Captain Ate Breakfast As Ship Sailed To Doom

A new report into the Pasha Bulker incident, in which the massive bulk carrier ran aground on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle, says the captain left the stricken ship in the hands of junior crew members while he had breakfast. Fairfax newspapers say there were several blunders leading to the ship beaching itself in June, which included the captain steering in the wrong direction in his attempt to avoid the shore.Pasha BulkerThe NSW government report into the incident says the captain left control of the ship with junior crew on the morning of June 8 while he went below decks to eat breakfast. It says in the last moments before the Pasha Bulker ran aground the desperate captain ordered the ship to go full astern, literally backing into the waves which were crashing down upon it. Then, after the ship had hit a rock shelf called Big Ben Reef, he ordered his crew to abandon ship, despite the need for a small crew to be on board the stationary ship to minimise damage and avoid an environmental disaster.