Hazard spot
Torres Strait: Shallows and grounding
Torres Strait: A narrow channel between reefs with strong tidal stream. The passage is planned by the tide table and made in daylight.
- Cause
- Shallows and grounding
- Main season
- all year
- Position
- 10° 00,0' S 142° 30,0' E
On the map
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Torres Strait: how the place works
Between Australia and New Guinea lies a shallow, reef strewn strait with strong tidal streams and a narrow buoyed route. The Prince of Wales Channel is the usual way through, and traffic there is dense because all shipping takes the same route.
Torres Strait: what breaks there
Grounding outside the channel and collision in the narrow part are the two cases. The stream sets across, and a boat with little engine power cannot make headway against it.
Torres Strait: what this means for your policy
Check the liability limit because of the commercial traffic and settle whether there is a minimum engine power requirement. In a narrows with four knots of current an underpowered boat is a different risk.
Read this in full: A grounding is not a small claimCruising range
This spot lies in the cruising range the calculator lists under this step: Worldwide
Calculate a premium for this cruising rangeNearby
And what applies right now?
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