What Went Wrong Aboard the MV Pasha Bulker?

While we're on the subject of management lessons, Master Mariner John Konrad, our esteemed colleague over at gCaptain, has some harsh words to say about the captain of the MV Pasha Bulker, a 225 meter bulk cargo ship that ran agound on Nobby's Beach in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia last summer when the area was hit by a major storm that generated gale force winds and extremely high seas.

There were 56 ships moored at Newcastle when the storm warning was issued by local authorities, and all but 10 of them sailed far offshore to avoid the heavy weather. The captain of the Pasha Bulker decided to stay, but when the huge storm finally struck, he then tried desperately to head out to sea — but it was too late. The ship ran aground at 9:15 am on a public beach not far from downtown Newcastle, and shortly thereafter it "hogged" — meaning, the spine of the ship cracked under the stress of the crashing waves. How embarrassing.

The ship was eventually refloated and salvaged, but not before it provided a bonanza for dozens of Australian Flickr photographers. Now a formal investigation of the incident is underway, and the judgment of the Pasha Bulker's captain has been called into question. Indeed, though gCaptain's MM Konrad is normally quite mild-mannered, as an expert mariner himself, the reports prompted him to issue some stern words about the management decisions that were made aboard the Pasha Bulker. Regarding the decision not to head out to sea, MM Konrad says:

46 ships decide to leave port to avoid dragging anchor in an unprotected harbor and the Pasha Bulker stays, while this action is questionable the decision is not necessarily breaking the rule of prudent seamanship. The next morning Port Authorities “try again” to evict the remaining ships. I do not have details on the warning but it’s normal procedure to give the availability of tug boats that could help a ship in danger. Either way rescue tugs never showed and were apparently not requested by the captain.

At this point in the time line the captain became a danger to the vessel and crew. A master’s disagreement with port authority suggestions is understandable and the choice to ignore the warnings are his prerogative but one necessary step was not taken; vigilance. This is the time for a captain to ask himself the questions mentioned above, this is the moment to question your own decision, this is your chance to solidify a bridge team management plan and put the crew on high alert.

The chronology from here was a comedy of errors, but the the Pasha Bulker soon ran aground, and when it did, the captain ordered his crew to abandon ship even though the engines were still sound and the ship was resting securely on the beach. To which MM Konrad says:

Panic is the number enemy number one in an emergency situation. While some have more difficulty than others avoiding it a captain should never panic. This is a primary reason it takes 10 years of sailing experience and school to obtain a master’s license. In these 10 years you will be exposed to situations at sea that test your panic trigger, if you are unacceptable to panic or indecision at the time if crisis you should not take command of a ship. Many mariners face difficulty getting promoted to second mate for this very reason, as this officer position is the highest pay grade obtainable without the need for making life threatening decisions in the face of danger. I have met few captains to which the Peter Principal applies.

(MM Konrad has further thoughts on the management style of 21st century ship captains here.)

So there you have it -- the kind of things the masters of very large ships might say if you overheard them talking smack in the ship captain's locker room. A very interesting perspective, don't you say, matey?

LINKS:
Pasha Bulker Incident Report - Nearly Unbelievable (gCaptain.com blog post by John Konrad)

Captain at Breakfast as Ship Sailed to Doom (Sydney Morning Herald article about the investigation of the Pasha Bulker incident)

MV Pasha Bulker (Wikipedia entry)

Flickr photos of the Pasha Bulker grounding

PREVIOUSLY:
Blogging on the High Seas with gCaptain

Airbus Delivers the First A380 — and a Management Lesson

A Large Ship is Not (Repeat: NOT!) Sinking in New York

(PHOTOS: Top, by Truscott Family, Helicopter rescue, by aupeter100. Beach perspective by Rain.Forest. Propeller and rudder by marj k)