|
Townsville Port Authority employees have rescued a seaman who had fallen from a ship in Cleveland Bay. The seaman, who was rigging the pilot ladder at the time, fell overboard from the Emerald Halo at approximately midnight on Friday, 28 July while the ship was in the Platypus channel, leaving the Port of Townsville.
Thanks to the Townsville Port Authority pilot transfer crew, Chris Jones (Coxswain) and David Maxwell (Deckhand) the man was rescued from the water and returned safely to the ship within four minutes of hitting the water. It is understood that he was not wearing a lifejacket at the time. Mr. Ron McLean, Townsville Port Authority Chairman, said: “Our employees who work on board the Authority’s vessels regularly train to deal with a man overboard situation. This training assisted them to respond quickly and effectively to save this man’s life.” Captain John Watkinson, Maritime Safety Queensland General Manager, said: “this was a commendable effort on the part of the pilot boat crew. The seaman was lucky that the weather was calm as it would have been difficult to find him in the dark without a life jacket and reflective clothing.” The Emerald Halo is a regular visitor to the Port of Townsville to unload nickel ore for the QNI Refinery at Yabulu. Townsville Port Authority has a contract with Maritime Safety Queensland to provide transfer services for marine pilots guiding vessels entering or departing the Port. The pilot transfer service agreement between Townsville Port Authority and Maritime Safety Queensland has just been renegotiated for five years with a two year option.  TPA-Media_Release_-_man_overboard_310706.pdf (41.79 KB)
|
)
)
Print this page