Assisting ships in distress

[Tony Wilding]

Has anyone experienced helping a Ship in trouble, ? if so where and what Ship, ?

[vic mcclymont]

We were heading home on the Clan Ranald, just passing the Canaries when we picked up a distress call from a Greek tanker, which was on fire. We were the nearest ship, she radioed her position, and we broadcast that we would head towards her. When we arrived at her given position, nothing to be seen, she was still broadcasting, apparently she was still on fire, under her own power and giving the position of he first distress call.
The Old man went loopy calling him (the Greek) everything under the sun.
The search and rescue from the Canaries gave him a bollocking, and asked him to radio his speed and position as they would co-ordinate the rescue.
Second one was a Shell Tanker, she had been without power for most of the day due to a steam pipe bursting, we were asked to arrange a meet and transfer an engineer who had a bad steam burn on his wrist.
Many times we picked up distress calls only to be informed a Russian merchant ship was on its way to facilitate the rescue and provide aid.

Are there many Russian ships sailing the high seas these days?

[Captain Kong]

I was only involved with the POOL FISHER disaster November 1979 that I have already written about. and a search for the Princess Victoria when she sank in December 1953.
Cheers
Brian.

[Tony Wilding]

Was involved twice, first time when on THV Siren, was tied up in Harwich, got a call out late at night, A Greek Ship was in Collision off Dover, in danger of sinking, our job was to lay a Buoy marking the position, a Tug had her in Tow, proceeding down Channel, we followed, i think she was refused entry to Southampton, eventually her Bows were under water and she grounded in Weymoth Bay, submerged, just a lifeboat floating still attached. the next time was in the Bay OF Biscay, on ex THV Winston Churchill, blowing a hooly, stood by a Dutch Coaster taking water, pumps unable to cope, watched her sink, crew rescued by a Grerman Ship upwind, they floated down a liferaft, not a pretty sight. ps the Greek Ship that sank was the Aeolian Sky. details on Wikipedia.

[John Arton]

Had 4 instances of ships in distress
No.1 We were in distress. Small container ship, tremendous storm off Grand Banks, engine room floods, captain orders abandon ship. 50% of crew into motor lifeboat sent away in huge swell to german cargo ship that came to our assistance with the plan that the lifeboat would return for the rest of us (avoiding crowded lifeboat). Lifeboat engine breaks down and drifts away. Tremendous feat of ship handling and seamanship by german cargo ships master puts his ship alongside the broken down lifeboat and rescues all on board it. Rest of us taken off in Rigid inflatable from a german fishing trawler, did,nt even get feet wet.
no.2. On watch 4-8 in the morning on cape sized bulker Richards Bay to Le Havre and on equator. Received distress call from Swedish RoRo "Tombara", ckd's and cars on car decks on fire after engine room fire. Stood by her refilling her BA bottles whilst there crew extinguished the fire and made temp. repairs to one of her 4 engines in order that she could proceed under her own steam to Cape Town.
No.3. Master on coastal Chemical Tanker, left Le Havre and encountered howling gale in English Channel. Russian cargo ship loaded with timber deck cargo, suffered cargo shift that knovked off her ballast tank vents so she was taking in water and listing. Was first ship on scene and acted as rescue co-ordinator for Lifeboat and Helicopter rescue of all Russian crew. Ship sunk and all deck cargo washed up ashore in Lyme Bay. It was on the news as people were taking the timber washed up ashore and making garden sheds out of it. Apparentley this is illegal as any cargo lost overboard and washed up ashore becomes the property of the Queen and it is classed as barrantry? if you steal it.
No.4 Not really a ship in distress but a rower. Was cadet on forest product ship homeward bound from B.C. to U.K. and in mid Atlantic came acros the first man ever to row solo acros the Atlantic. The other cadet on board actually spotted him whilst being bollocked by the skipper for not keeping a proper lookout. Skipper was not going to stop at first as he was trying to make a tide in Tilbury (half way across the Atlantic on a 14kt. ship and he's worrying about making a tide!!! well he was an ex. passenger ship guy). Eventually he was persuaded to stop and we met up with the rower and gave him food and water which enabled him to complete his row across the pond. Apparentley he had been out of contact with his base for a quite considerable time and they were thinking he had perished so they were mightly relieved when we radio'd them his position and the fact that he was well and still paddling across the pond.
The guy actually appeared on "This is your Life" later on and the captain was invited along as a suprise guest. When the guy saw the Captain come on stage his first words to him were "Yes I remember you I was ill for days faterwards on the food you gave me". Apparentley the Chief Steward had used the opportunity to get rid of a load of out of date tinned goods (corned beef etc.) that had been on the ship since it was delivered from the yard in Japan some 3 years previously!!!!
rgds
JA

[Jack Jenkins]

Clan Keith sank in the Med

Jack

[Jim Brady]

Not a ship but a crew member.Mid North Atlantic on the Carinthia.A call from a Russian fishing boat,the type that carries parts of Cuban missiles on deck,crew member badly injured in engine room.A lifeboat was launched with the ships Surgeon aboard,I dont know what the wave height was but it was high.The lifeboat would disappear the next minute it was up on what looked like a mountain of a wave and the fishing boat looked like it laid off us by a couple of miles.It must've been a hairy experience for those in the lifeboat which was all in vain,the surgeon said he would have to take the injured seaman back to our ship but the Russian captain refused to let him leave the ship.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[j.sabourn]

Was working 100 miles west off Ireland servicing a Sedco Oil rig. Its safety boat lost its engine and we brought her in to Fenit where we were working out of. Just tied him up alongside of us and brought him in that way. The owner of this converted trawler paid everyone a couple of hundred Irish pounds and saved all the rigmarole of going through the salvage courts I suppose. I think every winter in the North Sea there was either a ship went down or a helicopter. Plenty of Mayday calls, one fishing boat was about 5 miles from me and was going down, I was hove to and literally going backwards and couldnt get any where near him, this was during a full storm 10. Had to listen to him on the VHF, other ships in area could not get to him either. To my knowledge all were lost on this trawler. Stories like the loss of seafarers never seem to get the to the public. Believe this has been discussed before. Have towed plenty of rigs and barges maybe the people on board thought they were in distress when they saw some of the weather outside of their comfy little accomodation pads, but they werent. Regards John Sabourn.

[Tony Morcom]

In 1975 we rescued a drifting yacht in the N Atlantic. At the time I entered the following in my cadets journal.

Angelina Pt 1.jpg

Angelina Pt 2.jpg

[Captain Kong]

The first rescue I ever saw was in Liverpool Bay in 1948 when I was 13 years old.
I was on a day trip with my parents, Liverpool to Menai Straits and back on the St. Tudno, It was a lovely Sunny day no wind.
Homeward bound a yacht with three men on board were waving frantically, I think it must have been slowly sinking, The Master did a Wiliamson Turn and went alongside the yacht and took the men off , The yacht was abandoned.
I thought it was fantastic, Then I really knew I wanted to go to sea.
Brian.