FOR page after page, the Australian Transport Safety Report into the grounding of the Pasha Bulker examines the events of that unforgettable day in microscopic detail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But no matter from where the disaster is viewed, the most crucial moment in three hours of crucial moments comes soon after 9am when the Pasha Bulker makes an abrupt change of course.
As the accompanying chart from the report shows, the Pasha Bulker had just been steaming to the north-east and to probable safety when it entered a restricted area of ocean off the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, where ships passing in and out of the port would normally sail.
Half an hour earlier, at 8.24am, the port corporation's Vessel Traffic Information Centre had told the nearby Sea Confidence that it was inside the restricted area and "if possible, to keep clear" of it. The Pasha Bulker master heard this conversation.
At 9.10am another ship, Santa Isabel, was asked to clear the restricted area and two minutes later the same request was made of the Pasha Bulker.
A few minutes earlier, at 9.06, the Pasha Bulker had begun the turn to starboard that would soon go so terribly wrong that the ship swung well past its intended direction of south-east and ended up facing south-west, heading back the way it came.
The master was telling the vessel information centre that he was "proceeding to sea" and "not to worry" but in reality the ship was "rolling heavily, beam-on to the large swell and the wind".
Evidence provided by the ship's second mate provides compelling reading.
"From his cabin's porthole on the ship's starboard side, the second mate could see the coast," the report said.
"He had been unable to sleep since earlier that morning because of the heavy rolling. When the ship got under way, he had, briefly, been on the bridge and knew the ship was headed to sea. He did not understand why the coast was now on the ship's starboard side so he went up to the bridge."
Australian Transport Safety Bureau team leader of marine investigations Michael Squires told The Herald that the bureau had "gone over and over" the path of the Pasha Bulker, especially the turn soon after 9am when it was inside the restricted area.
"We can't say that the master definitely turned because of the information from the [information centre] but we do say that the instruction was unnecessary, unhelpful, of no benefit and may have adversely influenced the decisions of the master of the Pasha Bulker and other vessels," Mr Squires said.
The report says the three ships were asked by the centre to clear the restricted area but "as there were no scheduled traffic movements in the severe weather at the time, these communications provided no benefit".
"Furthermore, they had the potential to confuse masters attempting to clear the coast or influence their decisions and may have done so. In any case, there is an explanatory note on the chart about the restricted area."
In a submission to the bureau, the port corporation said it did not accept that these communications may have adversely influenced the decisions of masters.
Port corporation chief executive Gary Webb said yesterday the centre may have told the Pasha Bulker about the restricted area but it was "absolutely not" responsible for the way the master lost control.
