Australian Government Seizes Historic Ship and Orders Immediate Disposal
The Government of New South Wales and preservationists are battling over the fate of a historic little vessel, MV Cape Don, with the local government announcing on October 18 it had seized the vessel for immediate disposal. Local officials are calling their actions “the last resort,” as they contend the vessel’s condition continues to worsen, posing substantial risks to public safety and the environment.
NSW Maritime asserts it has been monitoring the condition of the vessel as it has further deteriorated for the past several years. It highlights that the vessel has been issued two unsafe vessel notices, and they assert they met with the owners, a private foundation, nearly 50 times, raising concerns about the vessel’s condition and the immediate need for repairs to stabilize the vessel.
“I want to make it clear that NSW Maritime has been working in good faith with the owners of the MV Cape Don for many years to help restore the vessel, but its condition has only worsened, and the likelihood of the owners being able to restore it back to its former glory has become untenable,” asserted NSW Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison.
The government swooped in on Sunday, October 18, with media reports that the police searched the vessel to ensure there was no one aboard. They declared it had been seized for immediate disposal.
Cape Don in her heyday - the foundation asserts she is a special piece of Australian history (Sea Heritage Foundation)
The 2,100 gross ton vessel, which is 74 meters (244 feet) in length, was built in 1962 in Newcastle by the State Dockyard. It was purpose-built for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in order to build, supply, and maintain lighthouses and navigation aids around Australia. She, along with two sisterships, Cape Moreton and Cape Pillar, was also called on for other duties such as surveying and recovery work. Cape Don was involved in many high-profile scientific expeditions, including the salvage of two anchors from HMS Investigator, a Royal Navy sloop that between 1801 and 1803 became the first ship to circumnavigate Australia.
She was decommissioned from the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in 1990 and sold to private operators who used her for passenger and cargo transport in the Solomon Islands and South Pacific for around a decade. Today, she is owned by the non-profit Sea Heritage Foundation and has been docked for more than 20 years in the Balls Head area in Sydney harbor. The charity argues she is one of the last surviving examples of a non-military vessel of the era, and she has been used for tours and education. In addition to being Australia’s only remaining lighthouse service tender, she is listed in the country’s register of historic vessels.
The state asserts it has documented severe corrosion along the waterline, increasing the risk the vessel will take on water and cause a pollution event. They have issued orders for in situ repairs and the ultimate dry docking of the vessel, which they say the foundation has failed to undertake. They asserted the ship has not had major repairs for more than two decades and the underwater condition is unknown.
NSW Maritime said the vessel “poses an unacceptable risk.” They assert that if the vessel begins to sink or capsize, potential salvage costs would be A$15 million (US$10.5 million).
NSW Maritime asserts the ship is an unacceptable risk in its current condition (NSW Government)
Representatives of the Sea Foundation and others are expressing outrage at the actions and saying they will fight the decision. They assert the statements coming from NSW are “blatant untruths.” They are demanding that Minister Aitchison commission an independent review of the vessel before any irreversible decision is made about her future.
“The right and responsible sequence is to conduct an unbiased, independent review first and make a decision second. Reversing that order risks losing a 63-year-old piece of Australian maritime history on the strength of an assumption. Independent inspection and transparency about costs are the basis of a sound decision,” said Dr. CJ Manjarres-Wahlberg, Chairman and Director of the Sea Heritage Foundation.
Sea Heritage's position is that the underwater hull is sound. They assert the ship has had three underwater inspections and several above-water surveys. Specialist contractors, they assert, have carried out hull repairs, installed automatic pumping with 24/7 alarms and cameras, and removed fuel oil from the vessel.
The foundation admits the vessel needs permanent repairs in dry dock. To that end, they said dry docking planning for the Cape Don has been ongoing since December 2020. An independent assessment commissioned in August concluded that she could be towed to Garden Island for dry-docking, subject to final approvals. The timing of that docking rests with the Australian Defence Force’s scheduling at Captain Cook Dock, said the foundation.
They are also demanding the NSW Transport publish the basis of its A$15 million figure so the public can compare the cost of disposal with the cost of preservation.
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Top photo by Saberwyn (CC BY-SA 4.0)
