Stranded Bulker Finally Refloated

The Pasha Bulker, which had been stranded on a sandbar at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle for 25 days, was finally refloated on Monday, July 2. It was then towed into the Port of Newcastle on Wednesday, July 4, for more assessment and repair after divers made an initial inspection of its hull on the day before. Nobbys Beach was finally reopened on Saturday, July 7, after being closed for over 3 weeks.



The 40,000-ton Pasha Bulker ran aground just before 10 AM Friday, June 8, at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle during high seas and gale force winds. The coal ship is owned by Japanese shipowner Fukujin Kisen Company and was chartered by Danish Lauritzen Bulkers that sublet the bulk carrier to another Japanese shipping business. The vessel was due to enter the Port of Newcastle on Tuesday, June 12, to load 58,000 tons of coal. The 22 members of the crew were safely airlifted from the vessel on the afternoon of the grounding and all that remained on board was 700 tons of fuel oil, 40 tons of lube oil, and 34 tons of diesel.



Worried that an oil spill could occur while the vessel was in rough seas, NSW (New South Wales) authorities had all of the vessel’s fuel pumped to tanks in higher portions of the ship. Salvage experts then waited for weeks for a king tide before trying to tow the Pasha Bulker off the reef, while oil pollution crewmembers and equipment stood at the ready. The successful refloating, which entailed 3 tugs and winching machinery attached to anchors hauling the bulker into deeper waters, was the third attempt by salvage company Svitzer Australia. The first attempt on Thursday, June 28, failed when the cables attached to the winches and tugs snapped. The second attempt on the subsequent Sunday actually turned the vessel’s bow away from the beach, but was unable to free the stern from the reef. After two small leaks were discovered following this second attempt, all authorities were wary of oil pollution during the third and final refloating effort. Nevertheless, when MarEx went online, no sign of an oil spill had been detected.



These three refloating efforts and all of the other salvage actions accrued a bill of more than $5 million. Now that the present danger of the Pasha Bulker has been removed, everyone is asking one question: Who is going to pay for it? Before the bulker had even been refloated, NSW Ports Minister Joe Tripodi stated that an insurance claim would be made to make sure that Australian taxpayers did not end up paying the bill. However, Tripodi’s concerns were at least partially assuaged when Fukujin Kisen released a statement on July 4 assuring that the taxpayers “will not pay for the exercise that freed” the vessel, but that the cost “would ultimately be resolved between the owners, the salvage company, the various authorities and insurers.”



Fukujin Kisen’s statement did not put everyone’s minds at ease, however. Some are concerned that the public will still have to pay “ancillary” costs -- having government officials, port employees, environmental authorities, and the police working on the operation and/or being on standby during the entire event. Some authorities have even called for an investigation into why and how the vessel ran aground after officials had directed it to move out to sea hours before the weather had completely deteriorated.