TUGS, TOWING & SALVAGE
TUG HEROES WIN AWARD FOR SAVING 21 LIVES A three-man tug crew who saved the lives of 21 men and avoided a catastrophic oil spill were officially commended by the International Maritime organisation last week One of them, engineer Marius Fenger, 65, is still off work because of tendons torn when he fell on the stairs of the tug he was on that kept slamming into the vessel they were trying to save. Fenger, captain Bradley Lucas, 47, and deckhand Alex Alsop, 23, were awarded the Exceptional Bravery at Sea prize by the International Maritime Organisation for an incredible rescue they carried out in July 2022, when the 169m oil tanker Portland Bay lost power and started drifting towards some cliffs at the Royal National Park near Sydney, Australia. If the tanker had reached the cliffs she would have been smashed to bits along with everyone inside her. A thousand tonnes of spilled oil would also have wreaked deadly havoc to fishing stocks and marine life in the area. At 8am on July 4, 2022 Bradley Lucas received a call to assist a stricken vessel – no other details were given – and within an hour, he and his ‘scratch crew’ had prepped and boarded the 32m tug Diamantina and set off from the Port of Botany in 8-10m waves. The tug should have had a minimum crew of six, ‘but there was no one else’. “I didn’t think we’d get there,” said Lucas. “I thought all my tyres would flip over and it would just be too rough. But I couldn’t just sit back and watch a ship smash into the rocks. We had to make an attempt. I didn’t think I was going to save a ship, but I was hoping to save people.” It took 45 minutes to get clearance from AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Agency) and Engage, the tug operator, during which time the crew desperately prepared Diamantina. They grabbed what food they could, which amounted to a loaf of bread, some chicken that had been cooked a couple of days before, peanuts and some dried mango strips. “We needed to make sure the engines didn’t stop so I “I was on captive duty on Fitzroy when the call came pushed the oil levels to the max,” said Fenger. “We transferred through,” said Lucas, speaking to Maritime Journal with his fuel and filled the tanks otherwise we’d be the ones being crew at the awards event at the IMO headquarters in London. rescued. We had to tie stuff down because everything Click here to read article on “The port had been shut for two days and I was on standby in becomes a missile, so it all had to be taken off or be put away.” Maritime Journal online case one of the three ships there came off its berth. “Looking at the swell I could see things were bad,” said “I was looking forward to a quiet day; the weather was pretty Alsop. “When I got the call I raced down to the port and nasty outside. When the call came it was quite casual – it just helped to take everything off the vessel that wasn’t needed. said there was a vessel offshore that has lost its engines and As we left the port the tug was taking on very heavy waves, were we able to assist? The details were very scant. rising to 8 to 10 metres out to sea, until we were going “It wasn’t a Mayday but when I looked at the chart plotters through them. I knew in an instant that this was going to be catastrophic. I “It does cross your mind that you might not be could see it was going sideways in a westerly direction, coming back.” heading straight for the National Park.” Lucas got hold of Alex Alsop and Marius Fenger. Approaching Portland Bay “We were a scratch crew really,” said Fenger. “We know “As we approached the casualty, the tug was taking on each other but we don’t normally sail together. We thought substantial green seas, which carries the risk of taking away we’d be the last people to be called but there was simply no deck fittings, which is how you can get water ingress,” said one else – we were the last resort.” Alsop. “The conditions were terrible. As we approached we couldn’t even see the vessel.” Action stations “I was worrying about the tyres because if they broke off When the crew heard that a helicopter dispatched had been and went underneath they could take out the propellers,” unable to assist the crew on the tanker, they knew it said Lucas. “But they went over the top, which eliminated was critical. some of the danger.
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It wasn’t a Mayday but when I looked at the chart plotters I knew in an instant that this was going to be catastrophic. I could see it was going sideways in a westerly direction, heading straight for the National Park
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n From left: Alex Alsop, Marius Fenger, Bradley Lucas
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