On the morning of 23 April, the Australian fishing vessel
Peter Crombie was at anchor about 30 miles south of Robe,
South Australia and the vessel's three crew members were below
decks sleeping. The Panamanian registered bulk carrier Silky Ocean
had sailed from Port Kembla, New South Wales, on 21 April and was
in ballast and en-route to Ardrossan, South Australia.
The weather was fine with good visibility. There was a swell of
about one metre from the east-southeast and a sea of about 1.5 m.
The wind was from the east-southeast at 12 to 18 knots.
At about 1150, Silky Ocean collided with Peter Crombie.
Silky Ocean's bridge watchkeeper had not detected
Peter Crombie either visually or by radar.
After the collision, Peter Crombie's skipper tried to
contact the ship using his vessel's very high frequency radio.
However, Silky Ocean's bridge watchkeeper did not
acknowledge the call and made no attempt to communicate with the
fishing vessel.
While Silky Ocean had sustained no damage as a result of the
collision, Peter Crombie's hull had been damaged and the
vessel was taking on water. Fortunately, the fishing vessel's bilge
pumps were able to keep up with the ingress of water.
Peter Crombie's skipper notified the vessel's owners of
the collision and then set a course for Robe and, by 1700, the
vessel was all fast alongside the wharf in Robe.
The report identifies a number of safety issues and issues
recommendations and safety advisory notices with the aim of
preventing similar events.
Marine Safety Advisory Notices
[ MS20070018
] [ MS20070019
] [ MS20070020
] [ MS20070021
] [ MS20070022
]
