On the trailing edge: Brownlee on Rena

11 comments on “On the trailing edge: Brownlee on Rena ”

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1. Draco T Bastard 1

   28 September 2012 at 2:42 pm

   Considering increased shipping it should be a no brainer to put in place such lanes and tracking system and, as you say, make it mostly automated. We wouldn’t leave the aircraft uncontrolled because of the dangers and we shouldn’t be leaving ships uncontrolled either.

   Here’s something scary in regards to tracking. Proves that it can be done.
   • lprent 1.1

     28 September 2012 at 2:49 pm

     I don’t think that you’d leave it unattended despite it being possible.

     After all the system would be running under the authority of whoever is the harbour master. They do tend towards being ummmm (reaches for rare use of diplomatic speech) irritable whenever anyone usurps their authority. I suspect that they’d feel the same about any automatic system. But human control would be more in the order of keeping an eye on the system to make sure it isn’t going nuts rather than doing its job.

     But what I was really pointing out was that it wasn’t expensive to put in lanes because they can be largely automatic. Our existing system of having no control is a damn sight more dangerous as the Rena showed because when a problem happens it can screw up large areas of harbour and cost.
   • Jokerman 1.2

     28 September 2012 at 4:51 pm

     in the Brown lee of the Bay of Plenty sea, Lies the Ichthyosaur…
2. KJT 2

   28 September 2012 at 3:53 pm

   AIS is already in place on the Navigation markers in Auckland, and being added in Tauranga and other ports.

   I still would not like to see visual markers disappear. A screen cannot replace the real thing for knowing your position in real time.

   Traffic volumes are extremely low around New Zealand, except in Cook Strait which already has lanes for the ferries..

   In fact I cannot even remember any collisions between large ships on the NZ coast, since RADAR.

   Can’t see how monitoring will help. Except to allocate costs after the event.

   We had a de-facto lane system in place for decades, sort of by mutual agreement/seamanship.
   Tanker used to go 3 miles off, Coastal ships 1 to 2 miles depending on size and most overseas ships seemed to prefer 5 miles. MNZ buggered it up by making the coastal tankers go 5 miles off. Instead of increasing safety that increased the amount of potential collisions.

   What needs to be addressed is standards of training, manning and equipment.

   As well as recognition by port authorities, MNZ and others that seafarers need to sleep once in a while.
   At the same time crew numbers and standards of qualifications are being drastically reduced the expectations of the time spent in dancing attendance on all sorts of visitors from shore, being ready to arrive and depart on the ports schedule, regardless of crew rest time, compliance paperwork and other demands are being hugely increased.

   The only publication that addressed the Rena crews working hours was NZ geographic. Looking at their schedule in Napier, plus all the port State inspections and the usual port, immigration and other crap there is no way they had adequate sleep.
   • lprent 2.1

     28 September 2012 at 4:34 pm

     Auckland has AIS in some of its physical AtoN’s – but they seem to spend more of their time not working than working – which makes them somewhat useless. There are some virtual AtoN’s appearing around the Auckland harbour. Recent AIS software shows having a ‘v’ in the diamond rather than the ‘+’.

     I still would not like to see visual markers disappear. A screen cannot replace the real thing for knowing your position in real time.

     Sure – for reefs and other navigational hazards. But I was specifically referring to traffic lanes and Brownlee/MoT’s claim that they’d be too expensive. That isn’t the case unless you’re planning on marking the things out with buoys.

     But I’m also sure that the number of physical navigational markers is reducing around Auckland harbour compared to what I saw 20 years ago. They’d be a pain to maintain, and I think that as the vessel sizes have increased and the possible routes into the harbour have diminished with increasing draft some have not been replaced.

     The only publication that addressed the Rena crews working hours was NZ geographic. Looking at their schedule in Napier, plus all the port State inspections and the usual port, immigration and other crap there is no way they had adequate sleep.

     Agreed that appears to be the biggest ongoing issue. Basically the vessels are undermanned with officers for these short hops and short stays in port. The underlying problem is that the owners of the ships are trying to shave costs finer and consequently the officers are trying to shave time.

     This would be a pretty simple backup/checking system to put in place. Apart from anything else you’d pick up vessels run by cowboys at either the owner or officer level from the larger fishing vessels to container vessels. That would mean that more time can be focused on them and less on people that aren’t pushing the bounds.
3. BloodyOrphan 3

   28 September 2012 at 4:38 pm

   It’s a good idea, yas could even make some cash from it, Gerry.
4. Jackal 4

   29 September 2012 at 10:32 am

   You might be interested LPrent in an excuse that was given for not upholding an OIA concerning what exactly the MV Rena was carrying:

   The particular routes that goods are shipped by can put a shipping company at a commercial advantage over its competitors, as the particular route taken may cost less or take less time than the route a competitor shipping company may take. If this information were to be released, it would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the shipping company who supplied the information.

   Mei Chan
   Legal Executive
   Maritime New Zealand

   I find this response most annoying, being that my request wasn’t even for the route the MV Rena had taken. But what this tells me is that instead of following well defined shipping lanes, shipping companies are cutting corners in order to be more competitive.

   But really I suspect that he is just simply too damn lazy to think about what need to be done and getting around to doing it.

   I expect it’s more a case of the shipping companies lobbying the government to ensure such measures are not introduced. The inexpensive and workable system you describe to increase safety would ultimately hurt their bottom line, because they’re currently profiting from being unsafe.

   With piss weak legislation that fails to ensure shipping companies pay when an accident occurs, most of the costs are socialized, meaning that there’s no financial incentive for shipping companies to put safety above profits.

   Gerry Brownlee has failed to properly amend the legislation that could have increased safety… Negligence in other words. He has also shown a gross ignorance of the technology available that could ensure another Rena disaster does not occur again… What an idiot!
   • Draco T Bastard 4.1

     30 September 2012 at 1:29 am

     Gerry Brownlee has failed to properly amend the legislation that could have increased safety… Negligence in other words.

     That’s, IMO, criminal negligence and if he’s doing it to maintain profits for the shipping companies then we have to consider outright corruption as well.
     • KJT 4.1.1

       3 October 2012 at 9:26 am

       Successive Governments since 1984 have been slack on shipping standards. Basically because if they applied them we would not be able to have cheap overseas ships carrying coastal cargoes. Many of the ships that come here would not be accepted by the US coastguard for trading on the US coast.Which would cut the hazard by half.

       The sad thing is standards of manning and training on NZ flag ships have also been cut in the name of competition.

       All supposedly to make freight rates cheaper for farmers. The laugh is on them because the shipping cartels set whatever rates they like and the service levels are now rather indifferent.

       Shipping is exempt from anti-cartel legislation.

       Despite all the BS about port competition Mearsk put NZ rates up, not Australian. Australia still has a few of their own international ships.

       http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/rena-neo-liberal-failure.html
   • KJT 4.2

     3 October 2012 at 9:19 am

     That is comical. Where ships go is certainly not a secret. A bit large to hide.
5. tc 5

   30 September 2012 at 7:33 am

   I thought we did have shipping lanes and they operate as you’ve suggested lp. has anyone asked the port of tauranga (officially) why their alerts systems weren’t acted upon as Rena drifted out of the lane.

   Kordia do some manned monitoring also and as for educating brownlee you can’t teach an arrogant old Nat dog and former woodwork teacher any new tricks unless they involve pillaging on behalf of the hollowmen.

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