Container ship "Spirit of Enterprise", touching bottom and loss of rudder, Manukau Bar, 16 August 2003
Status
Closed
Occurrence Date
Report Publication Date
Jurisdiction
NZ
Legacy Inquiry Number
03-212
On 16 August 2003, at about 1420, as the container ship "Spirit of Enterprise" crossed the Manukau Bar, it encountered several large swells, causing it to pitch heavily. The ship's rudder struck the seabed with sufficient force to fracture the rudderstock causing the loss of the rudder, thus disabling the ship.
Safety issues identified were:
· insufficient "real time" environmental information
· pre-accident cracking of the rudderstock
· possible pre-damage to the rudderstock from a previous grounding and the jamming of the flap actuating mechanism
· adequacy of the rudderstock size despite the high-strength steel design.
Safety recommendations were made to the Manager Marine Services of Ports of Auckland Limited and the Chief Executive Officer of Bureau Veritas classification society
Safety issues identified were:
· insufficient "real time" environmental information
· pre-accident cracking of the rudderstock
· possible pre-damage to the rudderstock from a previous grounding and the jamming of the flap actuating mechanism
· adequacy of the rudderstock size despite the high-strength steel design.
Safety recommendations were made to the Manager Marine Services of Ports of Auckland Limited and the Chief Executive Officer of Bureau Veritas classification society
Location
Manukau Harbour (-37.069834,174.436455) [may be approximate]