Misinterpreted Navigation Aids Lead To Pilot Launch Grounding In Port Phillip Heads

Following the grounding of one of its pilot transfer launches in Port Phillip Heads, a Port of Melbourne pilotage services provider has developed additional operational guidance on the use of launch equipment and crew resources.

On the evening of 5 October 2023, the pilot launch Corsair was returning through the entrance of Port Phillip after collecting a pilot from an outbound container ship, when it ran aground on Point Lonsdale Reef travelling at about 24 knots.

The coxswain, deckhand and pilot were able to abandon the disabled launch onto the flat-top reef and were later rescued by one of a number of attending rescue vessels. Corsair was wrecked during the night by the effect of the sea and the reef.

An investigation into the grounding was conducted by the Victoria state government’s Office of the Chief Investigator (OCI), und…

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