ATSB weighs in on cruise ship grounding

THE AUSTRALIAN Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into the grounding of the Australian-registered cruise ship Coral Adventurer off the Finschaffen Coast, east of Lae, Papua New Guinea.

The ship, which  AIS still lists as “grounded”  (although Coral Adventurer appears to have not transmitted for almost a day) came to grief at around 0525 local time on Saturday [27 December] in the waters of Morobe Province during passage between Lae and Wewak. Local media suggested the vessel was caught by strong currents.

The grounded ship was heeled over about 6 degrees to port, according to ATSB reports. Initial efforts were made to refloat the ship using its own engines, but these were unsuccessful. The ship’s operators, Cairns-based Coral Expeditions, later engaged a towage provider to assist refloating the ship. Refloating efforts are still underway.

No injuries have been reported to the ship’s 123 occupants (80 passengers and 43 crew) (according to Coral Expeditions). The extent of any damage to the ship’s hull is not known but water ingress is not reported.

The ATSB is not involved with the ship’s recovery operations but is continuing to monitor the situation as part of its investigation. The ATSB will attend the ship to conduct interviews and collect evidence and data once appropriate, it said.

In the meantime, data from the ship’s voyage data recorder has been quarantined and investigators are collecting other relevant recorded information, including ship tracking data, weather information, and crew, operator and maintenance records.

The 2019-built, 5,516 GRT Coral Adventurer had departed Cairns on 18 December on a 12-night cruise, which was due to conclude tomorrow [30 December]. It was the ship’s first trip since what has been reported as an unfortunate October incident when an 80-yo passenger was inadvertently left behind after a landside excursion on Lizard Island. The subsequent death of the woman which is the subject of several investigations.

The ATSB said it will provide a substantive update on the progress of the investigation when it releases a preliminary report in about two months.

The investigation’s findings will be contained in a final report to be released at the conclusion of the investigation. The final report will also detail the ATSB’s analysis of the evidence to support those findings.

However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so safety action can be taken.