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A harrowing weather story from the Pacific Northwest. Washington State Department of Ecology’s Website tells us;
The Kauai, a 720-foot container ship operated by Matson Lines, was sailing near Cape Flattery when it was smashed by a large ocean swell. The waves broke out the wheelhouse windows, damaged electronic systems and knocked out the ship’s primary steering system.
The Crowley Maritime-operated Gladiator met the container ship at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and escorted her into Port Angeles. There, the Gladiator’s crew handed the ship off to another tug so the Gladiator could return to keep watch at Neah Bay. The Kauai is currently heading to Seattle for repairs.
“We dodged a bullet with today’s assist,” said Dale Jensen, manager in charge of Ecology’s Spills program. “With the incredibly stormy weather here on land, one can only imagine how tough the conditions are at sea.”
He said, “Having the rescue tug stationed at Neah Bay during the winter means we can assist ships in distress and prevent catastrophic damage to our valuable marine resources.”
The state has contracted to station a rescue tug at Neah Bay since spring of 1999. The tug has stood by or assisted 34 ships that were disabled or had reduced maneuvering or propulsion capability while transporting oil and other cargo along the coast and through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The actions helped ensure the ships didn’t drift onto rocks and spill oil.
Youtube commentary;
While sailing on San Francisco Bay we had a close encounter with a container ship. The container ship honked at the other sailboat. We had space to turn…but when we tried the container ship blocked our wind. That captain was a hell of a driver! He threaded between our two little sailboats.
I don’t think I need to comment on these boaters but I will say if you’re a boater and sail in an area of heavy ship traffic head over to the Bitterend End blog an soak up some collision avoidance knowledge. You can start here: VTS - Working with large vessels
For those curious how the editors at gCaptain research maritime incidents like the Cosco Busan’s allision with San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, here are some of the websites that provide excellent reference material.
Our first stop in researching any maritime related topic is our own Maritime Industry CSE. It’s a powerful resource since it provides search results with the aid of google’s powerful search database and algarithims. Actually the only difference between it and google.com is the fact that our tool narrows the results down and only displays sites that pertain to large ships.
*Tip: Try the “incidents” refinement to narrow down the results even further.
If you are looking for trusted information on incidents as they happen then MAC should be your first stop. Be sure to visit their podcast section as well as their links page which contains a list of the best maritime resources for incident prevention.
For those looking for data that specifically pertains to Container Ships, head over to Searates’ Container Ship Reference Book. Not only is it full of Web 2.0 eye candy, it also has some great hard data.
*Tip: Its shipping lines section has links to both Cosco and Hanjin. By visiting Cosco’s site you will quickly learn they have removed their official “Cosco Busan” statement from Nov 11th.
For breaking news your first stop should be our Maritime News Discoverer but a close second is our Maritime News Mash-up which is automatically updated with the industry’s most trusted news sources.
*Tip - Also take a look at our gCaptain News and Maritime Blog Mash-ups
For those looking for expert opinion from Ship Captain’s we hope you contact us… but your next stop should be CAMM. Contact them directly for contacts from the Maritime Expert Database.
Traditional media is know for making small errors when reporting maritime incidents. To obviate this problem subscribe to MAREX’s FREE weekly newsletter. It is published every Thursday and is written by professional journalists with maritime backgrounds. For past articles click HERE.
*Tip: If you are more interested in weekly blog postings check out Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday
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If you have a reference site of interest please submit it to our Maritime News Discoverer under the category “Links“
I have been amazed lately by the number of errors in both media reports and political commentary related to the the container ship Cosco Busan that allided with San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. We first reported on the confusion between the words allision and collision but that debate is mostly semantic. The errors have grown as the debate has reached a national audience.
The most troubling mistake is reports that infer or flatly state the vessel is a tanker. This mistake has been made numerous times as can be seen by doing a simple google news search for the incorrect term but most seriously in USA Today’s, America’s most widely distributed newspaper, headline (page A6 of November 12th’s edition): “Coast Guard: Tanker crew tested for substances.”
The media is not the only “informed” party making this mistake. The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a statement by San Francisc’s mayor:
Newsom saw the disaster as an even larger statement on the weakness of America’s dependence on oil.
“We can do better than large oil tankers coming in and out of the bay of San Francisco, and move to a more energy independent future,” he said at Crissy Field. “We’ll continue to have these kinds of disasters inevitably if we continue to have more tankers come in and out to feed our addiction.”
So for those in the media or with a passing interest here is a picture of an Oil Tanker and the Cosco Busan:
The major difference between the two is: a tanker transports liquids and a container ship transports containers filled with solids (i.e. toys, home furnishings, industrial supplies…). So before the flood of emails arrive… if the ship that hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge was not transporting any liquids why did it have 58,000 gallons aboard? The answer is… for the same reason your car carries 24 gallons of gasoline.
The fuel spilled in the bay was all to be used by the ship’s enormous engines during the long transit back to China. Had this ship been an oil tanker the spill could have been as large as the one caused by the oil tanker Exxon Valdez… then again probably not since the oil in those ships are now required to be protected by a double hull.
“At 8:30 am this morning, the Cosco Busan, an 810-foot container ship, collided with the base of one of the towers of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while the ship was under the control of a Bar Pilot. The crash created a huge gash in the side of the ship and triggered an oil leak that created an environmental mess in San Francisco Bay.” More to come but Telstar Logistics has the full story from a local perspective LINK.
In related news New York’s Ambrose Light experienced an allision earlier this week but this one seems to be part of a trend. I don’t have specifics on this particular incident but the previous ones we’ve heard of were due to failed crash astern tests, a requirement of the port, that were conducted too close to the pilot station. Gothamist has the details on this one LINK.
If you have the inside scoop or would like an experts opinion for your article or post please contact us;
- email: tips (at) gcaptain.com
- phone: 805-456-8644
For a look at the worst case scenario for pilots read our post titled: May 9, 1980, Tampa - Skyway Bridge Disaster
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The picture above, by Ship Spotter Frederik, is of the Elly Maersk. Along with her sister ships the Emma, Evelyn, Eleonora, Estelle and Ebba Maersk she is the largest Container Ship in the world and the last of these giants scheduled to be built. She is also equipped with the largest engine in the world. Marine Link tells us:
On August 25, 2007 Odense Steel Shipyard presented its latest newbuilding, an 11,000 TEU container vessel, for the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group.
Like her five predecessors, Elly Maersk will be part of the series of the world’s largest container vessels, and she will like her sister vessels set new standards for safety and environment. Environmentally friendly silicone paint covers the hull of the vessel below the waterline – reducing water resistance and cutting the vessel’s fuel consumption by 1,200 tons per year.
With its 14-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex diesel engine which develops 110,000 bhp, Elly Maersk will enter Maersk Line’s worldwide service after delivery. Read More…
We have mixed emotions regarding ships of this size but, like the rest of the world, are impressed and amazed by her sheer size.
Related links:
“Ship of the Week” brings us the fifth in the Maersk E-Class Container Ships and Sister Ship to the Emma Maersk:
The Ebba Maersk (IMO: 9321524, Port of Registry: Copenhagen, Denmark) is already the fifth in line of Maersk’s PS-class. Together with her sisters (amongst which are the ‘Emma Maersk‘ and ‘Evelyn Maersk‘) she is the largest containership ever with a total teu capacity 11,000 teu (of which 1,000 forty foot reefer containers) according to the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. Rumours are that a total capacity of 13,500 teu is also possible. This capacity is possible by stacking the containers in 22 rows wide. The vessel is 397 meters long, 56 meters wide, has a depth of 30 meters and a deadweight of 156,907 tons. Amazingly, all this size and capacity requires a crew of only 13.
Read the complete Eba Maersk profile HERE and check back with Ship of the Day… well… daily.
Sistership Emma Maersk links;
The Emma Maersk is a true Modern Marvel. The world largest container ship, longest ship currently in service and is propelled by the largest diesel engine ever manufactured. By mid-year 2006 the construction project was going well when on June 9th the accommodation block was devastated by fire.
Shipping Gazette
The Emma Mærsk was about six–seven weeks delayed. The delay caused by a devastating fire in the accommodation quarters in the early days of June. A welding job on the main deck, close to the end of working hours, led to a fire that totally destroyed the almost finished accommodation quarters and all the equipment in the wheelhouse.
The fire was large and devastating. Here are the photos and video taken by the local fire brigade: Read the rest of this entry »
Emma Maersk Shipyard Fire - Largest Containership in the world [1:27m]:
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