SS ''Lake Illawarra'' was a

handysize Handysize is a naval architecture term for smaller bulk carriers or oil tanker with deadweight of up to 50,000 tonnes, although there is no official definition in terms of exact tonnages. Handysize is also sometimes used to refer to the span of ...

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...

of 7,274 tons in the service of the

Australian National Line Australian National Line (ANL) was a coastal shipping line established in by the Government of Australia in 1956. It was sold in 1998 by the Howard government to CMA CGM. History Australian National Line was formed on 1 October 1956 as the ...

. This ship is known for causing the

Tasman Bridge disaster The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when the bulk carrier ''Lake Illawarra'', travelling up the Derwent River, collided with several pylon ...

when she collided with pylon 19 of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

's giant high concrete arch style

Tasman Bridge The Tasman Bridge is a bridge that carries the Tasman Highway over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Including approaches, the bridge has a total length of and it provides the main traffic route from the Hobart city centre ( ...

on the evening of 5 January 1975 at 9.27 pm, resulting in the deaths of 12 people.

Ship details

''Lake Illawarra'' was built by

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

, South Australia. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid in June 1956, and she was launched on 28 September 1957. She was delivered from the shipyard on 28 March 1958. ''Lake Illawarra'' measured and , with a length of and a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of . She was powered by a

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

that drove a single propeller and gave her a speed of .

Collision and sinking

''Lake Illawarra'' was loaded with

zinc concentrate Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic ...

, for

EZ Industries EZ Industries, formerly the Electrolytic Zinc Company, was a zinc miner and refiner in Australia. History EZ Industries was established in 1916 by Amalgamated Zinc as the Electrolytic Zinc Company to operate the Risdon Zinc Works on the banks ...

Risdon Zinc Works Risdon Zinc Works (trading as Nyrstar Hobart) is a major zinc refinery located in Lutana, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The smelter is one of the world’s largest in terms of production volume, producing over annually of high-grade ...

, about up the River Derwent from the bridge. Just before the impact, Captain Boleslaw Pelc realised as he passed Rosny Point that he was off course, and traveling too fast. He tried to correct the heading, but managed only to bring the bow too far to

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

(left) and was now heading for the western shore. He urgently counter-corrected, but could not make the opening. Realising he was headed for a collision, he ordered the engine full astern, but the torque from her propeller caused the ship to slide in a broadside movement. She smashed into the 18th and 19th pylons. TasmanBridgeDisaster3

The collision brought down the two support pylons and a section of steel and concrete. There was evening traffic on the bridge, and although no vehicles were on the section that fell, four cars drove off the gap, with five people killed. Two cars stopped on the edge, their occupants able to escape. The section of four-lane highway landed on the ship's deck, sinking her in of water to the south of the bridge. Seven of the ship's crew died in the accident. The ship and the debris pile were deemed unsafe to move; the ship's bunker oil was pumped out, and the bow was removed at a later date. The wreck is deep enough not to be a navigational hazard. The subsequent

Court of Marine Inquiry Courts of Marine Inquiry and Boards of Marine Inquiry are tribunals established in common law countries to investigate matters relating to shipwrecks, casualties affecting ships, or charges of incompetency or misconduct on the part of the masters, ...

found that ''Lake Illawarra'' was capable of passing beneath the bridge's central navigation span, but the captain instead attempted to pass through one of the eastern spans, due to a combination of strong tidal currents and inattention. The Court found that Pelc had not handled ''Lake Illawarra'' in a proper and seamanlike manner, and suspended his master's certificate for six months. A pilot service was introduced in response to the court's findings.

Memorial

A memorial plaque is dedicated to the SS ''Lake Illawarra'' at the

Tasmanian Seafarers Memorial The Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial is a public memorial structure located at Triabunna, Tasmania which jointly commemorates all Tasmanians who died at sea, along with the lives of all seafarers of any origin who lost their lives in Tasmanian water ...

Triabunna Triabunna is a rural residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Glamorgan–Spring Bay in the South-east LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about north-east of the city of Hobart. The has a population of 905 for the state ...

on the east coast of Tasmania, approximately north-east of Hobart. The plaque contains the following text:

S.S. "Lake Illawarra" ''5.1.1975 on Derwent River, Hobart''
''7274 ton steam turbine bulk carrier''
''crew of 42, cargo 10,000 tons of zinc''
''collided with Tasman Bridge and sank''
''causing loss of 7 crew*, 5 motorists.''
''A.Campbell*, A.Robinson*, C.Maddigan*''
''L.Mendizabel*, T.Sheridan*, R.Rezek''
''J.Stokoe, A.Sward, P.Sward''
''Missing G.Kemp*, R.Turner*, Dr T.Jones''
~

References

External links

Tasman Bridge Disaster page 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Ilawarra Shipwrecks of Tasmania Shipwrecks in rivers Maritime incidents in 1975 1958 ships Ships built in South Australia