John Duigan returns to regular services at King Island

TasPorts’ Chief Executive Officer Anthony Donald said the upgrades were critical after the John Duigan experienced a bollard failure on 23 July while departing.

“Fortunately, no one was harmed, but one of the findings of the investigation was that the John Duigan and other vessels had been using mooring lines and a berthing and departure sequence that on occasion exceeded the rated capacity of the bollards at Grassy Port,” he said.

“While this was a legacy issue, the investigation found that an upgrade to the bollards was necessary to support the use of heavier mooring lines and the range of berthing and departure sequences each vessel master may require.”

Bass Island Line (BIL) General Manager Kate Daley said a plan was implemented immediately to ensure continuity of services to King Island with the King Islander stepping in, while TasPorts worked with BIL on solutions to enable the John Duigan to safely return to Grassy Port ahead of works being completed.

“The King Islander is a smaller vessel than the John Duigan, and was able to accommodate the lower line class imposed by TasPorts for safe use of Grassy Port while the interim measures were being implemented,” she said.

“TasPorts’ engineering analysis showed that a tugboat could assist in reducing the tension on mooring lines during the arrival and departure sequence, enabling the John Duigan to safely use the existing infrastructure within reasonable weather parameters.

“The cost of towage services is less than half the cost of chartering the King Islander and keeping the John Duigan on standby. While TasPorts has a fleet of tugboats, they were unsuitable, being too big to make contact with the relatively low sideline of the John Duigan,” she said.

“Thank you to the teams at TasPorts and BIL for their collaboration and cooperation, which has resulted in continuity of safe and reliable service for King Island.”

The upgrade will see a number of bollards replaced and overall infrastructure strengthened, with the tug to support operations until the work is complete and the Harbour Master satisfied from an operational and safety perspective.