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Storm damage ships set to leave Australia

All three ships (Kiel Express, Safmarine Makutu and OOCL Hong Kong) damaged during a storm at Port Botany on Tuesday night were equipped with standard mooring lines and equipment appropriate for their vessels type, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority reports.

'Safmarine Makutu' and 'Kiel Express' collide in Port Botany as Sydney super storm breaks moorings

Heroic efforts by tug boat operators and ship pilots averted major damage to Sydney's commercial port on Tuesday night (Oct. 14), after the super storm that hit the city snapped the mooring lines of a 67,000-tonne container vessel, causing it to collide with another ship and shear the mooring lines of a third vessel. Hapag-Lloyd vessel the Kiel Express broke free from its mooring in Port Botany as winds reached 126km/h – or category 2 cyclonic strength – just before 9.30pm, causing a trail of destruction. "I've been in the maritime industry for close to 30 years and I've never seen anything like this," Jason Sellars, a chief engineer on one of six tug boats called out for the emergency, said. The operation lasted some nine hours. "The only thing we were missing was George Clooney and it was The Perfect Storm," Mr Sellars said, referring to a popular Hollywood disaster film. The ship cut the mooring of the OOCL Hong Kong, sending it free. The stern of the Kiel Express then collided with a stationary Safmarine vessel, the Makutu. The Kiel Express then swung around to collide side by side. At one point, one of the tugs, operated by PB Towage, was at risk of being caught between the Kiel Express and the 62,000-tonne Makutu. Another tug boat became disabled when its propellers snagged on a mooring line cut loose on the Hong Kong vessel. That ship had to be anchored away from the docks but could not be taken further out to sea because its containers had not been fully secured after its unloading operations were halted before the storm. It's understood that the OOCL Hong Kong is undergoing repairs after its stern was punctured by the bollards on the wharf as the vessel swung out after its mooring was cut.

Collision off Shikoku

The container ship "Pices" was in collision with the "Safmarine Makutu", which was enroute Osaka-Busan, off the western island of Shikoku, Japan late on Oct 2, 2013. There were no injuries among the Crew of 13 resp. 21, and the two ships were not significantly damaged as they were able to continue their operations. The authorities have not identified who may be at fault for the collision as investigations were still underway.