The breakaway and grounding of an oil tanker in the Brisbane River, Australia, in February 2022 illustrates the importance of clearly defined emergency and risk management arrangements, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report.
On February 27, 2022, during a period of heavy, sustained rainfall and flooding in south-east Queensland, the 185-meter Hong Kong-flagged oil products tanker CSC Friendship was berthed at the Ampol products wharf in the Port of Brisbane, Queensland.
Currents in the Brisbane River increased until they exceeded the design mooring limits of both the ship and the berth.
“While weather conditions exceeded those initially forecast, the associated increased safety risk to shipping and the port was foreseeable,” ATSB marine investigation manager Captain Vik Chaudhri said.
“Numerous warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology provided sufficient information to identify and assess the increased likelihood of a breakaway, and the current in the river had exceeded the operational limits of the berth and the ship’s mooring arrangements more than 14 hours prior to the breakaway – yet the ship remained at the berth.”
The ship, loaded with about 32,000 tonnes of petroleum products, broke its…