Collision involving Cemtex General and FV Tina

Summary

At noon on 2 February 1999, the fishing vessel Tina was at anchor about 30 miles east of Noosa Head. The skipper and two crew on board were asleep in the forecastle space when, at about 1240, the skipper was awakened by the sound of a ship's whistle.

The skipper and both crew members hurriedly left the forecastle and went to the wheelhouse, from where they saw the bow of a ship going past. Immediately after this, the hull of the ship made contact with the starboard boom of Tina. The boom was damaged, and the crew of Tina saw a figure on the bridge of the ship emerge from the wheelhouse and watch them through binoculars.

The skipper read the name of the ship as the stern went past and advised Brisbane Harbour of the incident, but he was not able to contact the ship, the Cemtex General, registered in Keelung. Cemtex General was on a voyage from Newcastle to Hualien in Taiwan. The ship had been experiencing moderately rough seas and poor visibility in heavy rain showers. The duty officer was using radar to assist with keeping a lookout. The anchored vessel was not seen on the radar and was only seen visually about a ship length away, fine on the port bow. After the collision, Cemtex General continued on its voyage without stopping. The master did not advise the Australian Search and Rescue organisation, AusSAR, of the incident, or report the matter to the owners of the ship in Taiwan.

There was no other damage to the trawler apart from damage to the boom and Tina returned to Mooloolaba the same day, arriving there at about 1800.

The master, duty officer and the lookout of Cemtex General were interviewed after the vessel returned to Australia to load at Weipa on 13 March 1999.

Conclusions

These conclusions identify the different factors contributing to the incident and should not be read as apportioning blame or liability to any particular organisation or individual.

• The speed of Cemtex General was not safe given the factors that should have been taken into account under Rule 6 of the Collision Regulations.
• There were no whistle signals being sounded aboard Cemtex General as required by the Collision Regulations, despite the rain and restricted visibility prior to, and at the time of, the collision.
• Those navigating Cemtex General placed too great a reliance on radar navigation without appreciating the limitations of radar.
• The lookout on Cemtex General was inadequate.
• No lookout was being kept aboard Tina.
• Tina was anchored in busy shipping lanes.
• Tina was not displaying the signals required by the Collision Regulations for a vessel at anchor. The absence of such signals contributed to the master's immediate impression that Tina was making way.