A SERIOUS incident involving four ships breaking from their berths at the Port of Brisbane earlier this week has prompted an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The incident occurred during storms on Monday.
Winds of up to 70 knots were recorded at Fisherman Island, with three container ships and a vehicle carrier breaking free of their moorings.
According to the ATSB, an active investigation into the incident is underway and due to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.
The ATSB team is to assess winches and equipment, such as mooring lines and anchor arrangements.
They are to collect evidence such as recorded data and documents from the ships, vessel traffic services, and pilotage provider.
Investigators are also expected to interview masters, pilots and other parties.
The three container ships involved in the incident were the 4,254 TEU Volans (on charter to COSCO for the JKN service between N&E Asia and NZ, via Brisbane); the 6,730 TEU MSC Barbara (on MSC's Panda service from China) and the 4,466 TEU Wide India (on charter to Hapag-Lloyd for their SEA service, Southeast Asia-Australia).
At the time wind speeds were 52 knots at the airport and 61 knots at the Inner Beacon.
A spokesperson for Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads said no major damage was reported.
“There weren’t any injuries, there wasn’t any risk of pollution and there was no significant damage to infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.
At about 3pm local time on 24 November, the car carrier Viking Passama was berthing when gales pushed the ship away from the wharf.
Four of the mooring lines parted and the ship moved into the centre of the shipping channel.
Two tugs assisted in pushing the ship alongside after winds subsided.
Shortly after, the container ship MSC Barbara broke away from its berth when its mooring lines paid out or parted.
The ship moved to the other side of the channel and grounded in mud before pilots boarded and conducted it to the anchorage outside the harbour.
At the same time, the container ship Wide India broke away from its berth when its mooring lines parted.
The ship's master maintained its position in the channel until pilots boarded and conducted it to the anchorage.
Around the same time, the container ship Volans partially broke away from its berth when its aft mooring lines parted.
Remaining mooring lines kept the vessel close to the wharf until it was returned to position.
All ships were anchored and the Port of Brisbane open for shipping as of Tuesday evening.