car transporter

[Captain Kong]

Many thanks Gentlemen for that.
No John
not doing Australia this trip. just the Islands from San Diego,.
Three Hawaiian Islands , Fanning Island, Kiribati. Bora Bora , Raiatea, Tahiti, Moorea, Rangiroa, Marquesses, Nuka Hiva and then back to San Diego for a few days. we have done that trip twice before. around six weeks. short trip this time.

I asked Cappy to come but he badly stained and tore his dinner suit at John Arton`s Christmas bash chasing the Nuns around the garden, so may be next time.
Cheers
Brian

[Red Lead Ted]

Take a look at the course taken by the Pilot after realizing all wasn't well aboard the 52.000 ton ferry. I think it was the work of a genius who obviously new the sand banks exact position to order the wheel hard to port run her aground when he did and potentially save a repeat of another Herald Of Free Enterprise affair. All 24 souls aboard lived to tell the tale, As for her expensive cargo. Isn't that's what the Lloyds register is all about. Pilot Sir, Terry.

[j.sabourn]

Certainly did well Terry. His local knowledge certainly paid off if that was the case. In 1962 I think it was, I was involved in a collision on the River Plate. The pilot walked away from it, and yet he had the helm up until the final seconds where belatedly, I am led to believe the master retook over the helm and put us ashore on a sand bank. Unfortuanetly this was too late however. As I was on the focsle head seconds prior to contact with the other vessel had to assume a lot of what went on in the final seconds. Both vessels were at fault and was a 2 to 3 claim paid out by the NE coast insurers, which a lot of NE shipowners paid into, believe this also kept them away from claiming from Lloyds, and so was a cheaper alternative to the rise in Insurance which would have followed. Pilots are employed mainly for their local knowledge and in the case just mentioned should have known the depth of the channel and the amount of silting that had occurred, which was put down as the cause of the collision. No one would say anything at the local enquiry and it was only on return to UK that the companies lawyers questioned me as to the probable cause and I mentioned my theory about sliding in the mud that this was accepted. There always has been accidents at sea some avoidable, however as we all know shipping is not yet and doubt it ever will be rocket science and always liable for human error. Cheers JS

[gray_marian]

#18, Ahh Captain you are indestructible in my eyes and as you and hubby are travelling on the 13th I am routing for you both

[Captain Kong]

And its a Friday , Marian. Friday 13, on the same ship, STATENDAM, that I sailed on that sailed on a Friday, two years ago on the same itinery, and was taken off with four days to live without two operations.
SO ................?????? lets hope...
Cheers
Brian.

[Keith Tindell]

Latest reports from the salvage master, who is the same guy who helped raise the Costa Concordia apparently, this was not caused by human error, but probably a sensor which caused the pumps to kick in and transfer ballast. Amazing to me that in bad weather a sensor could cause the ship to be lost with all hands. About the only benefit of the smaller crews carried these days is that in an emergency there are a smaller number to be rescued. It seems that in the salvage they are going to try and bring her upright soon, and hope the sand has not shifted too badly to bring her off, KT

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Further to my last , there are Gale warnings in the area by the end of the week, KT

[Alan Gale]

By all accounts she was grounded intentionally as she had developed a list after leaving the Dock. The general scuttlebutt suggests that one or more of the ballast pumps had failed and as she turned to stbd to go around the bramble she had refused to come back up. It was very quick thinking to get her aground and not only save the ship and crew but also to keep the main road into Southampton open!

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This from Marine traffic yesterday
Hoegh Osaka.jpg

[Chris Allman]

Lloyds Loading List lunchtime bulletin report :- 07.01.15

Plans to re-float the stranded vessel Höegh Osaka today have been postponed after inspections revealed that more water had entered the vessel than previously thought.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported that following the completion of calculations by the vessel’s appointed salvors yesterday evening it was decided not to attempt today’s planned re-float of the car transporter, which was run aground at Bramble Bank in the Solent outside the port of Southampton on Saturday evening after developing problems shortly after leaving the port.

The MCA said: “The salvors calculations revealed that more water has entered the vessel than previously thought.” It said the preparation for the re-float would therefore take longer than the weather window today would allow.

“The alternative option of securing the Höegh Osaka will be followed and preparations for the re-float will continue when the weather allows.”

It said the salvors had made an on-board assessment of the vessel. “The cargo is still in position. On one deck, plant has moved and caused a slight crack in the hull,” it said.

“There has been a small ingress of water below the water line but this was rapidly dealt with when discovered by the salvors and there is no evidence of pollution.”

The MCA said there was no impact on vessels transiting the Solent as the vessel is not within a shipping channel. For safety reasons there is a 200-metre exclusion zone around the grounded vessel and a 1 mile and 2,000-ft air exclusion zone.

As reported earlier this week, the car transporter Höegh Osaka was grounded deliberately outside the port of Southampton to prevent it sinking as it began to list, although marine access to the UK’s second-largest container port Southampton has remained unaffected by the grounding of the vessel.

The ship’s owners Höegh Autoliners said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the listing that led to the ship running aground 50 minutes after setting sail from Southampton, heading to Bremerhaven. Two crew members were taken to hospital with minor injuries following the original incident.

[Keith Tindell]

Latest reports are, shes come off on her own, now being in tow KT

[Chris Allman]

News item HERE