MV Straitsman (1972)

The Straitsman was a Bass Strait 720-ton roll-on/roll-off ferry livestock carrier.[1] Built by NQEA, Cairns for RH Houfe & Co, it was launched on 29 January 1972. It was built to operate between Melbourne, King Island and Stanley.[2][3]

Not to be confused with MV Straitsman (2005).

History
Name
  • MV Straitsman (1972-2004)
  • MV Sinu-I-Wasa (2004-2016)
Operator
  • Venu Shipping
  • StraitNZ
  • Tasmanian Transport Commission
  • RH Houfe & Co
Port of registrySuva, Fiji
BuilderNQEA, Cairns
Launched29 January 1972
Completed1974
Out of service2016
IdentificationIMO number: 7206031
FateRan aground
General characteristics
TypeROPAX ferry
Tonnage1,481 GT
Length63 m (206 ft 8 in)
Beam12 m (39 ft 4 in)

After RH Houfe & Co ran into financial difficulties, in 1973 the ship was purchased by the Tasmanian Transport Commission. On 23 March 1974, it capsized and sank in the Yarra River, Melbourne while approaching its berth with its vehicle door partly open, with the loss of two crew members and many of her cargo of 2,000 sheep.[4][5][6] The ferry was heading upstream at 6 knots (6.9 mph; 11 km/h) when a crew member opened the stern door without the knowledge of the captain on the bridge.[7]

Following salvage and repair, the vessel spent 15 years serving King Island, before being bought by Bluebridge, where it provided inter-island ferry services between the North and South Islands between 1992 and 2004.[8] It was then sold to a Fijian shipping company, renamed Sinu-I-Wasa, running aground during Cyclone Winston in 2016.[9]

References
  1. New King Island vessel Freight & Container Transportation January 1972 page 6
  2. The Biggest Ship Yet Built in the North King Island News 19 January 1972 page 4
  3. Straitsman is launched King Island News 2 February 1972 page 1
  4. Freighter's stern door was when she sank Canberra Times 25 March 1974 page 1
  5. Four-hour ordeal in sunken ship The Times 25 March 1974 page 7
  6. Transactions - North East Coast Institution of Engineers. North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders - 1989 "It may also be useful to recall the several ro-ro losses before that date, and especially the little-known precedent of the Straitsman, a ro-ro ferry which capsized and sank whilst approaching its berth with its vehicle door at least partly open."
  7. Oceanic Abstracts 1990- Issues 3-4 - Page 143 ... the Straitsman, a Bass Strait Ro-Ro ferry, suffered a similar fate whilst proceeding stem first towards its berth in the Yarrow river with the stem door open.
  8. Straitsman NZ Ship & Marine Society
  9. MSAF to oversee removal of ship Fiji Sun 23 May 2018

Further reading
  • Pollard, Neil (2007). Straitsman: Lifeline to an Island. Caulfield South: Nautical Association of Australia. ISBN 9780959907988.
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