At 02:52 on a May morning, a Port Phillip pilot boarded Francois Gilot for departure. During a starboard turn to enter the South Channel, the pilot called for port counter‑rudder to slow the swing; the helmsman unintentionally applied further starboard. The ship touched bottom near the channel margin; the ATSB later noted the helmsman was likely fatigued.
1 | Incident snapshot
| Grounding time (LT) | 05:41 |
| Manoeuvre in progress | 90 ° starboard turn around Hovell Pile beacon to enter the South Channel |
| Pilot’s orders | “Starboard 5”, “Midships”, then “Port 5 … Port 10 … Port 20 … Hard-to-port” |
| Execution error | Helmsman repeated each order but applied starboard helm—rudder reached hard-starboard |
| Consequence | Grounded between beacons 18 and 20; refloated two hours later; no damage |
ATSB found the helmsman was likely fatigued, and neither the pilot nor master was monitoring helm movement at the critical moment.
2 | HOM cue applicable to this error
| On-screen cue | High-level trigger* | What it tells the bridge team |
|---|---|---|
| WRONG HELM banner + short sound | Rudder begins moving opposite to the spoken helm order | “The rudder is moving the wrong way—correct immediately.” |
*Detection logic confidential; only visible behaviour shown. Cue is advisory—no control lock-out or acknowledgment.
3 | Alternate timeline with HOM active
| Real time | Event | HOM cue | Likely bridge response |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:39:30 | Pilot issues first “Port 5” order | — | — |
| 05:39:32 | Helmsman turns wheel 5 ° starboard | WRONG HELM banner appears + short sound | Pilot & master see mismatch; order immediate port wheel |
| 05:39:45 | Wheel now to port, rudder swinging correctly | Banner clears automatically | Turn follows planned track |
| 05:41 | (Grounding in reality) | — | Vessel remains in channel; no grounding |
4 | Safety margin gained
- Detection speed: Wrong‑direction helm flagged in seconds while ship still >0.2 NM from the shoal.
- Track margin: Correcting to port 20° at that moment keeps the vessel inside the marked channel.
- Operational impact: No need for ballast transfers, tugs or post‑incident inspections; schedule remains on time.
5 | Why the single cue is effective
- Uses standard bridge phraseology—instantly understood.
- Stays visible as long as the rudder direction is wrong, providing a continuous prompt without nuisance.
- Clear, single cue in command—no lock‑out, no forced “receipt”.
- Works regardless of autopilot/manual steering; HOM simply surfaces the error.
Take-home message
The grounding resulted from a simple wheel‑direction mistake that went unnoticed until it was too late. HOM’s WRONG HELM banner—plus short sound—would have highlighted the mismatch as it began, giving the bridge team time to correct the helm and remain safely in the channel.
