[Peetwo]

Dots-n-dashes in the search 4 IP on the Emerald Class steering failure occurrences?? -   

To begin I will start with an update on the latest news and opinions on the Emerald Class Gen II steering issues. Courtesy Chris Cowper, via Facebook:

Chris Cowper
1 d
 
STOP PRESS. STOP PRESS. STOP PRESS.
"BALMORAL" PULLED FROM SERVICE.

Transdev, the French owned Company with a contract to run the Sydney Ferries business, has been pressured by the combined Maritime Unions, who cover Ferry Crews, to withdraw their Chinese built Gen II Emerald,  "Balmoral", from service until the Gen II Emerald steering problems are identified, rectified, successfully repaired and passed by AMSA.

Again.

"Fairlight" is still off the run after her recent steering failure and now has an AMSA order prohibiting her from entering service until AMSA is happy with repairs and modifications to her steering system.

As I posted earlier today, "Clontarf" is at BSY having damage warranty work completed.

I haven't seen any comments from Birdons, the Port Macquarie based Company contracted to supply the Gen II Emeralds.

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And:

Chris Cowper
1 d
  ·
A former workmate sent me the message and photos below:

"Birdons of Port Macquarie undertaking warranty work on the Chinese built Gen II Emeralds,being carried out at BSY.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

The hull damage happened because of high seas and "tunnel slamming" crossing the heads.

French owned Transdev are trying to hide and erase the truth by repairing (cut and weld back) the damage.

These boats are not suitable for Manly run at all.

Whatever they do, the bow damage will come back.

It is unsafe to be running these boats, with passengers, across the heads.

I'm not sure how they pass for the 4.5m wave height limit.

It has put all our lives and careers in an extremely risky situation. .

They passed it only to save these boats.

Now need higher authorities, AMSA, Class Societies, etc to reassess the situation.

With experienced Manly Ferry Masters, Crews and Passengers."

Next I go back to the November 26 NSW Budget Estimates with a copy of the Hansard and AQON related to the Emerald Class Steering issues etc.

1) https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...RECTED.pdf

26 August Hansard ref: From the bottom of page 22 references to OTSI funding:

The CHAIR: When we were talking before, Minister, I was a little confounded by your response in relation to the Office of Transport Safety Investigations. Are you aware of the Office of Transport Safety Investigations, the New South Wales independent—

pg 27 reference OTSI and an increase in reporting incidents

pg 39 onwards: Ferry steering issues

2) https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...r-2022.pdf

AQON 15:

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Sorry, Mr Collins, I'm directing these conversations to the secretary at first instance. I'm asking specifically about a report, not updates or information. I'm asking about a report. Secretary, did you provide the Minister the report? ROB SHARP: An interim report, because clearly the cause was not still not known. The Minister also directed Transport to engage an independent assessor, which was around that time as well. The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: When did you provide the interim report? ROB SHARP: I'd have to take on notice when the team met with the Minister to provide an interim update— The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Was the interim report written? HOWARD COLLINS: Mr Mookhey, thank you. I know you're enthusiastic, and I appreciate your— The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Mr Collins, I'm sorry, but I'm asking these questions through the secretary. It is my prerogative. Secretary, the question was is this interim report in writing? ROB SHARP: I would have to take on notice the nature of the report. What I will say is the Minister has been kept fully briefed along this the whole way through. It has been moving because the aspiration was to understand the root cause much more quickly than has occurred. We're all aware that the vessels are still not in service yet. The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Sorry, Mr Secretary, I appreciate that. Of course I would expect the Minister to be constantly engaged, and there is no suggestion that the Minister is not. ROB SHARP: But if you're after the specifics on the report, I'd have to ask the team what the nature of that— The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: It's a major safety incident in which one of the ferries drifted near a cruise ship. The Minister responded by ordering a report. You're honestly telling me here that you don't have any recall as to whether or not an interim report that you gave less than a month ago was in writing? ROB SHARP: I'll refer to the team and the nature of the actual report. But just to clarify, at no time was the ferry adrift in front of a cruise ship. I know the media ran that story but it is factually incorrect. There were fallback positions— The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Hence the need for a report to clarify this. But who knows whether or not this interim report was written?
HOWARD COLLINS: I think the secretary has asked me to answer this question, Mr Mookhey, if you're happy for me to— The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: If you can actually answer the question, which is very specific. Was the interim report in writing? HOWARD COLLINS: I believe a report was provided in writing. Let me find out the details of that interim report. I will assure you, Mr Mookhey, that if that is available today, I will furnish you with the information of when it was provided. But it was a constant communication between the Minister's office and ourselves as to the progress, along with communication with AMSA, OTSI and the relevant parties.

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Answer:

I am advised: A verbal briefing was provided to the office of the Minister for Transport. A written report was not provided.

The report to which I think they are referring is the OTSI IFS (interim factual statement) which, in the normal course of events (after a transport safety occurrence has been mandatorily reported to OTSI), should be released/made public within a matter of days of the occurrence and formally indicates that OTSI will be investigating and consequently highlights OTSI scoping of the investigation.

If at anytime there is a requirement for a re-scoping of the investigation (due to further evidence acquired etc.) then OTSI will release another IFS.

In this case (for some unexplained reason) the OTSI decision to investigate was not made until October 18th, some three weeks after the Fairlight steering failure occurrence (26 September 2022)??

Ref: Safety and assurance systems for defect management (critical steering controls) in the Emerald Class Generation II Fleet             

 

Incident overview

On 26 September 2022, Transdev Sydney Ferries (TDSF) removed from service three
(3) Emerald Class Generation II Ferries, the Fairlight, Balmoral and Clontarf, after two
steering failures in as many days occurred on Sydney Harbour. This incident was the
latest in a series of steering related failures. It involved a steering failure on the Fairlight
to the west of Fort Denison while conducting a passenger service. The previous day,
the vessel Clontarf was conducting a passenger service from Circular Quay to Manly,
when a steering failure occurred to the east of Fort Denison while travelling in an
easterly direction. Both incidents occurred on separate Generation II vessels and
resulted in a full loss of steering control. The master conducted the pre-determined
immediate response drills to respond to the incidents.

Following the second incident, TDSF temporarily removed the three Generation II
vessels from service. In the interim, two Freshwater class vessels have been reintroduced into service to support the regular Manly-Circular Quay passenger service.

The operator (TDSF) engaged an external engineering specialist to assist in root
cause analysis, engineering assessment and defect repair. As of 17 October 2022,
the cause was still under investigation and the vessels remain temporarily removed
from service.

Since 1 December 2021 – 26 September 2022, OTSI received nineteen (19) notifiable
occurrence reports regarding the Generation II ferry class. Ten (10) of these related
to steering defects. The remaining notifiable incidents related to other general
passenger, engineering, operational or assurance incidents arising from regular
passenger ferry services onboard the Generation II vessels.

Scope of the investigation

Based on findings from OTSI’s preliminary enquiries, the Chief Investigator
determined that the matter warranted investigation in accordance with Section 46 of
the Passenger Transport Act 1990 (NSW).

The scope of the investigation includes, but is not limited to:

• Defect management systems and associated assurance processes for critical
  

steering failures at introduction into service and throughout the service life of
the vessels;

• The effectiveness of the SMS in managing risks to service operations while
  

critical steering defects are identified and repaired; and

• Engineering resource and competence to support defect management and
  

associated assurance processes across the fleet.

The Chief Investigator has required the Investigator in Charge (IIC) to:

• Identify the factors, both primary and contributory related to critical steering
  

failure defect management at introduction into service and throughout service
life

• Examine the effectiveness of controls in place to manage the related risks
  
• Advise on any matters arising from the investigation that would enhance the
  

safety of ferry operations

The IIC will consult with all Directly Involved Parties (DIPs) throughout the
investigation.

Hmm...funny that the Minister was not privy to the IFS, after all it was released over a week before the Budget Estimates...  

Next I want to rewind to the previous 26 August Transport portfolio Budget Estimates hearing where the Emerald Class steering issues and OTSI was subject to several lines of questioning throughout the day's proceedings:

  

Passages of interest: 01:08 ; 02:30:45 ; 07:11 .

Hansard: https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...RECTED.pdf

And finally the AQON: https://auntypru.com/wp-content/uploads/...Sydney.pdf

 

QoN08

The CHAIR: How many inspectors does OTSI have?
ROB SHARP: You would have to refer that to OTSI. There is certainly a management structure that I'm aware of but I'm not privy to all the layers in the organisation. You would have to refer to them.
The CHAIR: When the funding decisions were made, that was made on the basis of not knowing how many inspectors they could afford?
ROB SHARP: No. There was a paper put together. I just don't have that information off the top of my head.
The CHAIR: Are you able to take it on notice? ROB SHARP: Yes.

ANSWER
I am advised that in the 2021-22 financial year, the investigation team within the Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) grew from six to nine Senior Investigators.
In the 2022-23 financial year, the Office of Transport Safety Investigations

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QoN09

The CHAIR: Are you aware that in its annual report from last year OTSI reported a 20 per cent increase in reports of safety issues?
Mr DAVID ELLIOTT: I would have to take that on notice.

ANSWER
I am advised that in the 2020-21 financial year, the number of bus, rail and ferry safety incidents notified to the Office of Transport Safety Investigations increased from 1,172 to 1,406. Increases in reported safety incidents do not necessarily indicate a degradation in the safety of the network and can be an indicator of a growing positive safety culture through increased reporting.

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QoN37

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Mr Secretary, can I ask a few more questions about matters to do with our ferries? How many days have the three Emerald Class Generation 2 ferries, Balmoral, Fairlight and Clontarf, been taken out of passenger service in 2022 for maintenance reasons, both scheduled and unscheduled?
ROB SHARP: I would have to pass to Mr Collins for the detail on that.
HOWARD COLLINS: Thank you very much. Obviously the accuracy and detail of that we will have to take on notice. Just for the record, I think your colleague quoted an incident happening in July this year. I have found that report. The master lost—starboard steering occurred without his control. He immediately went to the backup control. The ferry was taken back to dock and it was repaired, and some investigation took place. I don't think it was quite as described by Mr Graham, but that's for the record.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Who did the investigation?
HOWARD COLLINS: I believe the investigation for that ferry took place by Transdev themselves. Obviously we have the capability of asking our safety and environmental risk people to carry out investigations or, as OTSI published, they can carry out investigations themselves if notified.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Did my colleague ask you when Transdev notified you of this?
HOWARD COLLINS: He didn't.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Let me. When did Transdev notify you of this?
HOWARD COLLINS: Of the July incident? I'll take that on notice. We were notified. I'll let you know what the date was.

ANSWER
I am advised that, to date in 2022, there have been a total of 114 days of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance across the Second Generation Emerald Class vessels.
Transdev Sydney Ferries notified Transport for NSW of the incident involving the MV May Gibbs on the day it occurred, 19 July 2022.

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QoN38

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Basically, the ferry effectively started to drive itself?
HOWARD COLLINS: I think what's described in the report that I've read in the interim was that, whilst travelling, the master noticed the ferry was taking a starboard direction without him operating the—it's a bit like a joystick on the Emerald Class. He took corrective action and went to put the engines into neutral. He took corrective action. There's always a backup. I think this is just to make sure people understand that when this happens, you can go into backup. It's a bit like in 2012; the Lady Northcott veered off and actually crashed into the harbour wharf. These things have occurred in the past, but what has happened is that investigation took place. They believe it was connected with the Australian-made and designed toggle device, and further work has been done on that particular project.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Look, kudos to the master—
HOWARD COLLINS: Absolutely.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: —and respect to them for the professional skill that they—
HOWARD COLLINS: Hugely professional—they would do that every day. It is not as if it was an emergency situation.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: It's why we train them. Mr Collins, I do want to congratulate the master for the action that he took, but the fact remains that the ferry started to steer itself. That's correct?
HOWARD COLLINS: Correct. But it was immediately corrected.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Indeed. HOWARD COLLINS: And there is a backup system.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: I'm glad that that kicked in as well. How many people were onboard?
HOWARD COLLINS: I can't tell you exactly. I will find that report and tell you on notice.

ANSWER
I am advised that there were 12 passengers on board the vessel.

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QoN39

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Was it a typical service? Do we have any information about what time it took place?
HOWARD COLLINS: I, again, will get you—rather than give you a delay by looking for the report, I will give you that information regarding what time of the day it was, where exactly it was on the harbour and information regarding that report.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: I presume the incident was disclosable, correct—as in, there was a mandatory disclosure obligation on the part of Transdev?
HOWARD COLLINS: All incidents, depending on their nature—but this one does sound very much, as you may be indicating, Mr Mookhey, that would be reportable so that AMSA or OTSI may wish to take investigations. We know reportable incidents—rail, ferry, buses investigations—can take place or it can be left with the organisation.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: But has it actually been reported? Has it been reported?
HOWARD COLLINS: I will take that on notice and make sure I'm—
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: But this is an incident which took place on 11. There is an automatic—under all transport law, there is a requirement for mandatory reporting within a certain time period. It is not just that it's a reportable incident, you have to also, by law, report it in a timely way?
HOWARD COLLINS: Correct.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: So, sitting here, some seven weeks later—maybe six weeks later— are we in a position to confirm that OTSI has, in fact, been notified?
HOWARD COLLINS: I will take that on notice rather than give you wrong information.

ANSWER
I am advised that the incident took place at 6:35am on 19 July 2022 and involved a regular passenger service operating between Rose Bay and Circular Quay. The incident was reported to the Office of Transport Safety Investigations, Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Transport for NSW.
The Office of Transport Safety Investigations was notified on the 20 July 2022.

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QoN40

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Are you aware of any OTSI investigation that is underway?
HOWARD COLLINS: Of this particular incident, I am personally not aware.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Mr Secretary, are you?
ROB SHARP: No, I'm not aware.
HOWARD COLLINS: I will just check that. I may have been notified. There are many—as you can imagine, there are thousands of incidents and operations during the services that are under my responsibility. Certainly, we are—my team, who are responsible for the contract, are always notified of OTSI incidents and also have regular updates with Transdev.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Perhaps, Mr Collins, on notice is it possible that you could tell us about how many reports have been notified to your team by Transdev in the past 12 months—
HOWARD COLLINS: No problem.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: —how many of them have since been notified to OTSI or any other safety regulator, how many of them were then subject to an investigation by OTSI and, if you are in a position to do so, what was the outcome of the OTSI investigation?
HOWARD COLLINS: I think I've got the gist of your advice—we'll certainly take that on notice. As I said, not all incidents are necessarily reportable to OTSI.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Yes, I am aware there is a threshold.
HOWARD COLLINS: Yes, there is.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: But hence my question as to how many of them are being notified from Transdev to you. I'm just going up the chain of responsibility, to be very clear, Mr Collins.
HOWARD COLLINS: Yes, thank you.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: And I'm just wanting to go through each step of the chain of responsibility.

ANSWER
I am advised that there is an investigation underway by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations for the MV May Gibbs incident on 19 July 2022.
Following the loss of control incidents on 2 July 2020 and 23 November 2020, an investigation was undertaken by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations and completed with a report issued.
A number of findings were identified by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations for which Transdev Sydney Ferries completed a program of works to resolve.
An assurance check was conducted by Transport for NSW to verify that the actions were completed satisfactorily. The Office of Transport Safety Investigations’ report is publicly available.

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QoN41

The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: Has there been cracking reported on the hulls of the Emerald Class Generation 2 ferries, Balmoral, Fairlight and Clontarf?
HOWARD COLLINS: I believe so. Yes, they were identified in inspection—a number of cracks appeared.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: How many?
HOWARD COLLINS: I can't tell you the number. But I know what has happened is that those identifiable cracks—again, this is an Australian-designed vessel by Incat Crowther. Those cracks have been identified and either repaired or have been of a nature that will be dealt with under maintenance.
The Hon. DANIEL MOOKHEY: When were you notified of the cracks?
HOWARD COLLINS: Again, I cannot give you the accurate date. But I will take that on notice of when we were first advised of identifying cracks on the Emerald ferries.

ANSWER
I am advised that on 4 April 2022, a number of cracks were identified in the Second Generation Emerald Class vessels following a structural inspection by an independent, Australian certified maritime surveyor. It is understood that these cracks do not compromise the overall structural integrity of the vessels.
Transport for NSW was immediately notified by Transdev Sydney Ferries when the cracks were identified.

Hmm...Minister to Transport Bureaucrat: "Nothing to see here right? Err...right?"

Much MTF...P2