Marine incidents prominent in ATSB year-in-review

MARITIME incidents such as the collision of a container ship with the sail training ship Leeuwin at Fremantle were prominent in the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s year in review for 2025.

The ATSB in 2025 published “no fewer” than 304 safety products, up from 202 in 2024 and almost twice the 153 published in 2023.

These comprised:
•    91 investigation final reports
•    34 other investigation reports, including preliminary and interim reports, safety studies and safety advisory notices
•    74 occurrence briefs
•    26 safety promotion videos, and
•    79 REPCON reports.

“In the marine sector we released the final report from our investigation into the collision of a container ship with the Leeuwin sail training ship in Fremantle, with important lessons for marine pilots, and safety action taken by the port and marine pilot operator,” the ATSB stated.

“And in rail, our final report from the investigation of a washaway and derailment of a freight train at Traveston, near Gympie in Queensland, emphasised the importance of serviceable environmental monitoring equipment.”

According to the ATSB, there was “renewed focus on preliminary and interim reports”, with the aim of publishing a preliminary report within eight weeks of an occurrence.

“Beyond Australia, the ATSB continues to engage with and support our equivalent transport safety agencies in the Asia Pacific,” the bureau stated.

“For example, long standing partnerships with our counterparts in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in 2025 continued to see investigators from these nations undertake tertiary level investigator training under the ATSB’s partnership agreement with RMIT University.”

In addition, in 2025 the ATSB also delivered transport safety investigation training and specific investigation assistance to colleagues in Tonga and Vanuatu, capacity-building activities supported with money from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Their international responsibilities were said to have continued to extend to their participation in key United Nations transport agencies, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), “where we play leading roles in shaping best practice transport safety investigation globally”.

Last year the bureau adopted a new purpose statement, to influence transport safety improvements for the greatest public benefit through independent no-blame investigations and fostering safety awareness.

“The updated statement highlights that our role is not just the independent investigation of transport accidents and incidents, it is also to use the reports and their safety messaging to influence safety changes across the aviation, rail and marine sectors,” the ATSB concluded.