From sailing to surfing to piloting 32,000-ton container ships, Andy Merrill has always felt at home on the ocean. Today, the 42-year-old clocks 70-day shifts as captain of Matson Navigation’s MV Manulani—navigating the hauler to some of the busiest ports in the world. Shanghai, for instance, docked 55,000 vessels last year. “It’s like they’re lining up elephants out there,” he says. Continue Reading…
Also be sure to check out Maston’s M/V Manulani Multimedia page where you can find the following video and more.
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.
Our Favorite Maritime Photographer, Houston Pilot Lou Vest, has donated a few of his amazing photos to the pilot association’s charitable foundation, Anchor Watch. They will use the images to produce a 2008 calendar with the proceeds funding scholarships to maritime schools, sea scout troops, the Houston maritime museum and other worthy causes.
Purchase details and a preview of the images can be found on Lou’s Flickr page: LINK
gCaptain received the above photo via our gCaptain Tip Line. Here is the official news on the incident from PEMEX;
MEXICO: PEMEX confirmed that a fire occurred on the Kab 101 platform on Nov. 13. The fire was caused by a spark generated during repair work to control the natural gas leak that began on Oct. 23. No one was injured. The fire later was extinguished in the Kab 121 well.
Meanwhile, work continues to clean the oil spilled during the original incident on Oct. 23. An overflight revealed that the oil has traveled about 125 kilometers (78 miles). Another overflight will take place next week to monitor the progress of the clean-up. Click to continue…
Our tipster also suggested that fatalities occurred despite PEMEX’s denial of any injuries. We have not confirmed any of the above comments and have already made one mistake related to this incident so if you have information or links this please write a comment below.
This week’s incident photo is not for the faint of heart. Bob Couttie’Maritime Accident Casebook gives the details:
The following photo is a disturbing image and we gave considerable thought to whether or not its publication would serve a useful purpose. It’s from the Blue Oceana website and tells more than any official report possibly could of the need to be safety conscious around containers. It is from an accident in Malaysia in 2005. As the Blue Oceana makes clear, it’s a continuing problem.
A vessel found in 700 AD, several centuries before the Vikings ruled Norway, the Oseberg ship from approximately 800 AD and the knarr from around year 1000 AD all have one thing in common; their rounded bows were the inspiration for Ulstein’s latest design, the x-bow container ship.
This design is not new, launched last year the Bourbon Orca was the first vessel launched with Ulstein’s revolutionary bow design. Now the company is set to incorporate this design into a new class of short-sea shipping vessels. A company press release: [Continue Reading →]
Above are images of the Cosco Busan and San Francisco Bay Oil Spill Clean-up courtesy of Flickr photographers in the Bay Area. The Official USCG photo slideshow can be found HERE.
Our friend Richard Rodriguez pointed us to these paintings as seen on the Dark Roasted Blend blog. We have covered this story recently so if you are asking “Why are these ships painted this way?” visit our previous post HERE.
“A Convoy”, 1918, by Herbert Barnard John Everett:
The FPSO Sevan Voyageur left Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China this morning. The FPSO is placed onboard a dry tow vessel and is on its way to the Keppel Verolme shipyard for topside hook-up and commissioning. FPSO Sevan Voyageur will be installed on the Shelley field in the central UK North Sea in 2008, under a five year contract with Oilexco North Sea Ltd.
From sailing to surfing to piloting 32,000-ton container ships, Andy Merrill has always felt at home on the ocean. Today, the 42-year-old clocks 70-day shifts as captain of Matson Navigation’s MV Manulani—navigating the hauler to some of the busiest ports in the world. Shanghai, for instance, docked 55,000 vessels last year. “It’s like they’re lining up elephants out there,” he says. Continue Reading…
