The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released an interim report detailing its ongoing investigation into the breakaway of multiple vessels at the Port of Brisbane on November 24, 2025.
Hot and humid weather conditions across South East Queensland prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue marine forecasts warning of afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
Following this, the State Disaster Coordination Centre issued a briefing warning of potential isolated, very dangerous thunderstorms with locally destructive winds and giant hail, prompting the regional harbour master to distribute warnings to port stakeholders.
The inbound car carrier Viking Passama had already committed to its approach and was actively passing mooring lines ashore at Fisherman Islands berth one when the storm front hit. Extreme wind gusts peaking at 71 knots (132 km/h) forced the ship off its fenders, causing both aft spring lines to part and sever the aft winch hydraulic control pipes.
The vessel broke completely free, parting all remaining lines and drifting approximately 120 metres into the channel before assisting tugs could safely push it back alongside.
The severe winds also parted the aft mooring lines of the container ship Volans, swinging its stern 135 degrees out into the adjacent shipping channel while its bow remained held by two headlines and its port anchor.
Simultaneously, the container ship Wide India broke completely free from its berth after its lines parted violently. Deprived of a VTS warning broadcast, the master was alerted by departing stevedores and used the main engine, bow thruster, and a dredged starboard anchor to maintain minimum steering speed upriver, narrowly navigating around the protruding stern of Volans.
Nearby, the container ship MSC Barbara broke away after intense wind forces caused its winch brakes to render. As the ship was forced off the berth, its mooring lines ran completely off the winch drums and streamed across the channel.
Lacking immediate main engine propulsion, the vessel drifted north using only its bow thruster for limited heading control before running aground on the opposite side of the channel at the Koopa swing basin, leaving six hatch cover pontoons behind on the quay.
The vessel traffic service activated emergency protocols to mobilise off-duty pilots and tugboat crews, though falling debris and large hail initially hampered their travel to the port bases.
A pilot boarded Wide India at 16:14 to secure a tow line from an assisting tug, allowing the vessel to safely turn and transit to the ship-to-ship anchorage. Another pilot boarded Volans at 16:20, utilizing two tugs to swing the vessel and re-secure it to its berth by 18:54.
Two pilots boarded the grounded MSC Barbara at 16:25 and successfully refloated the vessel at 17:16 using three tugs. Following a brief standoff where the master and managers insisted on returning to the berth, the regional harbour master issued two formal safety directions forcing the vessel to proceed to the anchorage, where it safely anchored at 20:24.
The safety bureau noted that the storm caused widespread electrical power outages across the region.
Investigators also observed that the automated identification systems on the moored vessels updated positions only every three minutes because their speed remained below three knots (six km/h) during the initial breakaway phase.
To conclude the safety investigation, the bureau said it is is continuing to analyse meteorological data, vessel mooring equipment, and the effectiveness of local emergency arrangements.