SEA Swift was forced to juggle around its fleet in the Far North after a marine incident involving one of its cargo ships late last month.
The MV Warrender, which primarily services the Torres Strait, collided with the Thursday Island wharf on February 26.
It had to be taken back to Cairns for urgent repairs, impacting services at other ports.
Sea Swift CEO Dwayne Freeman confirmed the incident to Cape York Weekly.
“The MV Warrender, which was involved in an
incident at Thursday Island wharf on February 26, is set to return to operation this week following repair works and is scheduled to depart Cairns this Friday evening for the Torres Strait,” he said last week.
“During the past week, Sea Swift has been working hard to continue to service the region, which has led to minimal impact in freight service for Weipa and Cape York residents.
“All Sea Swift vessels departing from Cairns will return to normal service this week.
“We sincerely apologise for any delay in freight to our customers during this period.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it received an incident report from Sea Swift.
“There was damage to the vessel and AMSA approved a return voyage to Cairns on February 28 after temporary repairs were carried out,” a spokesperson for the federal agency said.
“Permanent repairs were completed in Cairns and AMSA conducted an inspection of the vessel on March 9.
“A compliance Notice has been issued to prevent re-occurrence.”
