CAMPBELL COVE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Tasports appeals court decision

Tasmania's ports operator is appealing against a Federal Court preliminary decision that would limit how much it can claim over the allision of the 'Goliath' with the tugs 'York Cove' and 'Campbell Cove'. TasPorts is seeking costs of nearly $22 million plus interest, including for salvage works, environmental clean-up and wharf repairsm but the court ruling could slash that by about $7 million. TasPorts is appealing a preliminary court decision that could slash about a third off its multi-million dollar claim against the company responsible for sinking the tugs at the Port of Devonport, spilling an estimated combined total of 64,000 litres of diesel fuel and other hydrocarbons into the Mersey River. It took almost seven months to remove the tugs, with the 'York Cove' requiring two cranes to lift. TTasPorts took the ship's owner CSL Australia to the Federal Court for allegedly breaching the contract under which the 'Goliath' entered the port, as well as negligence and public nuisance. TasPorts is seeking costs of almost $22 million, plus interest. The claim includes $2.17 million for the lost tugs, $114,869 for the loss of hydrocarbons, $2,958,595 for replacement hire tugs and $117,152 for damage caused to the wharf.The bulk of the claim, which amounts to $17,245,743, is for containment, removal and disposal of hydrocarbons, and retrieving the tugs. CSL later lodged a limitation proceeding, attempting to limit its liability under maritime law. TasPorts attempted to fight against it, arguing the company had no right to water down its liability, or that, if it did, that should not extend to wreck removal. In the judgement, Justice Stewart detailed the long history of the limitation, including its role in accommodating international trade by sea by encouraging investment by shipowners secure in the knowledge that they will not face potentially crippling unlimited liability, and enable them to obtain insurance which is not prohibitively expensive. TasPorts would appeal the decision, as the preliminary decision has not 'cast doubt' on TasPorts' claim; rather it has found that the most TasPorts can recover from CSL is [approximately] $15.1 million. In a report into the incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found the 'Goliath' was travelling with an incorrect steering setting, causing it to speed up as it negotiated a tight turn into the river. The cement carrier was on a routine trip from Melbourne with 17 crew members on board. The crew attempted to stop the ship from moving forward by changing the steering setting, while being informed of the rapidly decreasing clearances between the ship and the tugs. The ATSB also found senior members onboard the Goliath had not completed required bridge resource management training, which was described as a universally accepted tenet to the safe navigation of ships.The report detailed two previous incidents involving the steering system, where the ship made contact with the shore or wharf and, on one occasion, narrowly avoided collision with a tug.

18 tons oil and fuel removed from sunken tugs

The salvors at the Port of Devonport have recovered more than 18 tons of oil and fuel from the 'Campbell Cove' and 'York Cove'. This included more than 17 tons of diesel fuel oil. The complex operation has been led by a team of skilled divers, who operated in very low visibility, navigating through the access doors and stairways of the submerged and significantly damaged vessels. Following the identification of reservoirs, tanks and voids holding hydrocarbons, the dive team has then had to construct safe and effective methods to pump contaminants to the wharf deck for collection in intermediate bulk containers. Tasport tug engineers provided advice and support to the dive team through CCTV, and their operational teams have been on hand every step of the way ensuring the highest standard of safety. Through this effort, the salvors have been able to identify that there still remained about 10 tons of hydrocarbons onboard the 'Campbell Cove'. As a result, the incident site at Berth 3 West at the Port of Devonport remained under active TasPorts control. Whilst the remaining fuel has been contained, there was still a high risk of leaking if the structural integrity of the tugs changed, such as a shift in positioning. TasPorts continued to proactively manage this environmental risk. A tender for the removal of the wrecks from the site closed on Feb 13. The tenders were now under review. As part of the review, a salvage plan and methodology will be agreed, with a final salvor anticipated to be appointed over the coming weeks.

Environmental protection top priority after tug sinking

After the sinking of the 'York Cove' and 'Campbell Cove' at berth 3 West in Devonport, for TasPorts the environmental protection remained the top priority as salvage operations continued. A risk assessment undertaken by TasPorts and the Tasmania Environment Protection Authority determined that propulsion wash from large vessels assisted by tugs operating close to the incident site posed a significant risk of destabilising the wrecks and oil spill boom and comprising the safety of people. Thus TasPorts harbour master has issued an instruction restricting large commercial vessel access to Devonport 4 West berth, where towage assistance is required. Further, Devonport 5 West berth will be limited by a number of conditions, to minimise the impact of propulsion impact on the wreck site and containment area. The restrictions will remain in place until the tugs have been recovered prior to May 5. The ongoing risk of further pollution from the submerged tugs was being carefully managed as planning for the next phase of salvage operations progresses and the port authority continues to re-instate commercial shipping operations where it is safe to do so. TasPorts along with the EPA has worked to contain and remove a significant volume of spillage since the incident took place. Small pockets of oil remained inside the tugs and as such, the site remained under active management to minimise the further release of oil, with the containment boom and its ongoing integrity remaining vital to the response.