Grounding of Singaporean bulk carrier Sea Crane

Summary

Shortly after 0900 on Saturday, 2 December 1995, the Singapore registered bulk carrier Sea Crane, while bound for the port of Wallaroo to load a part cargo of barley, grounded off Tiparra Reef in the Spencer Gulf, South Australia. The water ballast in the upper wing tanks was dumped and the vessel refloated after about 1 hours under its own power. Inspection by divers on 3 December revealed that only minor damage had been sustained, the hull plating not having been penetrated.

Originally the vessel had orders to load at Portland and Geelong, in Victoria, and the Master obtained the necessary navigation charts at the previous voyage discharge port of Yokkaichi, Japan. However, after sailing from Japan the Master received a change of orders, initially directing him to load at Ardrossan and Port Giles in South Australia, but this was then changed to Wallaroo and Port Giles. Although the Master requested that the necessary navigation charts be supplied at the Gladstone anchorage, Queensland, where the vessel was to take on bunkers, he did not receive them.

To assist him in navigating from Cape Nelson, Victoria, to Wallaroo, the Master constructed a chart on a celestial navigation plotting chart, taking details from the small-scale chart Aus 4709, "Southern Ocean -Australia South Coast". However, this chart did not show details of lights and shoals within Spencer Gulf.

Conclusions

These conclusions identify the factors contributing to the incident and should not be taken as apportioning either blame or liability.

The main contributing factors to the grounding of Sea Crane on Tiparra Reef are considered to be:

1. The Master was not provided with the necessary navigation charts for the safe conduct of the voyage beyond Cape Martin, eastern South Australia and for the approach to Wallaroo in particular.
2. The lack of co-ordination between the owner and the charterer, resulting in charts not being provided at Gladstone on 26 November 1995.
3. The apparent lack of appreciation by the owner of the importance for the charts to be supplied to the ship before it arrived in South Australian waters and, therefore, the fact that the owner did not arrange for the ship to divert to another port en route for this purpose.
4. The Master accepted the non-delivery of the charts and did not request the owner to arrange their delivery at another port en route.
5. In compiling his own chart, the Master did not utilise all the relevant information available to him in the Admiralty publications.
6. Having observed a structure and a number of fishing craft in proximity to it, the Master did not maintain a sufficiently safe passing distance.
7. The echo sounder was not used to check the depth of water and the trend of the seabed, particularly while approaching the structure.