MO-2008-202 Coastal bulk carrier Anatoki and bulk carrier Lodestar Forest, collision, Tauranga Harbour roads, 28 April 2008

On Monday 28 April 2008 at about 0633, the coastal bulk carrier Anatoki was approaching Tauranga Harbour when it collided with the bulk carrier Lodestar Forest, which was departing after disembarking its pilot. At the time of the collision both vessels were navigating in restricted visibility (fog) within the compulsory pilotage area for the Port of Tauranga. There were no injuries and only minor damage to both vessels that did not affect the watertight integrity of either.
The collision occurred when both vessels’ masters and the pilot lost situational awareness. The master and pilot on board the Lodestar Forest lost situational awareness when the correct rigging of the pilot disembarkation ladder took longer than anticipated. The master on board the Anatoki lost situational awareness when he failed to appreciate that his vessel was still moving at slow speed into an area where his radar had suggested a vessel was present, a radar return he believed to be false so had not mentioned it to his crew.
Significant factors which contributed to the accident were:
• the bridge cultures on both vessels meant that senior crew on each vessel did not share all relevant information or question developing situations so that each bridge team shared an up to date picture of their vessel’s situation and intentions
• the Anatoki did not have an automatic identification system which would have meant both vessels would have seen positive identification of each other and their positions on their radar screens. Such a system was not required on the Anatoki because its measured length was not sufficient as the result of a modification to allow operation in New Zealand waters, under New Zealand Regulations, despite its weight and size being typical of vessels that do
• the crew were not totally familiar with the operation of the radio systems aboard the Anatoki owing to the manuals and labels being in Japanese
• the lack of a vessel traffic system for Tauranga Harbour. This would have included shorebased radar observation and radio advice to masters of vessels in the area.
Other factors that contributed to the accident included:
• crew alertness and performance on the Lodestar Forest was likely to have been impaired by disturbed rest periods during the night as its sailing was repeatedly delayed owing to the poor visibility
• inadequate observance on both vessels of aspects of the international rules for collision avoidance, including the use of incorrect whistle signals by both, may have hindered the management of the collision once the situation was noticed
As a result of its investigation the Transport Accident Investigation Commission has recommended that:
• Environment Bay of Plenty and Port of Tauranga Limited review their Tauranga Harbour safety plan with a view to introducing a traffic management system
• Maritime New Zealand address the safety issue of commercial vessels above the internationally accepted size for the carriage of automatic identification systems operating in
New Zealand waters without fitment of these systems
• Maritime New Zealand address the safety issue of crew holding certificates of equivalency who may not be required to have undergone bridge resource management training.
(Note: this Executive Summary condenses content to highlight key points to readers and does so in simpler English and with less technical precision than the remainder of the report to ensure its accessibility to a nonexpert reader. Expert readers should refer to and rely on the body of the full report.)