New details have emerged about the decision to ban Australia's antarctic icebreaker from travelling under Hobart's Tasman Bridge. A report obtained by the ABC shows that during computer-based simulations, the virtual ship "collided" with the bridge more than once, which means the ship now has to refuel hundreds of kilometres away at great expense.
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00:00 The RSV Noyina is back in its home port of Hobart after completing a mission in Antarctica,
00:08 but it's still not permitted under the Tasman Bridge because of concerns about its directional
00:13 stability.
00:14 If something the size of the Noyina even nudges against it, brushes against it, even at a
00:19 very slow speed, that's going to be catastrophic.
00:23 The ban came after a series of computer-based simulations were conducted to assess how the
00:29 ship would likely perform during a bridge transit.
00:33 You've got in the vicinity of 50% which didn't make the cut, so to speak.
00:39 The Noyina is 35 metres wide and can fit between the bridge's two central pylons, which are
00:45 73 metres apart.
00:47 But during 109 virtual simulations, the vessel came dangerously close to the pylons on 40
00:54 occasions.
00:55 It also impacted the bridge four times and was on track to do so a further 10 times before
01:01 those virtual test runs were called off.
01:04 The assessment report obtained by the ABC also ruled out the use of tugboats to shepherd
01:09 the Noyina past the pylons, saying it would very quickly escalate to both dire and fatal
01:15 consequences if exercised in reality.
01:20 Questions about the impact of a bridge collision stem from a real-life incident in 1975, which
01:25 cut the city in half and left 12 people dead.
01:29 The harbourmaster says it's a risk he won't take with the Noyina.
01:33 You'd lose the major part of Hobart's infrastructure, the Tasman Bridge joining the eastern and
01:38 western shores, but it would result in further fatalities if that was to happen again.
01:45 The decision means the Noyina is unable to refuel four kilometres away at Selfs Point
01:50 and instead has to make a 660-kilometre journey to the state's northwest to fill up.
01:56 The detour will add almost a million dollars to the Australian Antarctic Division's fuel
02:01 bill this season.
02:03 To help resolve the issue, the Tasmanian government is assessing the viability of a fuel barge
02:08 here in Hobart.
02:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]