At about 20:01 on 29 October 2013, the general cargo ship Bosphorus grounded at Lytton Rocks Reach in the Brisbane River. During a starboard turn through the reach, the helmsman unintentionally applied hard‑to‑port while the pilot continued to call for starboard. The vessel touched the channel edge and grounded within seconds.
1 | Incident snapshot
| Local grounding time | 20:01 |
| Manoeuvre | Starboard turn through Lytton Rocks Reach, next course 199 ° |
| Pilot’s helm sequence | “Starboard 5 … Starboard 10 … Mid-ships … Port 10 … Port 20 … Hard-to-port” |
| Execution error | Helmsman repeated each order but put the wheel to starboard; rudder reached hard-starboard 〉 WRONG WAY |
| Result | Ship left the channel and grounded on the eastern edge (27 ° 24.0 S / 153 ° 09.1 E); refloated 30 min later, no pollution |
Key contributor: neither pilot nor officers noticed the wrong-way rudder for about nine seconds—too late to prevent grounding.
2 | HOM cue that addresses this error
| Bridge cue (advisory) | When it appears* | What the crew see/hear |
|---|---|---|
| WRONG HELM + short audible signal | Rudder begins moving opposite to the spoken order | Immediate, unmistakable prompt: “Helm is the wrong way—correct now.” |
Cue never locks controls or asks for an acknowledgment.
3 | Alternate timeline with HOM active
| Time (approx.) | Real event | HOM cue | Likely bridge response |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00:00 | Pilot orders “Port 10” | — | — |
| 20:00:02 | Wheel starts 10 ° starboard (error) | WRONG HELM + brief sound | Pilot & master spot mismatch; helm ordered to port |
| 20:00:15 | Rudder now swinging to port | Banner disappears automatically | Ship regains planned track inside channel |
| 20:01 | (Grounding in reality) | — | No grounding, voyage continues normally |
4 | Safety margin gained
- Wrong‑direction helm identified in < 3 s, while the vessel was still about 0.2 NM from the shoal edge.
- Prompt correction keeps track inside dredged limits—avoiding tug assistance, delays and surveys.
Take-home message
A simple wheel‑direction mistake went unnoticed for a few seconds. HOM’s WRONG HELM banner—reinforced by a short sound signal—would have surfaced that mistake instantly and given the bridge team a clear prompt to correct the helm and stay safely in the channel.
