TASPORTS has announced it will commence a comprehensive marine pilot familiarisation program onboard Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina.
Harbour trials will take place at the Port of Hobart under program requirements necessary for the vessel to safely transit the Tasman Bridge.
Nuyina was granted permission to pass under the bridge earlier this month to refuel at Selfs Point Fuel Terminal, but approval is subject to the satisfactory completion of the pilot familiarisation program.
Over the first week of April, Nuyina will carry out vessel movements in and around Port of Hobart for up to three hours at a time off nearby Sandy Bay.
Final clearance for the Tasman Bridge transit will be granted upon satisfactory completion of the program, as well as further exercises using the Australian Maritime College’s simulator.
TasPorts chief executive officer Anthony Donald said the rigour of the risk assessments completed to date demonstrate the port authority’s commitment to ensuring the highest standards of maritime safety.
“This program will see RSV Nuyina’s vessel master, bridge team and engineering teams joined by TasPorts Southern Marine Pilots onboard the vessel as they undertake a range of on-water testing,” he said.
Mr Donald said the success of the transit will depend on precision planning and teamwork.
“The familiarisation program will include participation from TasPorts towage crews, marine operatives onboard pilot vessel Kelly, as well as TasPorts’ vessel traffic service and harbour master,” he said.
“Following the onboard familiarisation, the pilots will return to the AMC ship simulator to make further comparisons and assessment of the vessel’s response to varying conditions of wind and current whilst transiting the Tasman Bridge.”
Mr Donald said the crews will work together to assess the ship’s response to stopping, turning, and course-keeping in a range of conditions similar to those encountered during a transit of the Tasman Bridge.
“This will be a unique operation and will be the first time many will see this type of testing on the River Derwent,” he said.
“Community members observing the activities should not be alarmed or concerned by the vessel movements, however we ask that recreational vessels on the water maintain their distance from the vessel at all times to ensure these operations can be undertaken safely.”
An initial set of environmental parameters for the transit is yet to be established, which are expected to enable the vessel to complete its first Tasman Bridge transit in late 2022.
