MV Goondooloo owners make decision to abandon vessel after costly $120K refloat bill

The owners of a historic 20-metre vessel have reached a dead end in options to save their 67-year-old boat, saying a “part of us will die with her”. What happens next for the ship.

Historic ship MV Goondooloo sinks in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Picture: Tasmania Police

UPDATE April 2, 3.04pm: Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) said there is still time to save the MV Goondooloo, with the Notice to Remove not yet expired for the boat’s owners and confirming it will not be scuttled as previously thought.

A MAST spokesperson said the sunken vessel is a navigational hazard and as a result has been marked with a wreck buoy and issued a notice to mariners.

“In accordance with its legislative requirements, MAST has issued a Notice to Remove to the vessel owner as the Goondooloo is a navigational hazard,” a MAST spokesperosn said.

“This Notice has not yet expired.

“Under Tasmanian legislation it is the owner’s responsibility to comply with this Notice and salvage the sunken vessel.

“Should the owner fail to comply with the Notice and the risk to navigation remains, MAST, under the Marine and Safety Authority Act 1997, can apply to the Supreme Court for an order authorising seizure and disposal of the vessel.”

If MAST proceeds with such an order and is successful, the vessel would be floated and then disposed of on land.

“Under the Act, if there are no proceeds of sale or the proceeds are insufficient to cover the costs incurred by MAST in seizing and disposing of the vessel, MAST may recover those costs from the vessel’s owner,” the spokesperson said.

PREVIOUS:The owners of the 67-year-old historic vessel MV Goondooloo have had to make the heartbreaking decision to permanently sink the vessel, stating that a part of them “will die with her”.

Owners Deb Ludeke and Craig Bellgrove announced on Tuesday that the 20m-ship, once built in 1958 to serve as a pilot vessel in Sydney and Newcastle and then acting as a rescue operations boat with the Tamar Sea Rescue, would be seized and scuttled, or deliberately sunk, by MAST.

The MV Goondooloo was on its way to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in February this year when the crew suddenly lost steering and the boat started taking on water in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

Deb Ludeke and Craig Bellgrove owners of historic MV Goondooloo that sank in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Picture: supplied by Deb Ludeke

MV Goondooloo that sank in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Picture: supplied by Deb Ludeke

“I stepped into the engine room and I would have been knee deep in water,” Ms Ludeke said at the time.

Ms Ludeke said she and her partner have exhausted every option to raise the vessel with the Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) and Environmental protection Authority (EPA), but simply can’t afford the costs.

“It can be salvaged, that is what’s breaking our hearts – she’s sitting there like a bloody princess,” she said.

“It’s just 60 grand to get her up and then another 60 on top to even get her back to a hull basically.

“The last two months have just been hell, we’ve hit brick walls everywhere.”

Ms Ludeke estimated another $200,000 to restore the vessel.

Police Vessel Vigilant with Police Divers over sunk vessel - MV Goondooloo. Picture: Tasmania Police

However, as private owners of the ship, Ms Ludeke said she did not expect the vessel to be paid for, but for some help through relevant authorities or through a payment plan.

“This has just about destroyed us,” she said.

“We didn’t want anyone to pay for it, we understand that we are the owners, but we have tried to restore it for five years and we simply can’t afford this.

“The Cartela hasn’t been hit with an order by the EPA, you can’t have different rules if you’re protecting waterways,” she said.

“We’ve had no assistance for Goondooloo.

“Now we know that MAST will take the vessel and destroy it to be sunk and that hurts.”

Ms Ludeke said the decision has come after a “lot of sleepless nights”.

“There’s so many people and stories tied to this that it’s really sad and its feels like a let-down.”

Craig Bellgrove with wooden boat MV Goondooloo that has been salvaged from the Tamar River to be restored in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Franklin MP David O’Byrne, who had been assisting Ms Ludeke and Mr Bellgrove in trying to get the Goondooloo floated, said it was an unfortunate situation.

“I think it is very unfortunate that a solution could not be found to assist the owners in ensuring the Goondooloo can be salvaged, given its historical significance,” he said.

“There are options to the government and I would again ask they pursue them.”

Originally published as MV Goondooloo owners make decision to abandon vessel after costly $120K refloat bill