NSW floods crisis: Tug crews save ship from disaster

A cargo ship stranded in rough seas off the coast of Sydney was rescued on Monday night, averting an environmental disaster.

A tug assists the Portland Bay cargo ship which sits stranded off Royal National Park, south of Sydney, on Monday. Picture: AAP

A cargo ship stranded in rough seas off the coast of Sydney was rescued on Monday night, averting an environmental disaster.

The 169m, 30,000-tonne ship Portland Bay was towed away from the coast by a three-person tugboat crew, in an operation the Ports Authority of NSW described as a crisis averted.

Ports Authority incident controller John Finch said: “The tug crews are unsung heroes today. They have gone above and beyond the call here, battling swells of up to eight to nine metres.”

With the ship no longer in danger of running aground, its crew will begin attempting to repair the turbo fan that caused the engine’s initial failure.

The Port Authority was aided by three privately owned tug boats.

The Portland Bay lost power and authorities feared the boat was drifting towards rocks near the shoreline and risked crashing.

An earlier attempt to rescue the crew and bring them onshore with two helicopters was abandoned once the ship managed to anchor.

Mr Finch said tug boat crews had faced winds of 30 knots.

It is believed the Portland Bay’s main turbo engine blower has failed and an attempt to repair the engines will be performed once the vessel reaches deep water.

Before the successful towing operating, Mr Finch said all crew members were safe and ­acknowledged the enormous ­effort of the teams involved, noting in particular the efforts of the SL Diamantina.  

“Our priorities remain twofold: getting this vessel and its crew into safer waters and away from land and the potential of grounding, while keeping all responders safe,” he said.

Two tug boats will remain with the Portland Bay as repairs are performed.

It is understood the ship last carried cement and arrived at Port Kembla, near Wollongong, on June 26. It departed about 1.30pm on Sunday.

The Portland Bay is a bulk carrier registered to Hong Kong logistics company Pacific Basinand, and was understood not to be carrying any cargo.