Pasha BulkerPrint Page

The sculpture titled "Grounded" marks the anniversary of the grounding of the Pasha Bulker in 2007.

Grounded is an abstract representation of the ship’s bow. The shape and colour of the sculpture, and its physical placement at Nobbys, will be an important memory marker for the community and a powerful stand-alone work of art. An original section of 22mm plate steel from the rudder of the Pasha Bulker has been incorporated into the work. The main body of the work is made from 12mm plate steel and is approximately 2 metres in height and 6 metres in length. Grounded was commissioned by Newcastle City Council with support from Arts NSW and One Steel.

Early on the morning of 8 June 2007, Newcastle Port Corporation radioed the 56 moored ships waiting off the coast to load coal to warn them to move out to sea to escape an approaching storm. Pasha Bulker, along with 10 other ships, did not heed the warning. As the storm hit, Pasha Bulker could not clear the coast and it beached at 9:51am. The ship never called for tug assistance, ran aground with a fully operational engine room and still had both anchors stored in the hawsepipes leading some maritime experts to believe that proper precautions were not taken by the ship's captain.

After Pasha Bulker ran aground the 22 Filipino and Korean crew members aboard were successfully rescued by the Westpac Rescue helicopter service from the vessel, which grounded about 30 m (98 ft) from shore at the popular Nobbys Beach. The ship was empty of cargo at the time, waiting to load 58,000 tonnes of coal from Newcastle Port.  However, it contained around 700 tonnes of fuel oil, 38 tonnes of diesel and 40 tonnes of lube oil, which if released could have caused an ecological problem.

During further stormy weather, the ship was pushed onto the beach so that it was almost parallel to the beach, and both bow and stern were stuck on the sand. The whole ship was then completely trapped between the beach and a rocky reef. In the first week the salvage crew loaded the ship with ballast water, which sunk it lower, so that its hull was firmly on the seabed.

Its location on a popular beach and close proximity to the Newcastle CBD made Pasha Bulker a tourist destination and precipitated a minor economic boom

Location

Address:	Shortland Esplanade, Nobbys Beach Promenade, Newcastle East , 2300
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -32.923927 Long: 151.791937 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Sculpture
Monument Theme:	Disaster
Sub-Theme:	Maritime
Actual Event Start Date:	08-June-2007
Actual Event End Date:	08-June-2007
Artist:	John Petrie

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Friday 5th June, 2009

Source: MA