Name SS Lake Illawarra Type Steel bulk ore carrier Length 136 m | Out of service 1975 Launched 1958 Draft 9.57 m | |
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Operator Australian Coastal Shipping Commission (later renamed Australian National Line) Builder BHP at Whyalla, South Australia Fate Sank after colliding with Tasman Bridge, Hobart on 5 January 1975 | ||
Mv lake illawarra ship wreck under the tasman bridge
MV Lake Illawarra was a handysize bulk carrier of 7,274 tons in the service of the Australian National Line shipping company. This ship is known for causing the Tasman Bridge disaster when it collided with pylon 19 of Hobart's giant high concrete arch style Tasman Bridge on the evening of 5 January 1975 at 9.27 p.m., resulting in the deaths of 12 people.
Contents
- Mv lake illawarra ship wreck under the tasman bridge
- Tudc dive of mv lake illawarra
- Collision and sinking
- Memorial
- References
Tudc dive of mv lake illawarra
Collision and sinking
Lake Illawarra was loaded with zinc concentrate, for the Electrolytic Zinc Company (more recently known as Zinifex and OZ Minerals) refinery (now run by Nyrstar) at Risdon, about 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) up the River Derwent from the bridge.
Just before the impact, Captain Boleslaw Pelc realised as he passed Rosny Point that he was off course, and traveling too fast. He tried to correct the heading, but only managed to bring the bows too far to port (left) and was now heading for the western shore. He urgently counter-corrected, but could not make the opening. Realising he was headed for a collision, he put the engines full astern, but the torque from her propeller caused the ship to slide in a broadside movement. She smashed into the 18th and 19th pylons.
The collision brought down the two support pylons and a 127-metre (417 ft) section of steel and concrete. There was evening traffic on the bridge, and although no vehicles were on the section that fell, four cars drove off the gap, with five people killed. Two cars stopped on the edge, their occupants able to escape. The section of four-lane highway landed on the ship's deck, sinking her in 35 metres (115 ft) of water to the south of the bridge. Seven of the ship's crew lost their lives in the accident.
The ship and the debris pile were deemed unsafe to move; the ship's oil was pumped out, and the bow was removed at a later date. The wreck is deep enough not to be a navigational hazard, although movement caused by tides is considered enough of a threat to the bridge to be monitored closely by electronic sensors.
The subsequent Court of Marine Inquiry found that Lake Illawarra was capable of passing beneath the bridge's central navigation span, but the captain instead attempted to pass through one of the eastern spans, due to a combination of strong tidal currents and inattention. The Court found that Pelc had not handled Lake Illawarra in a proper and seamanlike manner, and suspended his master's certificate for six months. A pilot service was introduced in response to the court's findings.
Memorial
A memorial plague is dedicated to the MV Lake Illawarra at the Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial at Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-east of Hobart.
The plaque contains the following text: