Wild Weather Impacting Shipping

TasPorts Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Donald said the primary focus remains on the safety of port users, vessels and port infrastructure during the wild weather.

“Storm fronts this week are continuing to cause significant rough conditions and have been impacting the ports today from around 0400 onwards,” Mr Donald said.

“This morning Spirit of Tasmania I and Liekut berthed in Devonport with tug assistance during a lull in the squalls, as did Peregrine in Burnie.

“Spirit of Tasmania 1 will load tonight but is not expected to sail until tomorrow morning.”

Also in Devonport, inbound cement ship Wyuna was cancelled with the call made around risk exposure for both personnel and infrastructure and is now rescheduled for Monday morning.

There are no scheduled movements in Hobart today with further delays to shipping based on weather conditions.

Mr Donald said with wild weather expected to continue, TasPorts will continue to monitor the situation.

Fishing Vessel Rescue

TasPorts this morning responded to a ‘safety of life’ issue off the Port of Burnie when fishing vessel Tokatu experienced engine problems during wild weather.

Harbour Master, Captain Mick Wall said the vessel requested assistance and TasPorts sent two tugs to assist with two marine pilots able to safely board shortly after midday.

“At that point the vessel was not under command (no engine control and unable to manoeuvre) and requiring tugs to safely bring it back to the Port of Burnie,” Captain Wall said.

Captain Wall said the Tokatu (80m LOA with 45 personnel onboard) departed Burnie this morning but called for assistance after experiencing engine control issues.

“The vessel is now safely back in port,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Donald praised the tug and pilot crews, Vessel Traffic Services, operational staff and the Office of the Harbour Master for what was a challenging vessel retrieval situation in dangerous conditions.

“TasPorts is prepared for any emergency support and recovery operations that may be required but with storm force warnings in place, I cannot understate how proud I am of our teams and their response to today’s event.

“We will continue to work closely with all our port partners and the broader maritime sector as needed during these weather events,” he said.