Capesize Cape Falcon refloated off Gladstone after a week aground and detained

The capesize bulk carrier Cape Falcon (IMO 9916202) was refloated off Gladstone in Queensland on the morning of 24 September, six days after running aground while manoeuvring to anchor for bunkers. She came free on the morning high tide, ahead of a refloating attempt that had been planned for that evening.

The 182,066 dwt ship, 292 metres long and 45 metres wide, grounded on the afternoon of 18 September about six nautical miles east of the port, south of the bunkering anchorage and near the edge of the dredge spoil ground. She was fully laden, having loaded coal at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay the week before, and was bound for the Philippines. Built in 2022 and registered in Liberia, she is managed by Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha.

Maritime Safety Queensland set a one-nautical-mile exclusion zone around the ship. She lay outside the port's shipping channel, but schedules were still affected. Tugs from the port tried to pull her free over the weekend without success, the grounding holding firm in the seabed.

United Salvage was appointed as salvor on 23 September, and the Regional Harbour Master approved a salvage plan that day. On the evening tide two Boluda tugs, SL Marjan and SL Boyne, worked to ease the ship sideways and break the grounding. A full attempt was set for 19:00 on 24 September, when the tide was expected to reach about 3.6 metres, but the ship floated free in the morning with help from the swell, attended by VB Kongo, and steamed north at four to six knots to anchorage N11.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has detained the ship until all safety and regulatory requirements are met. Her hull is being examined for structural damage, as the main contact with the seabed is understood to have been amidships. No injuries, hull breach or pollution have been reported.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has opened an investigation. It has had the voyage data recorder preserved and will interview the crew and collect tracking data, weather information and crew, operator and maintenance records. It expects to publish a preliminary update in about two months and a final report in the first quarter of 2027.

Gladstone is one of Australia's largest dry bulk export ports, handling more than 30 commodities including coal and minerals. Port operations and vessel movements are returning to normal.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 27 September 2026.