Rue the day -
It's a funny old world; (never sure if its funny 'Ha-Ha or funny peculiar) – no matter. Arranged to meet a fellah at the local watering hole for an Ale and to discuss a project; that done the conversation strayed from the Cricket to other matters. “Don't suppose you blokes dabble in 'matters nautical' “ says he (knowing about the aviation interest). “Well, as it happens” says I. Etc.. Turns out he'd been following the saga of the Sydney ferries closely – his brother was a marine surveyor when the State funded the then fearlessly independent unit. His brother at the time had only one statement about the closure of that unit; in favour of 'independent contractors'. - “They'll rue the day this was done”.
“Rue comes from the Old English word hreowan, meaning "to make sorry," and rue can still sum up a lot of sorrow in one small syllable.”
How prophetic; absolutely spot on. From ministers to bureaucrats; from Operators under contract to repair docks, from 'safety agencies' to in house surveyors; the great arse covering game is running red hot in the murky world of ferry operations.
I wonder if anyone is game to take the lid off this can of snakes? Get back to design standards; or Production Design Standards and testing of component parts? Then there are questions of structural integrity and the QC of the welding; the stuff that keeps the boat together? A quick run through the workshop and a Return To Service (RTS) after a quick change of defective parts, for the same parts 'out of the box' may solve the short term problems and reopen the revenue stream – but how long will it be before the same problems reoccur?
You really don't need to contemplate the 'worst case' scenario; just remove a dollop of 'luck', degrade the 'skill factor' to a bad hair day, and, think about the near miss incidents; those which have crept into public record. Loss of control of any vehicle from roller skates to a space rocket has the potential to create a serious event. NOT an accident – that is a misnomer; especially when someone is 'pushing their luck' or trading on the percentage chances of it not happening.
Bumping into things like Fort Dennison; or the wharf at Circular Quay are warning flags; trading blows with other vessels are warning lights. But the big siren is the potential for a fully loaded ferry, crossing the Heads in a strong wind with a high sea swell, loosing directional control and broaching. Two, three hundred fully clothed passengers; some below deck to avoid the weather – duck me. The fall out would be monolithic. Time for independent surveyors; OTSI and AMSA to step out from behind the political smoke screen and Perform Design Function (PDF) without fear or favour. If it were a single aircraft; the roof would be off the hanger by now, well and truly. If it was 'fleet wide' - well; you can imagine the ructions (see 737 Max).....
Wiki - A broach is an abrupt, involuntary change in a vessel's course, towards the wind, resulting from loss of directional control, when the vessel's rudder becomes ineffective. (Rudder aka Steering).
Full, independent survey and AMSA clearance of all outstanding matters; all published, before return to service (RTS) is what the public expect and have a right to. Anything less is a corruption of the promises made. If anyone believes 'safety' is expensive; wait until the accident bill turns up....
Toot toot.
It's a funny old world; (never sure if its funny 'Ha-Ha or funny peculiar) – no matter. Arranged to meet a fellah at the local watering hole for an Ale and to discuss a project; that done the conversation strayed from the Cricket to other matters. “Don't suppose you blokes dabble in 'matters nautical' “ says he (knowing about the aviation interest). “Well, as it happens” says I. Etc.. Turns out he'd been following the saga of the Sydney ferries closely – his brother was a marine surveyor when the State funded the then fearlessly independent unit. His brother at the time had only one statement about the closure of that unit; in favour of 'independent contractors'. - “They'll rue the day this was done”.
“Rue comes from the Old English word hreowan, meaning "to make sorry," and rue can still sum up a lot of sorrow in one small syllable.”
How prophetic; absolutely spot on. From ministers to bureaucrats; from Operators under contract to repair docks, from 'safety agencies' to in house surveyors; the great arse covering game is running red hot in the murky world of ferry operations.
I wonder if anyone is game to take the lid off this can of snakes? Get back to design standards; or Production Design Standards and testing of component parts? Then there are questions of structural integrity and the QC of the welding; the stuff that keeps the boat together? A quick run through the workshop and a Return To Service (RTS) after a quick change of defective parts, for the same parts 'out of the box' may solve the short term problems and reopen the revenue stream – but how long will it be before the same problems reoccur?
You really don't need to contemplate the 'worst case' scenario; just remove a dollop of 'luck', degrade the 'skill factor' to a bad hair day, and, think about the near miss incidents; those which have crept into public record. Loss of control of any vehicle from roller skates to a space rocket has the potential to create a serious event. NOT an accident – that is a misnomer; especially when someone is 'pushing their luck' or trading on the percentage chances of it not happening.
Bumping into things like Fort Dennison; or the wharf at Circular Quay are warning flags; trading blows with other vessels are warning lights. But the big siren is the potential for a fully loaded ferry, crossing the Heads in a strong wind with a high sea swell, loosing directional control and broaching. Two, three hundred fully clothed passengers; some below deck to avoid the weather – duck me. The fall out would be monolithic. Time for independent surveyors; OTSI and AMSA to step out from behind the political smoke screen and Perform Design Function (PDF) without fear or favour. If it were a single aircraft; the roof would be off the hanger by now, well and truly. If it was 'fleet wide' - well; you can imagine the ructions (see 737 Max).....
Wiki - A broach is an abrupt, involuntary change in a vessel's course, towards the wind, resulting from loss of directional control, when the vessel's rudder becomes ineffective. (Rudder aka Steering).
Full, independent survey and AMSA clearance of all outstanding matters; all published, before return to service (RTS) is what the public expect and have a right to. Anything less is a corruption of the promises made. If anyone believes 'safety' is expensive; wait until the accident bill turns up....
Toot toot.