Upgrades key to Duigan’s return

TASPORTS and Bass Island Line (BIL) have been working to establish a plan to enable the John Duigan to return to Grassy Port as soon as possible, while increasing the safe operating conditions.

The plan includes using tugs to enable the John Duigan to dock in Grassy and the replacement of bollards.

The John Duigan is unable to dock in Grassy due to an infrastructure failure, surge and a safety incident in July.

Local seafarers say that the bollards on the Grassy Harbour Wharf have at least 25 years wear-andtear and they remember the much larger Searoad Mersey tying up to them.

TasPorts disputes the claim that lack of maintenance and the age of the bollards were partly the cause of the bollard failure. 

When questioned in the Legislative Council on Monday by committee chairperson Ruth Forrest, TasPorts said the bollards were replaced about fiveto six years ago. 

TasPorts said that the bollards at Grassy are rated 30 tons and suggested they were overloaded. The replacement bollards are rated to 80 tons.

TasPorts representatives told the inquiry that it believes mooring practices were also a likely factor in the failure, as sequentially releasing the lines had a concentrated pressure on a single bollard.

It is planned that the works will be completed by the end of September. BIL General Manager Kate Daley said that following a detailed engineering assessment, TasPorts has advised that the John Duigan can return to Grassy as early as next week, based on good weather conditions and the utilisation of a tugboat to assist in arrival and departures.

“Grassy Port is exposed to sea surge, which combined with wind and the weight of the John Duigan have the potential to put a huge amount of strain on bollards used as part of the arrival and departure sequence,” Ms Daley said.

“Modelling shows a tugboat may assist in reducing the tension on the mooring lines, enabling the John Duigan to use the existing infrastructure until TasPorts has a permanent fix in place. 

“Eastern Line’s King Islander is on standby to continue to support the service if the John Duigan is unable to return, and we thank them for stepping in to provide the support they have.

“Bass Island Line will confirm the return of the John Duigan once the tugboat and mooring equipment have been secured.

The bollard replacement project will get underway as soon as materials arrive, con- tractors are in place and the final design work is complete.” Braddon Labor MP Anita Dow is calling on repairs to be completed as soon as possible and for urgent infrastructure improve- ments on King Island to prevent further shipping disruptions.

“This shipping link is absolutely crucial to King Island and it must be rein- stated as a top priority,” said Ms Dow, who is also the Opposition infrastruc- ture spokesperson and deputy Labor leader.