An ATSB preliminary investigation report details the circumstances leading up to the brief grounding of the Australian research vessel Nuyina off Heard Island, 4,000 km south-west of Perth, October 13 last year.The
An ATSB preliminary investigation report details the circumstances leading up to the brief grounding of the Australian research vessel Nuyina off Heard Island, 4,000 km south-west of Perth, October 13 last year.
The grounding occurred while Nuyina, the Australian Antarctic Division’s research and supply vessel, was conducting drone survey operations over the shore of Heard Island, close to an area of uncharted seafloor.
On board the vessel were 37 marine crew and 85 expeditioners.
“Nuyina had several scientific instruments installed on a retractable drop keel, which at the time of the incident was extended 75cm below the vessel’s nominal 9 meter draft,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
“One of the drop keel devices was a high-resolution multi-beam echo sounder system, which was still collecting data, after having been used for overnight bathymetric surveys in deeper water.”
To avoid acoustic interference, the ship’s navigational echo sounders were switched off.
“Depth information from the multi-beam system was shown on a dedicated display on the bridge but was not fed into the ship’s integrated bridge system. This meant the depth information was not displayed on the electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS), and could not be used to generate navigational alarms,” Mitchell
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
