Port Authority of New South Wales procedures to comply with its Port Safety Operating Licence and the NSW Coastal Waters Marine Pollution Plan were not effectively implemented. This resulted in delays to the required notifications and incident response, which contributed to prolonging the emergency.
Response by Port Authority of New South Wales
The Port Authority of New South Wales (Port Authority) did not advise the ATSB that it had taken or proposed to take any safety action to address this safety issue. The Port Authority advised the ATSB that its roles and responsibilities under relevant state plans and its operating licence were limited to responding to spills (pollution) and because that did not occur during this incident, its role as a combat agency under the NSW Coastal Waters Marine Pollution Plan was not ‘enlivened’.
ATSB comment
The ATSB has significant concerns that the Port Authority has not taken safety action to address this safety issue, and its interpretation of its roles and responsibilities under the state’s plans and its operating licence. The ATSB considers the ongoing risk due to this issue is unacceptably high with potentially severe consequences in the event of a similar incident and has, therefore, issued the following safety recommendation to the Port Authority.
To be advised
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends that the Port Authority of New South Wales takes safety action to adequately address this safety issue.
