Landcruiser rolls off barge to Fraser

[AB]

http://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/oh-no-vehicle-falls-off-inskip-point-barge/3127635/

Disaster!!!

[nissannewby]

http://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/oh-no-vehicle-falls-off-inskip-point-barge/3127635/

Disaster!!!

Is it really? Those things move so slow. I think the driver hasnt put the hand brake on. Or there is something else going on....

[AB]

Is it really? Those things move so slow. I think the driver hasnt put the hand brake on. Or there is something else going on.... Why isn't the ramp up??

Bit strange...

[nissannewby]

Yeah who knows. Bit of a bummer for the owner as it looks like it was on its way to fraser.

[NissanGQ4.2]

https://www.facebook.com/MoretonCrimeWatch/videos/1620699371289907/

[Hodge]

A side question... Will the owners now cop a fine for polluting. Diesel, oil, etc in the ocean? Will a recovery even take place or do they just leave it... ?

[Winnie]

I think regardless of a working handbrake or not, vehicles should not just be able to roll into the ocean. You would think there would be some bollards or something in place to stop them if they do move. Wonder who's insurance needs to cover it?

Bloody Toyota handbrakes!

[AB]

You would think there would be some bollards or something in place to stop them if they do move! ..........

[Softy]

I think regardless of a working handbrake or not, vehicles should not just be able to roll into the ocean. You would think there would be some bollards or something in place to stop them if they do move. Wonder who's insurance needs to cover it?

Bloody Toyota handbrakes!

I agree... At the moment it's just a good laugh, But what happened if people where in it and it rolled off and they got trapped and died.?? Dare say the Captain would be a world of chit for not putting the ramps up.

[Tony's 4.8]

Wow. I was on that barge about eight weeks ago. I hope the barge operators take responsibility. You would assume the operators have accountability for ensuring the vehicles are safely secured before launching.

[sooty_10]

I agree... At the moment it's just a good laugh, But what happened if people where in it and it rolled off and they got trapped and died.?? Dare say the Captain would be a world of chit for not putting the ramps up.
If they were in it you would think they would put their foot on the brake.
As for the insurance I'm not sure I want to be the one having to explain that. Any rental car wouldn't be covered one bit as they exclude ferries. I wonder how it'll go. I'd take up scuba diving if it was my truck and see what I could recover :(

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[bazzaboy]

The Captain of the barge is totally responsible. Duty of care. Ramp was not up and no other barrier ( chain ) in place. I think his insurance just went up some.

[Tony's 4.8]

I agree Bazaboy. Remembering our barge trip to Fraser 8 weeks ago, the Deck Hand came up to me and asked if it was in gear and handbreak on. I answered Ýes'. But that was all, He never checked, and just took my word for it. I think those accountable for all on board (including what you are transporting) are accountable for making sure everything is secured before launching. I hope the barge company ends up paying for the losses.

[MB]

If anyone's ever taken the voyage across Bass Strait on a wild night you'll know that all vehicle decks below are cleared of humans prior to setting sail for good reason!
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/ferry-rough-night-on-spirit-of-tasmania-leaves-trucks-cars-smashed-20160504-golshc.html

[MB]

"Damage to vehicles is still being determined and the company is dealing directly with affected parties"

[Avo]

Dunno why anyone would be accountable except the person who parked it there...if you hopped out no handbrake and not in gear tuff even if it was a mistake...why blame anyone bar the person who is control of that car.....

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[mudnut]

I am very glad no-one was in it, but now this has happened maybe the operators will check things properly. For a lot of customers it would be their first ferry trip.

[gaddy]

Hmmm 80 series on fraser , my bet would be backpacker tag along out of Rainbow, either Sven or Ingred , no user the handa- breaka thingy 😉

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[BigRAWesty]

Being a beach landing ferry I'm not sure the ramps go much higher??
Bloody Toyota hand brakes are nothing but decoration at best..
I'd say they have "applied" the break but left it out of gear.
Bloody unfortunate even though it is only a yota, it's a car full for someone's hard erred cash and belongings..

[Softy]

If they were in it you would think they would put their foot on the brake.
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Yes if there was someone in the car... What would have happened if there was 3 kids strapped into the back seat and mum got out of the car to get them out and it rolled off then.... Having the ramps up would have stopped this situation happening.

[sooty_10]

Yes if there was someone in the car... What would have happened if there was 3 kids strapped into the back seat and mum got out of the car to get them out and it rolled off then.... Having the ramps up would have stopped this situation happening.
Well that would have been tragic.... thankfully not in this case. :)

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[bazzaboy]

Dunno why anyone would be accountable except the person who parked it there...if you hopped out no handbrake and not in gear tuff even if it was a mistake...why blame anyone bar the person who is control of that car.....

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

A friend of mine used to run the Brooklyn ferry and he told me that many years ago, after loosing a family in a vehicle off the Wiseman's Ferry barge, the NSW government demanded that all vehicle ferrys & barges had to have an interlocked isolation system between the ramp or gates to ensure they were closed & locked before the ferry/barge could move. I would be amazed if this was not the requirement for all similar vehicle/passenger transports in Australia. Regardless on how this happened, it is still the Captain's responsibility.

[Cyclone]

"Oh what a feeling"
Jokes aside the ramp should have been up. The deck hands normaly check with the driver that the hand brake is on and gearbox in park or gear. In bad weather I have seen cars slide on the ferry.

[Dhuck]

Was a simple Toyota failure. The vehicle should have been left in Park/Gear. For a bit of a laugh, the captain was disposing of crap. On the serious side, glad know one was hurt except the back packers pride who had all they're phones and passports in the car.

[DX grunt]

Oops. I'm guessing somebody's going to be in trouble.

Do you reckon Worksafe or govt equivalent will be involved?

[FNQGU]

Having done a bit of time 'on boats', this will no doubt come back on the skipper for ultimate responsibility, as does everything really. Will be interesting to hear what the final outcome is in terms of how it happened though. I would not have thought it possible for a vehicle to roll off the back without some sort of negligence from the operator, idiot behind the wheel or not.

[Avo]

that sucks big time...imaghine how long it will,take to get on the water if the captain has to inspect every car...we are in the era of america,it's not my fault it's yours...good bye australia...welcome america andf ya lawyers

[Turtle_au]

If they were in it you would think they would put their foot on the brake.
As for the insurance I'm not sure I want to be the one having to explain that. Any rental car wouldn't be covered one bit as they exclude ferries. I wonder how it'll go. I'd take up scuba diving if it was my truck and see what I could recover :(

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Forget scuba. The link from the first post says it's about 60m down. At that depth your getting into special gas mixtures and expensive equipment.

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[Maxhead]

80 series on the sounder...lol

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2017/01/3.jpg








................on the road

[Wizard52]

I have used this barge probably over 100 times and never was asked to put hand brake on and in gear. That is just common sense, you would do that if parked on a hill or a boat ramp or even on flat ground. Although once, we were coming into the beach too fast and the deckie had to yell out to everyone to jump in and put foot on brakes to stop everyone rolling into each other.
In photo it looks like he has just left the beach and ramp has not come up yet.
The rules changed a year or two ago up here when some idiot drove off the ramp before barge had docked up north somewhere and another looser tried to drive on the barge after it had left ramp. When docking, the drivers of front row of vehicles have to be out of the vehicle until it stops and deckie instructs vehicles to leave.
Society is being "dumbed "down to the lowest common level. If you have to be told (as we are these days) on a hot day to keep cool and drink water, there is no hope for mankind.

[mudski]

60 meters deep and not very far from shore?! I doubt it.

[Maxhead]

60 meters deep and not very far from shore?! I doubt it.

More like 8 meters







................on the road

[mudski]

More like 8 meters







................on the road

Yeah I reckon so.

[Maxhead]

Yeah I reckon so.

It only just took off so close to shore
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2017/01/4.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2017/01/5.jpg






................on the road

[Hodge]

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2017/01/5.jpg



Well that photo confirms the possible bullshit that it's sitting in 60m of water surely? Can't be 60m that far out can it? Unless it floated out further ...

[taslucas]

Maybe it was left out if gear because it had a turbo timer and the handbrake was classic Toyota spec?
Or maybe it was an insurance job?

>>>tappin from tassie

[Ben-e-boy]

Maybe it was left out if gear because it had a turbo timer and the handbrake was classic Toyota spec?
Or maybe it was an insurance job?

>>>tappin from tassie

It was a backpacker hire 4wd

[threedogs]

Pretty sure the BasS Straight Ferry has signs saying
leave the vehicle in park or in gear with the hand brake on.

Bummer losing all your papers and personal belongings so far
from home. Good story to tell when they get home, lol

[mudski]

Pretty sure the BasS Straight Ferry has signs saying
leave the vehicle in park or in gear with the hand brake on.


They need a sign to tell people this?

[threedogs]

They need a sign to tell people this?

Yep cause ppl are that stupid sometimes, they need signs

[Tony's 4.8]

Ok. We all make errors and forget things, so I guess that makes us all stupid at different times in our lives. But when you are charging for a service, (and the Captain of a vessel), you have certain responsibilities to your crew, passengers and cargo. This is like the fact that we have a 'Fasten your seatbelt' sign on aeroplanes before taking off, but the hostess still walks around and checks compliance.

In the case of the barge, Yes- Perhaps they did not leave it in gear or the handbrake on. But the Captain is NOT supposed to leave until the rear ramp has been raised (just in case a vehicle moves). This procedure helps prevent unintended deaths that have occurred in the past (NSW and overseas).

The barge ramp moves up in line with the rest of the both side of the barge. As can be seen by the photo below, the Captain has driven away from the shore and failed to raise the rear ramp, and this has allowed a vehicle to be lost and could have easily resulted in tragic deaths had there been children in the vehicle. It was a good lesson for the barge operators to ensure that people and vehicles are well secured before moving away from the shore. I am pretty confident that the minute all the barge operators found out what had occurred, they immediately-
(1) Instructed the Deck Hands to check vehicles were in gear and handbrake on
(2) Ensured Deck Hands confirmed all vehicles are secured before moving away from the shore
(3) Ensured the rear ramp was FULLY raised before moving away from the shore

Having investigated these events in the past, I would be fairly confident in suggesting that the barge company has had a procedure in place stating the above three points for many years already and that the procedure was simply not followed.

70449

[Hodge]

7 news just reported that the barge operator has been deemed responsible.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=70453&stc=1

[Clunk]

Of course he's responsible, well indirectly that is..... it's called "Duty of care"

[Maxhead]

Watch the prices skyrocket as it will take twice as long to do this trip. Check everyone's vehicle, wait till the gate is up at the bank. All because of one imbecile.

Whats's next...make sure this dickheds handbag is secure as well...Fark Me!

[mudnut]

Simple check, a purpose built lever under a tyre and push down to see if the car moves. Only takes a second.

[Clunk]

Watch the prices skyrocket as it will take twice as long to do this trip. Check everyone's vehicle, wait till the gate is up at the bank. All because of one imbecile.

Whats's next...make sure this dickheds handbag is secure as well...Fark Me!
These sort of checks are what should be done in the first place........... reminds me of this which was a much grander scale and many people killed due to rushing and making sure shit was done before setting off......

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herald_of_Free_Enterprise_disaster

I was on this the day before

[Maxhead]

These sort of checks are what should be done in the first place........... reminds me of this which was a much grander scale and many people killed due to rushing and making sure shit was done before setting off......

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herald_of_Free_Enterprise_disaster

I was on this the day before

Where does it end though? My camera is broken, my glasses fell off, my child has a bruise, where is the first aid room, where are my chairs, it's too windy, it's too swelly...all for a 10 min trip.

Like someone said before, we are becoming a bunch off pussies like the yanks and will sue for everything!

[Clunk]

Where does it end though? My camera is broken, my glasses fell off, my child has a bruise, where is the first aid room, where are my chairs, it's too windy, it's too swelly...all for a 10 min trip.

Like someone said before, we are becoming a bunch off pussies like the yanks and will sue for everything!
I couldn't care less about personal affects and bruises and I couldn't give a rats about who sues who and for why....... and irrispective of what you deem to be common sense regarding putting the car in gear having the handbrake on. Those ramps should have been up and the operators make sure that drivers are aware that hand brake is applied and vehicle is in gear or in park

[Maxhead]

I couldn't care less about personal affects and bruises and I couldn't give a rats about who sues who and for why....... and irrispective of what you deem to be common sense regarding putting the car in gear having the handbrake on. Those ramps should have been up and the operators make sure that drivers are aware that hand brake is applied and vehicle is in gear or in park

Fair point. I was on the barge few months back and when you drive on and get guided by one of the deckies you get told to put the handbrake ON and leave it in gear trough your drivers window just when you stop. Then the barge takes off and the practice is to start lifting the gate as you start moving to make the trip more efficient.

Like I said above, now prices will go up as it will take longer because of one dick with no common sense

[Clunk]

Fair point. I was on the barge few months back and when you drive on and get guided by one of the deckies you get told to put the handbrake ON and leave it in gear trough your drivers window just when you stop. Then the barge takes off and the practice is to start lifting the gate as you start moving to make the trip more efficient.

I do however put the car in 1st when parked facing up hill and wheels pointed left, and when pointing dowhill, in reverse gear and wheels again facing left

Like I said above, now prices will go up as it will take longer because of one dick with no common sense
I wouldn't have known to leave the car in gear, handbrake is a given ..... nothing to do with common sense, but to do with never having taken a car on a ferry or barge before.

When the Herald of Free Enterprise went down, they originally stated the reason for not dropping the nose cone before departing was "efficiency"..... that practice stopped immediately. It didn't drive up costs

[Maxhead]

I think we get thought when going for a licence test to put handbrake on and leave in gear or park when stopped but could be different where you got yours...but it's common sense to me :)

On the cost side, if this added an extra 5 minutes to each of their trips it would add a substantial cost of running the barge. Remember its only a30min whole trip which includes boarding, etc. around 17% if my maths is correct. Now compared to the Herald which has roughly a 3hr + trip on water and probably the same boarding I think an extra few minutes to close the door would not equate to any major cost increase.

Also there were few other major contributing factors to the Harolds sinking going by your link. Main one was the ship was not designed for this particular trip..

The Fraser barge can go across with the door open.

Anyway, all good :)

[MB]

My terrible memory recall has just kindly given me flashbacks of the few times I was fortunate enough to visit our great sand island. Dad's preferred coin was always spent with the Aussie battler ferry from Inskip to the Island coloured in rusty orange, that 1980s barge name still illudes me :-(?I do remember roughly both ramps being raised to 25% and all passengers happily walking around checking tyre pressures etc.. Once the early 1990's arrived, same ferry, a few of us Mexican deep south young blokes on 'P' plates relived these family adventures and found much stricter rules aboard. Again, I do vividly recall the deck hands harshly advising all travelers to be back in their vehicles with brake pedals on well before hitting the island.

[jack180]

I was on this barge 2 days before and 2 days after. Have used it hundreds of times as we have a place on Fraser. On the trip home we noticed they had placed a rope chain across the barge in front of the cars at either end. I didn't know at the time a car had gone off it a couple of days prior, and commented to my wife how the crew must have been a bit over all the holiday traffic as they were pretty short and sharp and asked 4 times if i had my handbrake on. Now it makes sense why.

[jack180]

oh and re the 60m depth - i can tell you its pretty deep in that patch. Don't know if its 60m thought, i would have thought about 20 to 30m, but really strong currents there as all the water exits on low tide, so it digs a pretty deep channel. Good luck to them finding it now.

[BigRAWesty]

oh and re the 60m depth - i can tell you its pretty deep in that patch. Don't know if its 60m thought, i would have thought about 20 to 30m, but really strong currents there as all the water exits on low tide, so it digs a pretty deep channel. Good luck to them finding it now.
Boats fish finder found it at around 8.3m

[threedogs]

oh and re the 60m depth - i can tell you its pretty deep in that patch. Don't know if its 60m thought, i would have thought about 20 to 30m, but really strong currents there as all the water exits on low tide, so it digs a pretty deep channel. Good luck to them finding it now.

They found Nemo didn't they lol

[nissannewby]

Boats fish finder found it at around 8.3m

Yes it did. There is quite a lot of water movement where it fell. Even cars that see their fate on the beach are covered by sand in a week or 2.

It does get deep in the channel and they are lucky it wasnt a little further out as it woukd have been more than 8m.

It wont be so much as finding it but recovering it will be a different story. I reckon they will leave it there.

[jack]

At 8m certainly worth a dive to recover passports, wallets etc. dependant on tidal movement. I didn't check if the windows were up or down but I'd assume they would have been secured in the glovebox.

[jack180]

At 8m certainly worth a dive to recover passports, wallets etc. dependant on tidal movement. I didn't check if the windows were up or down but I'd assume they would have been secured in the glovebox.

The way the tide moves there i doubt any diver in their right mind would risk going down to it there. I certainly wouldn't. Really strong currents. Id reckon by now its already moved or buried a far bit.

[Wizard52]

Someone told me (I think a pro fisherman) that because of the volume of water going through such a narrow passage, the bottom few metres of sand is moving so fast you can't anchor a boat. It is very deep in the middle so 60m is believable and if it does drift out further than the present 8m, it is gone forever.

[Wizard52]

I think we get thought when going for a licence test to put handbrake on and leave in gear or park when stopped but could be different where you got yours...but it's common sense to me :)

On the cost side, if this added an extra 5 minutes to each of their trips it would add a substantial cost of running the barge. Remember its only a30min whole trip which includes boarding, etc. around 17% if my maths is correct. Now compared to the Herald which has roughly a 3hr + trip on water and probably the same boarding I think an extra few minutes to close the door would not equate to any major cost increase.

Also there were few other major contributing factors to the Harolds sinking going by your link. Main one was the ship was not designed for this particular trip..

The Fraser barge can go across with the door open.

Anyway, all good :)

Except for peak holiday times, you usually have to wait until barge has several vehicles on board before it leaves so there is plenty of time to to check so can't see any reason to increase prices.
Usually the ramp comes up as they leave the beach and they have to lower front one as they approach beach for better visibility.
I think is is now $120 return because there is no competition. It was only $80 not that long ago until Kingfisher Bay mob pulled their barges out and left it to Mantaray. Amazing what competition does. I use Kingfisher barge from River Heads as it is only 5klm from home for similar price as a local but normal price is $165 return.

[Maxhead]

Except for peak holiday times, you usually have to wait until barge has several vehicles on board before it leaves so there is plenty of time to to check so can't see any reason to increase prices.


When we were there in July(school holidays), we saw 10+ vehicles sitting there lined up waiting to get on the barge and more just rolling in constantly. Once the deckie gets you in position he has to move onto the next vehicle ASAP to get it parked, etc. From what I saw they run a pretty efficient service.

Maybe off peak they would have less vehicles so therefore more time to do all the checks.

[Wizard52]

When we were there in July(school holidays), we saw 10+ vehicles sitting there lined up waiting to get on the barge and more just rolling in constantly. Once the deckie gets you in position he has to move onto the next vehicle ASAP to get it parked, etc. From what I saw they run a pretty efficient service.

Maybe off peak they would have less vehicles so therefore more time to do all the checks.

I have only used Mantaray once in last 5 yrs after moving to "The Heads" but non peak and other slow times, I have been on the barge for 15/20 minutes waiting for more vehicles to make it worth while to do the crossing.