- AMSA will investigate the cargo ship which lost 40 containers off Australia’s east coast.
- Around 40 containers were lost when APL England hit rough seas south-east of Sydney.
- The vessel lost dozens of containers after hitting rough seas about 73 kilometres south-east of Sydney.
- The ship experienced a temporary loss of propulsion and was rolling heavily.
- It caused container stacks to collapse and 40 containers to fall overboard and damaged many.
According to an article published in ABC news and authored by Rachel Riga, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) will investigate how a Singaporean cargo ship lost 40 containers off Australia’s east coast when it docks in Brisbane today.
What happened?
Around 40 containers were lost when APL England hit rough seas south-east of Sydney
AMSA says its heard reports of medical facemasks washing up on a beach and expects more debris in the coming days.
An investigation will begin when the ship docks in Brisbane today. The APL England was en route from Ningbo, China to Melbourne when it lost dozens of containers after hitting rough seas about 73 kilometres south-east of Sydney, early on Sunday morning.
Ship loses propulsion power
AMSA said the ship experienced a temporary loss of propulsion and during that time it was rolling heavily which caused container stacks to collapse and 40 containers to fall overboard.
AMSA general manager of operations Allan Schwartz said it was still unclear what was inside the containers that had been lost but they likely contained medical supplies, household appliances and building materials.
“No dangerous goods appear to be in the areas affected by the collapse of container stacks and AMSA is working closely with the ship’s cargo agent to confirm exactly which containers went overboard,“ Mr Schwartz said.
“We have received a report of some medical supplies [face masks] washing up between Magenta Beach and The Entrance [in New South Wales]. These correlate to drift modelling of debris and are consistent with items listed on the ship’s cargo manifest.“
Many containers damaged
He added, “Under the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies, the NSW Government has led the response for shoreline clean-up. Modelling suggests that debris such as this could continue to wash up over the coming days.“
The Master of the APL England has reported 74 containers have been damaged onboard with six protruding from the starboard side and three from the port side.
Ship worthiness to be assessed
Surveyors conducted a seaworthiness inspection to check the structural and operational condition of the ship when it anchored off the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday.
Mr Schwartz said AMSA will begin its investigation when the cargo ship arrives in the Port of Brisbane today, where it was diverted after the incident.
“Once the ship is safely in port we will begin our investigation which will focus on the safety of the ship,“ he said. “Including whether the cargo was appropriately stacked and secured onboard the ship, and any potential breaches of environmental pollution regulations.“
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will also investigate. This is not the first incident involving container losses from the APL England after it lost 37 containers in the Great Australian Bight in August 2016 due to heavy rolling in rough seas.
You can read more about the news from here and also watch the video of the containers getting blown off.
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Source: ABCNews
