Bermagui boat wreck salvage 'complex', clean-up likely to take weeks

The fallout from fishing vessel Volition running aground at Bermagui’s Dickinson Point will likely continue for some time.

Bermagui’s main beach in town, Horseshoe Bay, was closed when the boat ran aground in the early hours of 27 February (Thursday) due to pollution concerns.

There is debris in the ocean and washed up on beaches as far north as near Camel Rock, and people reported the strong smell of diesel.

Horseshoe Bay beach reopened to the public at 2:15 pm on 4 March (Tuesday).

Marine Rescue and NSW Water Police responded to the mayday call issued from the vessel.

All four men on board made it safely back to shore. They are said to be shocked and devastated.

Deon Voyer, principal manager, Maritime South, Transport for NSW, (NSW Maritime), said it, along with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and NSW Water Police, were investigating what led the iconic vessel to run aground.

As of Monday morning, NSW Maritime, the agency responsible for the salvage and clean-up, had collected 10 tonnes of debris – foam, timber and plastics. That included two tonnes of fish waste.

Mr Voyer said the clean-up operation covered 12 lineal kilometres of coastline from Wallaga Lake to Baragoot Beach, south of Bermagui.

He said the quantity of diesel that had leaked into the ocean was unknown.

“The owner reported a maximum of 1000 litres of diesel on board,” Mr Voyer said. “There will also be other hydrocarbons from the deck winches, for example. Being a longliner, not a trawler, there are lower quantities of hydrocarbons.”

When Volition ran aground it immediately filled with water. “That is why it disintegrated so quickly, overnight, with the waves hitting it,” he said. It is called the free surface effect.

While the vessel is “largely broken up”, the engine, propellors and rear section are submerged behind the reef.

He said salvaging those would be complex and would need the right weather and ocean conditions.

“With Tropical Cyclone Alfred, we are unsure if we can get to that this week,” Mr Voyer said.

Volition was built in the 1970s, which he said made it difficult to estimate how much debris they would eventually need to recover. Those sections submerged would add a few more tonnes.

This is the third grounding that Mr Voyer has worked on in the Bermagui area over the past six or seven years.

When Salvatore V sunk near Haywards Beach in October 2020 that was fairly easy to deal with. “It was broken up and dismantled on the beach.” The clean-up was completed within two weeks.

In contrast the salvage operation for Shoalhaven lasted three years.

“It was in a remote area off Bermagui and required helicopters using winches,” Mr Voyer said. “Because of the location and the seasonal influences, the divers and insurance company were going back for three years.”

Michael Jubb is a third-generation fisherman. He now owns Bermagui Boat Repairs.

“Two weeks before the accident, the boat was on the slipway getting maintenance done,” Mr Jubb said.

He said Volition had been at sea for maybe four or five days.

According to the Marine Traffic website, Volition left Bermagui just after midnight on 24 February (Monday).

“The skipper had a fair haul on the boat and would have unloaded and then gone out again because the weather is favourable,” Mr Jubb said.

He went to Dickinson Point the morning it happened but only stayed a few minutes.

“Being a boat repairer I could hear the crunching and knew what was happening. I just drove away,” Mr Judd said.

“It is devastating. A massive, horrible accident. That is all it was.”

Members of the public can report any debris or pollution by calling 13 12 36.