At about 0230 on 16 May 2007, the bulk carrier Ormiston
sailed from Melbourne, Victoria, bound for Thevenard, South
Australia. At about 0512, the ship rounded the Hovell Pile beacon
and entered the South Channel in Port Phillip. At about 0521,
Ormiston entered 'The Cut', the narrowest part of the
channel, from the east making good about 15 knots.
At about 0230, the second mate on board the roll-on/roll-off
general cargo ship Searoad Mersey contacted Point Lonsdale
vessel traffic service (VTS) to provide an estimated time of
arrival at the entrance to Port Phillip and was advised of the
traffic movements within the port. At about 0420, Searoad
Mersey's master, who also held a pilotage exemption for Port
Phillip and had conducted over 1300 transits of the port, contacted
VTS and received updated traffic information, including
Ormiston's estimated movements.
At about 0435, Searoad Mersey passed Point Lonsdale
lighthouse and entered Port Phillip. At about 0521, when the ship
entered 'The Cut' from the west making good about 15 knots, the
master had forgotten that Ormiston was approaching and did not see
the approaching ship until immediately before the two ships passed.
At about 0523, Searoad Mersey and Ormiston passed
within 20 metres of each other in 'The Cut' at a combined speed of
about 30 knots.
The ATSB investigation found that Searoad Mersey's
bridge team members had not effectively implemented bridge resource
management principles, were not keeping an adequate lookout and had
lost situational awareness. The investigation also found that the
ships did not communicate with each other until after the incident
and that the Point Lonsdale VTS was not aware of the incident until
after it had occurred.
The ATSB has issued four recommendations and one safety advisory
notice to address the safety issues identified in the report.
Marine Recommendations
[ MR20080026
] [ MR20080027
] [ MR20080028
] [ MR20080029
]
Marine Safety Advisory Notices
[ MS20080026
]
