Ship runs aground on Nobbys

[Frederick]

'Panic stations': ship aground

Jano Gibson
June 8, 2007 - 10:34AM

A major emergency is underway in Newcastle with a bulk carrier ship breaking its mooring and running aground 50 metres off a beach this morning.

Authorities are frantically working to avert a potentially major environmental disaster as the ship, the Pasha Bulker, with 21 crew on board, threatens to move closer towards Nobbys Beach, near the Newcastle Baths.

Acting Inspector Kirren Steel, at Newcastle Police, told smh.com.au: "It's a bit of panic stations at the moment.''

She said the ship was "balancing just on the reef'' between 50 and 100 metres of the
beach.

Massive waves are crashing into and over the ship, with the bow swinging towards the beach.

The Pasha Bulker, a 250-metre long coal ship built last year, has 700 tonnes of heavy fuel and 34 tonnes of diesel on board.

It does not have any coal on board. It had been due to pick up a load 68,000 tonnes of coal on June 12.

The crew members will stay on board to help attach lines from two tug boats that have been mobilised.

Ships are normally anchored two to five kilometres off the coast but the wild weather, including winds over 100 kilometres an hour, had caused it to break its moorings.

Massive waves are crashing into and over the ship, with the bow swinging towards the beach.

Two ambulance helicopters are on the ground.

A spokesman for ambulance media said they would be launched after the Ports Authority's first attempts to pull the ship from where it is lodged.

"From what I understand the Ports Authority are putting their tug out to see if it can pull it off the reef. A command post has been set up there, with police and ambulance officers,'' he said.

A number of ambulances are in Nobbys car park waiting to treat crew as they are brought from the ship.

Ambulance media said there were 21 crew aboard, but no injuries had been reported.
- with Erik Jensen

LINK

Awesome :|

 

[Frederick]

 

[perverse]

whoa, that will really suck if there's an oil spill..

 

[Frederick]

Yes...yes it will :|

Mum wants me to drive her up there so she can be like thousands of other people and gawk at it :x

 

[Misanthrope]

Oh man, that's awesome. You don't see enough ships running aground these days.

 

[roopy]

if i was serious about my photography hobby i'd be there with a thousand other photographers - but cold and wet isn't my thing.

 

[macavity]

dont drive in - traffic is backed up to Mayfield.

 

[Encurly]

The crew is being taken off by helicopter at the moment.

 

[PrideKnight]

Bah, you guys are too easily awed, come and see me when an Australian Navy Sea King has crash landed in your back yard!!! now THAT was awesome

 

[Misanthrope]

It'd be so much less impressive if it weren't so dark and forboding. There's something unfathomably intimidating about the ocean on days like this.

 

[sneaky_is_here]

think of the children

 

[Serc]

CWB - charge your camera batteries - it will snow in GI tonight. I wanna see pics!

Will be heading up to the tablelands tonight but given I've just heard (2nd hand) that ABC reports heavy snow in Armidale i'm not sure how far South I will get.

Apparently two ships have run around now and two more are in trouble according to the ABC (2nd hand again but quite a trustworthy source!) Also have heard one wave has been measured by an offshore buoy at 17m!

 

[PrideKnight]

Woo, Snow Fight at bushies housewarming!!!!!!!!!

 

[Misanthrope]

CWB - charge your camera batteries - it will snow in GI tonight. I wanna see pics!

Oh f**k. And here's me planning to walk home from work. In the words of Joe: BRING IT ON! :lol:

Will be heading up to the tablelands tonight but given I've just head (2nd hand) that ABC reports heavy snow in Armidale i'm not sure how far South I will get.

If they get heavy snow in Armidale, I dread to think what my parents are in store for up in Ben Lomond. The last time anywhere up here had decent snow, people got trapped in Ben Lomond for two days :lol:

 

[Serc]

Ohh wow...my mates and I usually get a motel room in Guyra overnight and head out to Ben Lomond in the morning to check out whats happened. Don't think we'll get there this time! The only part of what I've heard from the ABC so far that doesn't sound quite right is the Armidale snow report, though I'll just sms my bro there just now to double check

 

[Serc]

That was quick - "No"

 

[Frederick]

dont drive in - traffic is backed up to Mayfield.

It took us half an hour to get from our place in Islington to Customs House...we weren't going any further. My stepdad has an office on the top floor of the T&G Building in town, so we went up there and could see the ship. f**king huge it was

 

[Gene Krupa]

One ship is floundering off Stockton atm, apparently it's less than 100m from the beach and they have their engines on full and still can't hold position, another is off Swansea and is less than 2 Kms from shore, same deal.

 

[cram]

The traffice has been dreadful everywhere. I was teaching at Maitland TAFE and around lunch time they sent all students home because of the weather.

I was tyring to get back to Newcastle to get my kids because there school was flooding and got the Hexham and there was traffic backed back to the bridge.

Ended up getting home via the F3 and when I got home I found our 10metre gum tree across our driveway...

 

[garden fairy]

I was at Lee Wharf (Honeysuckle) this morning, on the fourth floor of an apartment building, and I was wondering what was going on, cause there were little boats heading out of the harbour, and then the Westpac Rescue Helicopter came whizzing over aswell...

We live across the road from the uni, they sent people home from there cause of flooding, and then someone went and had an accident, so they had to close it off and direct people in a different direction...it took me half an hour to get home from Jesmond (a 3 minute drive).

I have to go back into Honeysuckle tonight...I'm wondering how long it's going to take to get in...