The ship’s managers did not have effective systems to ensure that the defective control system for the controllable pitch propeller was reported to the relevant organisations as required.
Consequently, Brisbane’s vessel traffic services, pilotage provider and the pilot remained unaware of the defect and could not consider it in their risk assessments before the pilotage started.
Although IMM Shipping did not identify specific safety action to address the safety issue concerning the reporting of defects to external parties, the company issued a circular to all managed ships on the subject of the incident. The circular has the potential to form the basis of lessons learned from the incident across the company's fleet.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends that IMM Shipping takes safety action to ensure that defects are reported as required.
