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Improvements to Pioneer Concrete's Bass Point jetty at Shellharbour are the direct result of recommendations from an investigation into an accident involving the specialised Barbados flag aggregate carrier Claudia.
A joint report released today by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and NSW Department of Transport ( formerly Office of Marine Administration) found that a steel girder protruding between the fenders, and below the water line of the Pioneer Concrete's Bass Point jetty at Shellharbour, punctured the hull of the specialised Barbados flag aggregate carrier Claudia, on 16 December 1998.
Nobody was injured and there was no pollution as a result of the accident, which occurred as the ship was berthing in fresh offshore winds, when the hull landed between two fenders.
Acting on recommendations stemming from the investigation Pioneer Concrete has improved and refurbished the fendering and a program of periodic underwater surveys of the berth have been introduced.
Improved equipment has also been fitted to Claudia, including a new, faster winch, and additional ballast pumping capacity.
Copies of the report can be obtained from:
Marine Incident Investigation Unit
GPO Box 594
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone:02 6274 6088
Reports may be downloaded from, www.atsb.gov.au/marine/index.aspx
Media Contact: Brett Bayly (Director)
Communications and Public Affairs
Ph: (02) 6274 7522 or (0418) 407 320
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