Ineffective bridge resource management contributed to the grounding of a bulk carrier in the Port of Bunbury in Western Australia on April 22, 2023, an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found.
The grounding on the said date occurred as the 229-metre-long, Isle of Man-registered bulk carrier World Diana was departing Bunbury under the conduct of a harbour pilot, with two tugs assisting. After being moved off its berth, the ship had to be turned in the swing basin before exiting the harbour.
“This turn was started earlier than planned, reducing the amount of room available,” Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said. “The ship’s speed was then allowed to increase until there was no room to safely turn, and the bow of the ship grounded on a shallow bank to the east of the harbour entrance.”
The ship sustained minor hull damage, but was able to be manoeuvred off the bank. No pollution was reported as a result of the grounding.
The ATSB’s investigation found bridge resource management during the pilotage was ineffective. The report notes that in this case, proper use of the available portable pilot unit, effective communication, and active involvement of the World Diana bridge team and the tug masters would have allowed the deviation from the plan to be detected in time to prevent the grounding.
“Specific information and limits for the departure plan were only known to the pilot, which made it difficult for the bridge team to raise concerns during the event,” Mr Mitchell said. “Nevertheless, had the ship’s master – an experienced ship-handler familiar with the ship’s movement characteristics – been actively monitoring the pilotage, the early turn and ship’s increasing headway should have become evident.”
The ATSB also said that while not found to have contributed to the grounding, the Port of Bunbury had not developed adequate procedures for arrival and departure plans for larger ships berthed on their starboard side alongside berth number three. Mr Mitchell said this reduced the information available to pilots for these ship movements, and to share with bridge teams and tug masters to ensure a common understanding of how manoeuvring would be conducted.
The ATSB report on the World Diana grounding incident can be read here.