9news.com.au New South Wales, Australia, Oct 15 : Severe thunderstorms have wreaked havoc across NSW overnight, bringing cyclonic wind gusts on the South Coast, flooding to areas including the Sydney CBD, and damage to hundreds of homes. A container ship has broken free in Port Botany and slammed into another ship across the bay.
Comment: KIEL EXPRESS broke her moorings, drifted across the narrow quay and slammed intoSAFMARINE MAKUTU . No reports on damages yet, but they may be serious.
Port Botany
A super storm that hit Sydney Tuesday night wrought havoc on the city’s commercial Port Botany, cutting the mooring of Hapag-Lloyd’s 67,ooo tonne container ship the Kiel Express, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The drifting ship, propelled by winds reaching 70 miles per hour, left a trail of destruction behind, cutting the mooring of the OOCL Hong Kong, and ultimately slamming into a stationary Safmarine ship, the Makutu. The strong winds then turned the Kiel Express, causing a side-by-side collision with the 62,000 tonne Makutu.
The OOCL Hong Kong was anchored away from the docks, with the unsecured containers on board the vessel preventing the tug boat crews to tow it further out to sea.
The ships have reportedly suffered only surface damage. The port’s two cranes that had been hit in the process are also not extensively damaged, and are deemed operational.
The Botany Port plans to resume operations on Wednesday night.
The Kiel Express's bow rams the Safmarine Makutu midship. Photo: Supplied
Heroic efforts by tug boat operators and ship pilots averted major damage to Sydney's commercial port on Tuesday night, after the super storm that hit the city snapped the mooring lines of a 67,000-tonne container vessel, causing it to collide with another ship and shear the mooring lines of a third vessel.
Hapag-Lloyd vessel the Kiel Express broke free from its mooring in Port Botany as winds reached 126km/h – or category 2 cyclonic strength – just before 9.30pm, causing a trail of destruction.
The Hapag-Lloyd vessel Kiel Express swings around to collide side-on with the Safmarine Makutu. Photo: Supplied
"I've been in the maritime industry for close to 30 years and I've never seen anything like this," Jason Sellars, a chief engineer on one of six tug boats called out for the emergency, said. The operation lasted some nine hours.
"The only thing we were missing was George Clooney and it was The Perfect Storm," Mr Sellars said, referring to a popular Hollywood disaster film.
The ship cut the mooring of the OOCL Hong Kong, sending it free. The stern of the Kiel Express then collided with a stationary Safmarine vessel, the Makutu. The Kiel Express then swung around to collide side by side.
The vessels sit side-by-side after wind blew the Hapag-Lloyd vessel from its moorings. Photo: Supplied
At one point, one of the tugs, operated by PB Towage, was at risk of being caught between the Kiel Express and the 62,000-tonne Makutu. Another tug boat became disabled when its propellers snagged on a mooring line cut loose on the Hong Kong vessel.
That ship had to be anchored away from the docks but could not be taken further out to sea because its containers had not been fully secured after its unloading operations were halted before the storm.
It's understood that the OOCL Hong Kong is undergoing repairs after its stern was punctured by the bollards on the wharf as the vessel swung out after its mooring was cut.
OOCL Hong Kong swings out after moorings cut by Kiel Express - puncturing its stern on the wharf. Photo: Supplied
Philip Holliday, the chief operating officer of the Port Authority of NSW, said shipping operators had been warned to put out additional mooring to secure their vessels ahead of the storm.
"Whatever people did, it wasn't enough," Mr Holliday said, adding he was "quite relieved" the mishap ended without any injury and no environmental damage.
While investigations continue, the ships appear to have suffered only superficial damage, while two cranes that had been hit would be able to resume operations. The port was due to reopen late on Wednesday night.
"All the cheese holes aligned [on Tuesday night] to make this a bad storm," Mr Holliday said. "It could have been a lot worse."
DP World, which operated the dock where the vessels were moored, said it would undertake a "full investigation".
"Right now we are concentrating on returning to full operation," Nicole Holyer, the operator's national communications manager, said.
"The precise details we don't want to get into because the investigations are in the hands of the insurers," Ms Holyer said. "Most importantly, no one was hurt in the incident or the storm."
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is also conducting an investigation to ensure the vessels are seaworthy, a spokeswoman said.
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