CMA CGM Boxship Hit Beacon Due to Lack of Crew Understanding and Procedures

Lack of proficiency in the steering gear operation and change of control modes due to ambiguous procedures caused a containership to strike a navigation beacon while departing the Port of Melbourne in May 2023. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released its report saying it found an incomplete understanding of how the steering gear operated among the ship’s engineers and ambiguous language in the company’s fleetwide procedures.

The boxship CMA CGM Puccini (6,300 TEU) was transiting the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia on May 25, 2023, when it hit a navigational beacon. The initial investigation showed erratic behavior by the ship leading the ATSB to investigate why the steering gear was not performing correctly. The 2004-built ship, registered in Malta went off its intended track towards the edge of the navigable channel causing it to strike the beacon. The pilot aboard and the crew reported the rudder was responding erratically to helm orders.

Investigators pieced together the cause of the erratic steering, determining that it wa…