Fed: Report warned of safety risk before Westralia fire

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2007
Fed: Report warned of safety risk before Westralia fire

A new report's found the Defence Department was warned three months before the fatal
HMAS Westralia fire .. the vessel was in grave danger from faulty fuel lines.

Four crew members were killed when a fire .. caused by the fuel lines .. erupted in
the engine room of the HMAS Westralia .. off Fremantle in May 1998.

News Limited Newspapers report Defence had admitted an official minute .. written three
months before the fire by military and police investigators .. specifically warned it
about the risks parts on the ship had posed.









The minute .. dated February 6 .. 1998 .. allegedly followed interviews with a Wollongong
maintenance company.

Bailey's staff said they feared a major breakdown on Westralia .. caused by non-genuine
or sub-standard parts .. could cause serious damage and even loss of life.

Three months later .. atomised fuel leaking from non-genuine flexible fuel hoses fitted
by contractor Australian Defence Industries sparked the fatal fire.

A Defence spokesman's told News Limited the report wasn't passed to the Navy .. because
the source of the complaint related to the inability of a subcontractor to win work on
Defence contracts.

AAP RTV jrd/nc

KEYWORD: WESTRALIA (MELBOURNE)

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