Australia’s $528m icebreaking research vessel is significantly wider than initially designed and lacks the turning ability to safely pass underneath Hobart’s Tasman Bridge and refuel on the other side.
On Thursday, Guardian Australia revealed the RSV Nuyina had been denied permission to pass underneath the bridge due to safety concerns. The 160-metre ship must now sail hundreds of kilometres to refuel at a port on the side of the state, costing the cash-strapped division more money and generating more emissions.
RSV Nuyina, which resupplies Australia’s three Antarctic stations and conducts crucial climate research in the Southern Ocean, is berthed at Hobart’s Macquarie Wharf, to the south of the Tasman Bridge. But its refuelling station at Selfs Point is a short distance upstream on the other side of the bridge.
After extensive testing and evaluations, the port authority has decided the ship is too large and lacks the turning capacity required to avoid hitting concrete structures. In 1975, 12 people died when a cargo ship crashed into the same bridge, causing part of it to collapse.
Tasmania’s harbour master, Mick Wall, told ABC Hobart on Friday that RSV Nuyina’s “windage area” was too large. This refers to the surface area of the ship that strong winds could impact, pushing it off course.
“It is the largest of any of the vessels which have been considered for going through the Tasman Bridge,” Wall said.
Wall said that while the rules for passing underneath the bridge had not changed, RSV Nuyina’s dimensions had.
“The initial design width was about 25.6m when it was delivered. It’s now currently at 35.1m. So it is a significant increase in the beam.
“Obviously, as you would understand, putting a moving vessel through the concrete upright of the main navigation span of the Tasman Bridge is something that you don’t just attempt and have a crack at and see how you go.”
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) was contacted for comment on why the beam was nearly 10m wider than initially designed, according to Wall.
In May 2021, AAD officials told the then South Australian senator Rex Patrick they were “confident the vessel will be approved to go underneath the Tasman Bridge”. They told Senate estimates it was hoping to organise refuelling barges as an alternative, rather than travelling to Burnie.
“They were alive to the risk back in 2021 and yet here we are; another Australian government maritime triumph,” Patrick said.
Earlier this week, the AAD confirmed the RSV Nuyina would refuel at Burnie while it worked with the Tasmanian government to find a long-term solution.
Wall said the ship could pass under the Tasman Bridge from the southern side, but could not safely travel back. That is due to the ship needing to complete a turn on the approach to the bridge, before passing through the concrete beams. Given the size of the ship, there is little room for error.
“The risk is always a loss of control,” Wall told the ABC. “The vessel has a significant amount of drift and side slip.
“The vessel is perfectly suited for straight line work, perfectly suited for ice operations. It is a very powerful ship. But when you put that vessel into a dynamic turn, it slides.”
The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the bridge impasse was “incredibly frustrating” and risked undermining the Antarctic division’s international reputation.
“Assurances from AAD’s senior management that the Nuyina could be safely refuelled in Hobart now look farcical, and risk undermining our Antarctic division’s reputation,” Whish-Wilson said.
“If the AAD cannot manage something as simple as this, what does it say about our competence in meeting Australia’s critical obligations under the Antarctic treaty?”
