Fatigue a factor in reef grounding: ATSB

Fatigue may have played a part in the grounding of a Chinese-registered coal carrier in the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.

The 70,000 tonne fully laden vessel Shen Neng 1 hit Douglas Shoal, off the central
Queensland coast, over Easter, spilling about four tonnes of heavy fuel oil from its
ruptured fuel tank and causing extensive damage to the reef.
The ATSB released its findings of a preliminary investigation into the grounding as
two senior crew members of the vessel fronted a Gladstone court charged over the
incident.
ATSB chief commissioner Martin Dolan said a variety of factors led to the grounding
but ultimately the crew neglected to change course as planned.
Mr Dolan said the first mate had never navigated through this area before.
"He was the one principally responsible for managing the loading in Gladstone so had
a very busy time and seemed to have had about two and a half hours of broken sleep
in the previous 37 hours," he said.
The vessel left Gladstone shortly before 11am on April 3, sailing north to exit the
barrier reef through a passage used by about a third of vessels on this route.
About two-and-half hours into the voyage, the second mate, in consultation with the
master, decided on a shortcut.
Mr Dolan said the shortcut was legitimate and if followed would have kept the vessel
in deep water well clear of the reef.
It was planned to turn northeast at about 4.30pm AEST. But Mr Dolan said it appears
the GPS navigation system, programmed with the original route, wasn't changed.
Mr Dolan said at 4pm AEST, it appeared the second mate handed over to the first
mate, explaining the course change and that the GPS had not been reprogrammed.
He said the ship was still navigating by the previous chart which didn't show the
shoal.
The captain and chief officer of the vessel have been granted bail during a brief
court appearance in Gladstone on Thursday.
The captain of the Shen Neng 1, Wang Jichang, 47, faced the Gladstone Magistrates
Court charged with liability for a vessel which caused damage.
The chief officer-on-watch, Wang Xuegang, 44, is charged with being the person in
charge of a vessel which caused damage to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The Australian Federal Police arrested the men, both Chinese, on board the Shen Neng
1 on Wednesday afternoon and they were held in custody overnight.
Both men are married and each has one daughter, the court was told. Neither has
prior convictions.
The court was told the vessel is likely to be brought to Gladstone so its cargo of
65,000 tonnes of coal can be unloaded.
The ship's owners have flown a another master and first officer to Australia to
replace the pair charged over the incident.
The matter is listed for mention at 2pm on June 9. The two men will not be required
to appear.
Meanwhile, the master and two officers of another bulk carrier, the Panama-flagged
MV Mimosa, that allegedly sailed into restricted waters of the Great Barrier Reef
will reappear in a Townsville court on Friday.
It's alleged the Mimosa ventured off course into the marine park on April 4.
If convicted, the three Mimosa seamen each face a maximum fine of $225,000.