The Australian
Transportation Safety
Bureau (ATSB) has
launched an investigation
into a collision between
a container ship and
commercial fishing vessel
off the Victorian coast.
The incident between
the Panama-registered
container ship, Beijing
Bridge, and the trawler
Saxon Onwardoccurred
about three nautical miles
southeast of Gabo Island in
late January.
Beijing Bridge was en
route to Melbourne when
it collided with Saxon
Onward just after midnight.
There were no injuries or
pollution reported by either
vessel. The fishing vessel
suffered damage to its hullbut was able to make its way
unassisted to the nearby
port of Eden. The container
ship resumed its passage
and berthed in Melbourne
later the same day.
As part of the
investigation, the ATSB will
obtain the ship’s voyage
data recordings, interview
directly involved parties
and obtain other necessaryinformation.
A deepwater trawler,
Saxon Onward entered the
Australian Shipping Register
in 1960. It is understood to
operate around the east and
west coasts of Tasmania,
and sometimes farther
afield, targeting orange
roughy and blue grenadier
during the winter spawning
season.New Zealand Customs’
newpatrolvesseloicially
startedworkinlateJanuary
following a commissioning
ceremony at the Port of
Auckland.
Designed by Teknicraft
in Auckland and built by
Q-West in Whanganui,
Hawk Vis an 18.6m long,
foil supported, aluminium
catamaran. Equipped with
the latest technology, the
new vessel has the ability to
monitor comings and goings
overamuchgreatersea
area than its predecessors,
andatamuchfasterpaceof
around 40kts.
Primarily based in
Auckland,Hawk Vwill
be operated by a crew
of four Customs oicers
with specialist maritime
expertise. It can also deploy
to other regions.
Thisnewvesselisthe
fifth in the history of the
New Zealand Customs
Service to bear the name
Hawk,the first of these
served in Auckland for six
years from January 1881
andfocussedontobacco
smugglers.
Hawk Vreplaces Customs
patrol vesselHawk IVwhich
hasbeeninservicefor19
years. The new vessel is
similar in size and shape
to Auckland Police’s vessel
Deodar III, which came
from the same design and
construction companies.
They also produced the near
sisterLady Elizabeth IVfor
police in Wellington.
Teknicraft describesHawkVas the next iteration of its
successfulDeodar IIIand
Lady Elizabeth IVpolice
vessels, with design updates
including the company’s
new Sickle Bow to improve
seakeeping performance. It
alsohasanadjustablefoil
system.
“With New Zealand
having the world's tenth
longest coastline, this vessel
required extended range for
ofshore patrolling beyond
our territorial waters. This
vessel will boost Customs'
capabilities as it is designed
for deployment on a variety
of missions, including
coastal patrolling duties,
customs work, search-
and-rescue work, and
the occasional towing of
vessels,” the company said.Hawk Vis 18.6m in length
overall, with a beam of
6.9m and draft of 0.9m.
Contributing to this shallow
draft is the use of waterjets
for steering and propulsion,
with HamiltonJet HJ403
unites fitted. These are
driven by Scania DI16 076M
diesels rated to produce
8009kW at 2300rpm.
Teknicraft indicates a
service speed of 30kts, and
42kts maximum.
“The world-class patrol
vesselhasbeenpurpose-
built to boost Customs’
ability to identify risk, and
carry out enforcement now
and into the future,” said
Customs Minister Meka
Whaitiri.
Hawk Vcarries a 4.8m
Naiad RIB on the aft deck.TRAWLER AND BOX SHIP COLLIDE
New Customs patrol boat for NZ
tradeboats.com.au 239