Kerre Woodham: A valuable lesson

The interim report into the grounding of Interislander’s Aratere ferry has found the bridge crew didn't know how to turn off the autopilot function on a new steering control system.

A report by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission was published yesterday, setting out the facts and circumstances established to this point and its inquiry into the incident, which remains ongoing.

So, the interim report said the Aratere received a new steering control system in May 2024, that was a month prior to the incident, to work with the ship's autopilot and integrated bridge navigation system. The Aratere was pootlingalong and it was just past its second waypoint off Mabel Island when the autopilot was engaged at 9:26pm, putting the steering for the other teddy under autopilot control. About 30 seconds later, a master who was on board the ship to refamiliarize himself with the Aratere after some time away, pressed the turn execute button, intending to initiate the Mabel Island waypoint turn.

After seeing the Aratere was heading towards shore, the crew attempted to press the takeover button and turned the wheel hard to port, all to no effect. The bridge team was unaware that to transfer steering control from the autopilot to the central steering console, the new steering system required them to either set the same rudder command at both consoles, which makes sense, or hold down the takeover button for five seconds. You couldn't just press it, it had to be held down for five seconds.

So how did the crew not know that? Well, according to Interislander Executive General Manager Duncan Roy, who spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan last night, you can't know what you can't know. 

“That's what I'm saying. We got a new piece of equipment and there was a very specific set of circumstances that meant that required a 5 second override. For the 83 crossings prior to this, the one press button worked. The day they arrived in Picton that day, they pressed the button once to take control. It was only when in this very particular set of circumstances where the rudder was out of sync with the steering wheel that you had to do a 5 second override. The bridge

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerrywood of Mornings podcast from News
Talks B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
The interim report into the grounding of Inter Islander's Arditti
Ferry has found the bridge crew didn't know how to
turn off the autopilot function on a new steering control system.
A report by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission was published
yesterday setting out the facts and circumstances established to this

(00:35):
point in its inquiry into the incident, which remains ongoing.
So The interim report said the Arda Tedty received a
new steering control system in May twenty twenty four, that
was a month prior to the incident, to work with
the ship's autopilot and integrated bridge navigation system. The Arter

(00:57):
Tedty was pootling along and it was just past its
second waypoint off Maybel Island when the autopilot was engaged
at nine to time twenty six pm, putting the steering
for the Arter Teddy under autopilot control. About thirty seconds later,
a master who was on board the ship to refamiliarize

(01:18):
himself with the Utter Teddy after some time away, pressed
the turn execute button, intending to initiate the Mabel Island
waypoint turn After seeing the utter teddy was heading towards
sure the crew attempted to press the takeover button and
turned the wheel hard to port all to no effect.

(01:40):
The bridge team was unaware that to transfer steering control
from the autopilot to the central steering console, the new
steering system required them to either set the same rudder
command at both consoles, which makes sense, or hold down
the takeover button for five seconds. You couldn't just press

(02:01):
it and had to be held down for five seconds.
So how did the crew not know that? Well? According
to Intero Irelander Executive general manager Duncan Roy, who spoke
to Heather duplic Allen last night, you can't know what
you can't know, That's.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
What I'm saying. We got a new piece of equipment
and there was a very specific set of circumstances that
meant it required a five second over Okay for the
eighty three crossings prior to this, Yeah, the one press
button worked the day they arrived and picked in that
day they pressed the button once to take control. It
was only when in this very particular set of circumstances

(02:38):
where the rudder was out of sync with the steering wheel,
that you had to do a five second overall, And.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Are you telling me there and whoever provided this equipment
to inter Islander told no one in inter Islander that
in the specific set of circumstances you have to press
the button for five seconds. Like literally, nobody knew.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
We are working with that provider right now.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
But are you telling me nobody takes as.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Take said today a number of times. It's a very
complex set of done with investigations.

Speaker 4 (03:07):
That nobody in Into Island anew, you had to press
it for five seconds.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Heather, if we'd known that you had to do it,
we would have done it.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
Okay, well, you might have just been a communication problem,
but I get it. Did somebody go get a coffee?

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, we can put that to bed right now. The
right number of people are on the bridge doing their
job professionally. No one left the bridge to get coffee.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
There we go, So nobody left the bridge to get coffee.
That was all just scurrelous scuttle But so, yeah, you
can't know what you don't know, do you. I mean,
I've got a new little oven in my kitchen and
I couldn't make the elements go, so I hadn't bothered
to read the instructions, read the instructions, saw that the
childlock was on which you had to press and hold

(03:48):
down for five seconds, funnily enough, and then it would
come off, and then I could operate the elements. But
I suppose you can't really google when you're on the
bridge of a ship as it's heading towards shore, can you.
So you can't know what you don't know. If you
accept and I do the interim report, if the provider

(04:09):
of the year said, oh, by the way, if your
runners out of SINC and this is happening, you can't
just press the button once. It has to be held
done and held down for five seconds. So if they
haven't told you that, you're not going to know. Immediately
after the grounding, inter Islander worked with the company that
provided the new steering system to understand what it happened,

(04:31):
and they've now issued new guidance on the use of
the autopilot system and upgraded retraining of deck staff on
the control system. So fair enough, so far from what
you've heard the crew inter Islander. Initially, of course, the
bosses and then the captains and then the crew weren't

(04:52):
briefed properly by the provider. They weren't given every circumstance
and what to do when that happens. That's now been rectified.
So one part of me goes, that is perfectly understandable.
I totally get it. The other part of me, a
little part of me, is going, nobody seems to brief

(05:15):
anybody properly these days, you know, the transpower crew with
the nuts and the bolts and the having to redo
roading because you've done something really stupid that somebody should
have picked up along the way. There's a little part
of me that goes, is nobody briefed properly about anything anymore?
Are that? Where are the men in their walk shorts

(05:38):
and their walk socks and their highly polished shoes, and
their short sleeved shirts and their ties and their pocket protectors?
Where are they? They wouldn't have let this happen Measure
twice cut. Ones that have read through every semi colon
of that manual had it seared into their little gray consciousness,

(05:58):
And when the ship started going and the crew were going, yikes,
what's happening, somebody sensible would have stepped forward and set
on page two hundred and seventy three of this manual,
you'll see that if you hold the button down for
five seconds, we'll be able to take control again. I
don't know. In this case, it seems if you take

(06:19):
it as a one off, it seems like a genuine accident.
The provider didn't brief inter islander propertly. The provider didn't
brief the client properly. But if you're taking over some
heavy machinery, like if you were working in the heavy
machinery industry, either in construction or farming or what have you,

(06:40):
are you always briefed properly? Or do you sometimes find
yourself in the middle of a field or the middle
of a ditch, thinking what the dickens? Now?

Speaker 4 (06:47):
What do way do?

Speaker 2 (06:50):
And you ring the provider and like, oh yeah, mate, sorry,
I should have told you to me. It seems a
reasonable explanation, but not if it's happening all the time,
all the everywhere. In this case, no real harm done.
A bit of bow damage happens when you're running to
land and you're a ship. Nobody hurt, Everybody learned a

(07:14):
valuable lesson. No real harm done, but there could have
been

Speaker 1 (07:19):
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