New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has issued a report regarding an incident where a bulk carrier, Achilles Bulker, narrowly avoided a grounding after its rudder fell off.
On 24 July 2023, the fully loaded Achilles Bulker was under pilotage outbound from the Port of Tauranga. Shortly after clearing the harbour entrance, the ship’s heading began to swing to port and deviate from its intended track in the centre of the channel.
As the bridge team took corrective action to return the ship to the centreline of the channel, the ship’s rudder broke off and the ship continued out of the channel into shallow waters. The pilots and ship’s crew successfully anchored the ship using both anchors, narrowly avoiding grounding.
The rudder pintle was missing, which left the bottom of the rudder unsupported and allowed excessive movement in the rudder system. The rudder broke off when the rudder palm fractured on both sides of the rudder stock.
The pintle dropped out of position and was lost before the ship lost its rudder. As a result, excessive lateral loads had been placed on the rudder palm over time, contributing to the development of fatigue cracks in the palm on both sides of the rudder stock.
In 2021, Achilles Bulker underwent maintenance during a scheduled dry dock period. During this period the rudder pintle assembly was removed and later reinstalled. It is virtually certain that the way the rudder pintle assembly was reinstalled did not ensure that the pintle would remain in place during normal shipboard operations.
The way the rudder pintle assembly was reinstalled meant that components used to secure the pintle in place failed, allowing the pintle to drop from the bottom of the rudder. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has identified a safety issue relating to the quality assurance and oversight used during the pintle reinstallation.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE
