During a morning of May 2012, while transiting the Coral Sea, Bulk Carrier’s ID Integrity main engine shut down when its fuel pump reversing mechanism came free and jammed. This caused the camshaft to bend and slip in a drive coupling which resulted in the camshaft being out of timing and therefore the engine could not be restarted. The ship drifted in a westerly direction towards the Australian coast and the Great Barrier Reef. During the afternoon of the next day the ship passed over Shark Reef, located about 60 miles east of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Luckily the incident ended without causing any damage to the environment or further damage to the ship’s systems, but the incident had the potential of evolving into a serious accident.
Officer of the Watch 