Australian government ignored warning its $528m ship was too big to fit under Hobart bridge, inquiry told

The RSV Nuyina’s beam was widened until it was nearly 10 metres wider than the initial approved design, TasPort’s chief executive told a senate inquiry. Photograph: AP

The Australian government should have listened to warnings from as early as 2018 that its $528m icebreaking research ship was too big to safely pass underneath Hobart’s bridge, a senate inquiry has been told.

The RSV Nuyina, which resupplies Australia’s three Antarctic stations and conducts crucial climate research, 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.