2019 monthly domestic commercial vessel incident reports

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December

A total of 67 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA in December 2019. Of these, 11 were serious.

State	Vessel Type	Incident
WA	Passenger	A small hole was detected in a section of the vessel’s galley and passengers were disembarked for an out of water inspection. Arrangements were made for immediate repair. No injuries or pollution reported.
VIC	Passenger	Vessel was involved in a near miss and forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with another vessel travelling on the wrong side of the river and not altering course or slowing down.
NSW	Non-passenger	Scuba diver drowned from unknown causes. The diver was recovered and transported by ambulance.
WA	Non-Passenger	A snorkelling guide sustained lacerations to the body when they entered the water and made contact with the port outboard propeller.
QLD	Commercial fishing	Vessel made heavy contact with a fuel wharf during refuelling, resulting in a .5m long gash along the vessel’s portside mid ship. No injuries or pollution reported.
NT	Commercial fishing	Fishing vessel sank overnight and was towed to shore due to poor seaworthiness. Between 160-180 litres of diesel was on board, all of which was recovered with no pollution reported.
NSW	Hire and drive	Hired houseboat sank due to suspected damage from rocks. Marine rescue assisted in towing the vessel to the closest beach. The owner laid out floating booms around the vessel aft as a precaution against possible oil or fuel leaks. No injuries reported.
QLD	Hire and drive	Vessel ran aground and became stuck on a muddy bank. There was a large ingress of water, causing an electrical failure.
NSW	Hire and drive	A houseboat passenger was seriously injured after they jumped off the vessel’s swim deck and hit the riverbed. Suspected broken neck.
QLD	Hire and drive	A vessel was damaged and sustained internal cracking after it was struck by another vessel that had dragged its anchor. The vessel causing the damage did not have enough anchor chain rope out to keep the vessel secure.
QLD	Hire and drive	Jetski driver collided with tour guide on a jetski then a small recreational fishing vessel. No injuries reported.

November

A total of 49 incidents were reported during November 2019. Of these, six were serious.

State	Vessel Type	Incident
NSW	Passenger	A volunteer watch leader lost his balance on deck while tying up a mainsail gasket when wash from a passing vessel caused him to lose his balance. He suffered head and back injuries and was transferred to hospital.
NSW	Non–passenger	Two crew members fell overboard a vessel and sustained minor injuries when the throttle was suddenly increased during berthing operations.
VIC	Hire and drive	A vessel was damaged and started taking on water when it hit a rock while navigating the wrong side of a marker. Passengers were disembarked and the vessel towed and removed from the water. There were no reports of injuries or pollution.
NSW	Passenger	A vessel Master was hit on the forehead by a foresheet block during the sail drop. He suffered bruising and lacerations and self-administrated first aid then taken to hospital.
QLD	Passenger	Vessel ran aground and started taking on water. It was re-floated, towed and taken to dry dock for repairs and is believed to still be out of water No reports of any injuries or pollution.
QLD	Non-passenger	A passenger severed a finger when his right hand was caught in a rope while securing two vessels together. First aid was immediately administered and passenger was transferred to hospital for further treatment.

October

A total of 68 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during October 2019. Of these, 12 were serious.

State	Vessel type	Incident
WA	Passenger	Vessel altered course and collided with a port navigational marker.
QLD	Passenger	Vessel hit a submerged object. Emergency steering was used to manoeuver and recover control of the vessel.
NSW	Passenger	Mainsheet caught a passenger and threw him across the cockpit during a sailing lesson. Passenger was seriously injured.
QLD	Non-passenger	Crew member was seriously injured when vessel hit large troughs from a sailing vessel travelling in the opposite direction.
WA	Non-passenger	During a transfer of machinery, crew member was crushed between a hook block and deck rail, and sustained serious injuries.
NT	Fishing (commercial)	Vessel grounded while trying to avoid a moored, poorly lit vessel.
QLD	Fishing (commercial)	Vessel sunk due to failure of stern gland.
NSW	Non-passenger	Tug experienced a steering issue and struck a moored survey vessel on a service pontoon. The vessel was damaged when it was pushed onto the pontoon.
TAS	Non-passenger	A sudden change in weather conditions caused a dive punt to take on water. The vessel was caught on a floating pennant line and capsized.
QLD	Passenger	Several passengers and crew were injured when their vessel approached a pontoon and made contact with a vertical fender strip.
QLD	Fishing (commercial)	Fishing vessel sunk due to flooding. The cause was a suspected collision with a semi submerged object earlier in the day, which flooded a storage compartment.
VIC	Non-Passenger	A trawler capsized, with all crew rescued. The incident is under investigation.

September

A total of 72 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during September 2019. Of these, two were serious.

State	Vessel Type	Incident
QLD	Non–passenger	During towing operations, a deck hand placed his left hand on the capping rail. This resulted in his fingers being trapped between the tug and the barge and crushed 4 of his fingers. A medical evacuation took place and the deck hand was flown to Cairns for medical attention.
QLD	Passenger	While snorkelling a passenger lost consciousness on deck. Emergency medical treatment was provided, but unfortunately the passenger passed away. It is believed the passenger suffered a medical event (suspected heart attack).

August

A total of 65 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during August 2019. Of these, six were serious.

Location	Vessel Type	Incident
Queensland	Non-passenger	Fire during refuelling. Fuel vapour ignited by static electricity, causing serious burns to a crew member on board. Crew member was taken to hospital for treatment.
Western Australia	Passenger	A snorkeler suffered a suspected heart attack while in the water. Emergency medical treatment was given, but unfortunately the person died.
Queensland	Non-passenger	Crew member slipped off a forklift and suffered multiple fractures to his forearm.
Northern Territory	Fishing (Commercial)	Vessel capsized with three people on board. No injuries or pollution occurred.
South Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	While setting a crab pot longline, a deckhand became entangled in the mainline and was dragged off the stern into the water. Fortunately the deckhand was wearing an inflatable lifejacket, which activated. The buoyancy of his life jacket kept him afloat long enough for a rescue by crew members and the man suffered only minor injuries.
Queensland	Passenger	Fire broke out in engine room due to faulty electrical wiring. Multiple attempts were made to successfully extinguish the fire. No injuries occurred.

July

A total of 69 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during July 2019. Of these, nine were serious.

Location	Vessel Type	Incident
South Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	Vessel’s live well pump, top casing lid failed causing engine room to flood. Main engines, generator and most electronics were fully submersed in water. Vessel was stabilised and pumped out. No injuries reported.
Queensland	Fishing (Commercial)	Fishing vessel collided with another vessel at anchor. Damage to other vessel occurred. No injuries reported.
Western Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	Vessel flooded at berth due to burst saltwater condenser pipe in engine room. No injuries or pollution reported.
New South Wales	Passenger	Smoke detected in starboard engine room coming from turbo lagging. No personnel affected.
Queensland	Passenger	Vessel reversed into tender, causing damage to both vessels. No injuries reported
Western Australia	Passenger	Passenger had trouble breathing and became unconscious in the water during a snorkelling trip. First aid was carried out but unfortunately the passenger died.
New South Wales	Passenger	During berthing operations crew member slipped and fell between vessel and wharf. Crew member was winded but did not require medical attention.
Queensland	Fishing (Commercial)	Crew member was bitten by a tiger shark while snorkelling and received severe lacerations to lower leg. A tourniquet was applied and medical evacuation occurred after 3 hours.
New South Wales	Passenger	Small fire occurred on port main engine. Passengers were disembarked and crew used portable extinguishers to extinguish fire. No injuries reported.

June

A total of 43 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during June 2019. Of these, seven were serious.

Location	Vessel type	Incident
Victoria	Fishing (Commercial)	The crew on board were asleep, when the owner woke up because the genset had shutdown. The engine room was flooded to near capacity. The crew deployed the life raft and EPIRB. The vessel sank approximately one hour later. All crew were uninjured and no pollution reported.
Tasmania	Non-passenger	A pilot boat collided with a cargo vessel due to rough seas. No injuries were reported.
Northern Territory	Non-passenger	The vessel was coming around a bend near Sweets Lagoon when the master felt the boat losing power. As a result, the vessel collided with a tree damaging the fan and fins. One passenger sustained a minor injury.
Queensland	Passenger	The vessel was engulfed in flames.14 people on board abandoned to the dory. Unfortunately, the tender became overloaded and capsized. Everyone was safe and accounted for, however they remained in the water for approximately 1.5 hours until help arrived.
Queensland	Non-passenger	The vessel hit an unseen small aluminium craft resulting in the smaller vessel capsizing. While attempting to right the vessel to tow, a person was found unconscious. CPR commenced and the injured person was taken to hospital by ambulance officers.
Tasmania	Fishing	The vessel sunk due to the bilge pump and float failure. No injuries or pollution reported.
Queensland	Non-passenger	The vessel collided with a marker, resulting in major damage to the starboard bow above water line and to the marker. The vessel organised an emergency haul out, however was able to make its way to the marina.

May

A total of 39 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during May 2019. Of these, four were serious.

Location	Vessel type	Incident
Western Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	JRCC Australia responded to emergency beacon, vessel was confirmed as aground. Satellite phone was dropped to vessel and it was confirmed there were three people on board. Vessel was taking on water due to hull breach. No Injuries or pollution.
Victoria	Non-passenger	Fire occurred in engine room and after multiple attempts it was extinguished. No injuries sustained however vessel was inoperable.
Western Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	Fishing vessel took in water and sunk at berth. Black smoke was reported from the vessel and two people aboard were rescued by lines boat, with minimal injury to one person.
Queensland	Fishing (Commercial)

April

A total of 53 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during April 2019. Of these, seven were serious.

Location	Vessel type	Incident
Queensland	Passenger	Vessel collided with speed boat. No injuries occurred.
Queensland	Non-passenger	Passenger became unwell on board fishing charter and died.
Queensland	Passenger	Vessel collided with a snorkeler resulting in minor injuries. Assistance and first aid administered.
Queensland	Passenger	Collision occurred between a recreational and passenger vessel resulting in two injuries. The injured occupants were transported to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
Queensland	Hire and drive	Hire vessel flooded and sunk during charter. Unfortunately the vessel could not be salvaged.
Queensland	Hire and drive	Bung was removed to drain water, but unfortunately not replaced leading to water ingress and capsizing of vessel. Vessel was salvaged.
Queensland	Fishing (Commercial)	Master sustained severe injuries after being struck by equipment, first aid was administered and bleeding controlled. Master was further treated in hospital.

March

A total of 61 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during March 2019. Of these, eight were serious.

Location	Vessel type	Incident
Queensland	Passenger	While the vessel was manoeuvring away from the wharf, an alarm sounded indicating loss of starboard engine control. The vessel drifted onto a berthing fender, and used the port engine to move into clear water. As there were passengers on board at the time, the master assessed returning back to wharf as it was too dangerous on one engine given the flood tide. The Master transited to the terminal where the vessel safely berthed. Passengers offloaded without further incident. The vessel was placed into out of service status.
Western Australia	Non-passenger	A barge grounded, there was no damage sustained to the vessel and no environmental issues occurred.
Queensland	Passenger	A vessel came into contact with rocks, damaging the viewing glass under the water line. No water ingress occurred.
Queensland	Non-passenger	A collision between a fishing vessel and a kayaker occurred due to high wave crests and low profile of kayak in the water.
Queensland	Passenger	A small engine-room fire occurred. The passengers were evacuated to nearby vessels. The mechanic discovered that there was no coolant left in the header tank, and the raw water belt showed signs of burning due to a snapped tension bolt, causing it to become loose.
Queensland	Fishing (commercial)	Detection of an EPIRB registered to a fishing vessel dory. Contact was made with Skipper via satellite phone and the encoded position was provided. Two dories with handheld VHF radios were sent to the location, confirmed safety, and advised that the dory had overturned.
New South Wales	Fishing (commercial)	While the vessel was winching a purse line on a net, the rope became tangled with a crew members leg, resulting in crew members leg being severed.
Queensland	Passenger	A passenger passed away due to medical event shortly after snorkelling.

February

A total of 43 incidents were reported to AMSA during the month of February. Of these 3 were serious.

Location	Vessel Type	Incident
Queensland	Passenger	A snorkeler was rescued from the water after a suspected heart attack. First-aid was administered, including the use of a defibrillator, and the patient evacuated to hospital by helicopter.
New South Wales	Passenger	A passenger was discovered unconscious in a toilet by deck hand. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered & an ambulance was called however unfortunately the passenger could not be revived by ambulance officers.
Western Australia	Fishing (Commercial)	The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a distress beacon alert from a fishing vessel. The vessel flooded and subsequently sunk with two people on board. The two crew members were rescued from a life raft by Marine Rescue.

January

A total of 30 domestic commercial vessel incidents were reported to AMSA during January 2019. Of these, four were categorised serious.

Location	Vessel Type	Incident
Queensland	Passenger	The vessel was overloaded with passengers and began taking on water.
South Australia	Non – Passenger	A cargo pod dropped below the water line, causing the vessel to stop suddenly. This resulted in minor injuries to the crew and damage to the crane and cargo pod.
Queensland	Fishing	The Coast Guard evacuated injured crew from a fishing trawler.
Queensland	Fishing	A deceased fisherman found in the water.

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Monday 9 May 2022

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2019 monthly domestic commercial vessel incident reports

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