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.
Download complete report [PDF
1.9 MB]
Marine Recommendations
[ MR20080026 ]
[ MR20080027 ]
[ MR20080028 ]
[ MR20080029 ]
Marine Safety Advisory Notices
[ MS20080026 ]