ATSB delivers final report into near stranding of cargo ship carrying fuel oil off Sydney

Australia Broadcast Center

19-05-2025

The national transport investigator has made an "unprecedented" number of safety recommendations almost three years after a bulk carrier holding hundreds of tonnes of fuel oil risked crashing into cliffs off the Royal National Park during a storm.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has identified the failings of government agencies and made eight recommendations in its final report into the incident where MV Portland Bay came close to sinking just south of Sydney in July 2022.
The formal recommendations come after the ATSB found the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMA), Maritime NSW and Port Authority NSW had not addressed issues identified in the initial investigation "to the ATSB Commission's satisfaction".
"This was one of the ATSB's most comprehensive marine occurrence investigations in nearly two decades," he said.
A crew of 21 left Port Kembla in Portland Bay on July 3, to avoid damage to the ship and the port amid extreme weather.
Hours later and 12 nautical miles off the coast of the Royal National Park, the main engine failed which disabled the ship now being lashed by heavy swell, inching closer to the rocks.
The ATSB's report notes the carrier breached the self-imposed limit of 50 nautical miles distance from the coast.
Mr Mitchell laid out in the report failures in relation to reporting and responding to the emergency.
Mr Mitchell said it was only after several emergency broadcasts and a radio plea for assistance that a harbour tug was dispatched, "which arrived nearly five hours after the ship was first disabled."
The report found the three harbour tugs deployed were Ill-equipped and incapable of towing the ship in the rough seas and that the only capable ocean-going emergency towage vessel in the state, Svitzer Glenrock, did not arrive on the scene until after an "extended and unnecessary" delay of about 30 hours.
It revealed the only prevention of potential "catastrophe" was the master's emergency deployment of two anchors, on two separate occasions, despite them being unfit for extreme weather.
More than 48 hours after the emergency started, the ship was towed into Port Botany for refuge and repairs.
The commission has accused the agencies of inefficient coordination.
Port Authority NSW said in a statement to the ABC that it played a role in preventing the significant maritime incident and that it intended to work with AMSA and NSW Maritime on "respective obligations and improving the clarity of emergency plans going forward."
AMSA told the ABC the incident did "highlight areas for improvement" and that it's since conducted a thorough internal review of its response and successfully managed similar incidents without harm to crew or the environment.
AMSA said it was committed to ensuring the National Plan remained fit for purpose.
"And that inter-agency cooperation and coordination continue to deliver on the remit to protect lives and the environment from the impacts of shipping," the statement read.
The National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies outlines policies, principles and arrangements for responding to spills, collisions and other maritime incidents.
The transport watchdog says it will continue to monitor for action taken by the organisations.