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Tauranga Shipping Channel Screw-Up


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On 8/09/2020 at 11:09 AM, Steve Pope said:

Latest Professional skipper mag gives a very different reason for the Tauranga debacle, As per the Mag, basically the ship was sent into a 50+ knot wind with 5 +m swell, on a low tide. Apparently the engine didn't fail, until it had picked up the stb bouy, relevant chain and 10 ton block in its propellor and this stalled the engine, leaving it to drift on the outgoing tide, only being stopped from running ashore after the tugs were recalled  to assist. Fingers are being pointed at the harbour authorities for sending an underpowered ship (apparently well known fact of this class of ship) into a building storm.

I have it on good authority that this article is less than accurate, and that the vessel was not compelled to leave. Two distinct sides to every story I guess...

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There is always 2 sides to any story, what I found interesting was that that the engine failure was reported as the reason, correct, except the reason, 50k wind, 5m swell, low tide, picking up the Stb. buoy, chain and anchor block, wasn't mentioned at all. Editorial perogative, maybe? I'm sure if it was studied "riggerously" there would be, or, perhaps there is already another take on it.

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They are under way again, now off North Cape doing 7.6 knots    https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:173.7/centery:-34.3/zoom:10

 

Guilty pleas in stranded bulk carrier case
The master and chief engineer of the MV Funing have pleaded guilty to charges laid against them by Maritime NZ.
The charge under Section 65(1)(a) is that the vessel was “operated in a manner which caused unnecessary danger or risk to other persons or property, including the passengers and crew of the MV Funing”.
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/251704-guilty-pleas-stranded-bulk-carrier-case.html

 

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I remember the day it happened, those weather reports are grossly exaggerated, it might've been 20knots, gusting 25 at the most, nothing unusual for Tauranga. Have a look at the pictures in the Sunlive articles, that's not 50kts and 5m swell anywhere.... sounds like the article in the mag is looking for anything else to blame...

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1 hour ago, ex Elly said:

So does this mean that Professional Skipper magazine is full of gossip, unfounded allegations, and fake news?

 

I wouldn't have thought so, they are generally pretty close to their sources. I'm sure the wind strength and wave height would be available from the harbour records. Havn't they got a wave buoy out there?

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Maritime NZ report

Latest issue of newsletters or media release.
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Master and Chief Engineer plead guilty in MV Funing case


15 SEPTEMBER 2020

The Master and Chief Engineer of the log-carrier MV Funing, have today been sentenced and fined after admitting charges relating to the grounding of the ship at the Port of Tauranga in July. 

Master Liang Guang Hong and Chief Engineer Chameekara Prasad Nanayakkara both entered guilty pleas in the Tauranga District Court on 10 September to charges brought by Maritime NZ under the Maritime Transport Act (MTA) 1994. This followed an investigation by Maritime NZ after the Singapore-registered ship lost power and passed over a channel marker with the propeller becoming caught in the markerchain, before making contact with a sand bar in the Tauranga Harbour channel. 

The Master was fined $3250.00 fine and ordered to pay $130.00 court costs, after pleading guilty to one charge under Section 65(1)(a) of the MTA, of operating the vessel “in a manner which caused unnecessary danger or risk to other persons or property, including the passengers and crew of the MV Funing.

The Chief Engineer also admitted one charge under section 65(2)(a) of the MTA, for causing or permitting the ship to be “operated, maintained, or serviced, in a manner that caused unnecessary danger or risk to any other persons or property, including the passengers and crew of the MV Funing”. He was also fined $3250 and ordered to pay $130 court costs.

The maximum penalty for both charges was 12 months’ imprisonment or a $10,000 fine.

Michael-Paul Abbott, Maritime NZ’s Central Region Compliance Manager said, “following a series of checks on the engine of the Funing prior to its departure from the Port of Tauranga, a problem was found with the fuel quantity pistons. At this time, the wind was gusting 15 to 30 knots (28-56 kph) with the wave height approaching 4 metres and rain had reduced visibility”. 

“The problem started when one of the engine’s fuel quantity pistons indicated an error, which means that if this isn’t addressed, the engine’s power will be reduced – which is power it needs when exiting the narrow harbour entrance.”

In the hours leading up to the engine failure, the Chief Engineer tested the affected parts a number of times, each time triggering an alarm suggesting the problem had not been rectified. The decision was then made to override the mechanism that automatically slows down the vessel in the event of a problem with the engine, as an attempted precautionary measure. 

“The Pilot subsequently came aboard around midnight and the master handed him the Pilot Card which indicated that there were no issues affecting a safe departure. But as the ship tried to increase speed on leaving Port, the Chief Engineer realised there was still a problem with one of the fuel quantity pistons and that the engine was not responding with the shift to ‘full ahead’ (full power). The Pilot asked the Master several times why the ship was going slowly, but did not receive a clear explanation,” Mr Abbott said.

“As a result, the No. 2 engine cylinder lost all power, and during this time the wind and swell had increased. At 0043 hours the Pilot called the tug boats to come and assist and the Master ordered the anchor to be dropped. At 0047 hours the main engine stopped after the propeller became entangled with the channel marker while the stern swung around and came into contact with the sand bank.

“The tugs then turned the vessel into the deeper channel water and held it there until it could be towed into safer anchorage. There it remained until 14 July when it was towed into port.”

Mr Abbott said the Maritime investigation and subsequent prosecution proved that the Master knew there was an issue with the main engine prior to departure and failed to notify the Pilot that there was a problem. 

The Chief Engineer was also proven to have failed to retest the main engine to ensure it was operating on all 5 cylinders after attending to the fuel quantity piston error.

The Funing is currently being towed back to Singapore which is expected to take around 40 days.

Maritime New Zealand Media Line: +64 4 499 7318 View the latest media releases
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I wonder if the Master and Chief Engineer were allowed to leave the country if they pleaded not guilty and it went to trial? Not saying they didn't screw up, but asking if there was undue pressure (being detained in a foreign country) to encourage an early guilty plea?

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