Statendam Near Grounding Incident
Comes To Public Light Nearly One Year Later
October 30, 2007
I don't think anything irritates me more than getting shocking news of an incident that took place within the cruise industry, many months after it originally took place.
The delay in public information for some pretty serious incidents is just shocking to me, in this day of high speed internet and globally accessed reports that are widely up to the minute in frequency. Still, that is where we are today.
Cruise lines will not report incidents, unless it leaks out and they are forced to confront it. This has got to change.
I think not a soul knew in North America, Europe or Asia until today that a large cruise ship, the Statendam, nearly grounded with 1700 passengers onboard her, as she entered a shallow harbor without authorization nor with a pilot onboard. The ship suffered damaged in the incident.
It was a little before 0500 (5am) on December 6, 2006 when the bridge staff of the Statendam, owned by Holland America Line, a vessel with a draught of 7.5 meters took it upon themselves to begin entering Queenscliff rip in rough weather conditions with reduced visibility, at a higher than advised rate of speed. It was a recipe for disaster.
The pilot had not arrived, the crew decided not to wait any longer and took off steaming towards the harbor, through an area where the draught was only 7 meters.
The official report of the incident said that Statendam violated compulsory pilotage for all vessels measuring 35 meters and longer, and the ship continued towards the heads, travelling at a speed well above the recommended limit.
When the pilot arrived on her bridge after a mandatory security check, he needed to adjust his eyes in the reduced visibility to get his bearings and then noticed that Statendam was veering dangerously close to Point Lonsdale and the outlying reefs. He ordered an immediate 90-degree turn.
Engineers on duty reported hearing "a loud knock". It was determined that divers would have to inspect the vessel hull before she could continue on. Divers found that one of the ship's stabiliser fins had been damaged as the ship struck bottom.
The irresponsible decision on the bridge, if not for a last minute decision by the pilot, nearly resulted in Statendam being gutted like a fish, with certain catastrophic results due to increased rate of speed over the regulation guidelines, and the shallow course she was on before the hard 90-degree turn was ordered.
It is negligent for the line to have not made this incident public so their potential passengers would be aware of the level of competency onboard that vessel. There has been a number of recent similar incidents that did result in catastrophy. There have been eight other groundings from December 6, 2006 through October 30, 2007.
The report, by Victoria's chief marine safety investigator, found serious lapses by both the ship and the Port of Melbourne Corporation.
The investigation report found both the pilot and the communications officer at Point Lonsdale had failed to challenge the ship's entry into the port.
The report also said several other ships strayed from the main channel entrance into the port and struck bottom.
The details of this incident only come to light as the State Government prepares to announce its approval of the dredging plan this week to increase the depth of the channel.
