pin from working its way free. However, the operator had not implemented a program of replacing the shackles in the entire mooring system in Flying Fish Cove with new shackles that had a more robust locking pin arrangement.
