The Seamanship Tutor has put together a series of simple computer animations that show various shiphandling techniques. The animations include search and rescue operations, use of an anchor and docking operations (among others). The full set of videos can be found HERE but we’ll share with you a short preview: [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · computer_animation, seamanship, shiphandling, Video
From the gCaptain archives…
Our friend Peter Mello at Sea-Fever, a must read maritime blog, brings us the model building obsession of William Terra. This one stopped me cold for a number of reasons. First Battleships have been a personal obsession of mine since childhood and were the subject of the weapons presentation during my plebe year at Annapolis. Second, these “manned models” are an excellent (some say superior) alternative to simulators for shiphandling training. Last, if it comes from Sea-Fever it’s bound to be interesting.
In the post titled “The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming! (by pickup and trailer)” Sea-Fever writes;
Four years in the making and a few more needed to “complete” the project, Mr. Terra built a 1:20 scale, 30′, navigating model of the World War II German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. (Wikipedia entry) Per Bizmark & Tirpitz:
- The model is scratch built like a canoe using 2,54 – 10,16 cm (1 – 4 in) bass wood strips and then covered with fiberglass.
- Estimated weight 318 kg (700 lbs).
- The beam is 1,32 meter (52 in).
- The length is about 9,1 meter (30 foot).
- It can carry 2 persons.
- The model is powered by a 15 hp (11,2 kw) outboard engine under rear gun turret.
- It can sail 24 kilometer per hour (15 mph).
- Furthermore the model has a music system build in.
- While William Terra cruise the lakes of Maine he enjoys listening to Wagner.
- The Commander-in-Chief in the photographs is William Terra.
- William Terra would like to see more models build in this scale
Click HERE for photos and related links.
Tags: · battleship, bismark, manned_models, maritime_academy, maritime_training, mass_maritime, models, naval_history, port_revel, shiphandling, ship_models, Training
Scientists at the Universit´e de Lyon have found new answers to a phenomenon called “Dead Water”. No this not refer to the newly released WWII movie of the same name, rather it’s a term for the effect seen when a vessel moves through water consisting of two or more layers with different salinity. This problem is typically seen when runoff from a melting glacier forms a relatively thin layer of fresh water on top of denser seawater and results in the loss of vessel speed and steerage. [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · arctic sinking, Science, shiphandling
gCaptain is excited to announce, in partnership with TRANSAS, Professional Mariner Magazine and Northeast Maritime Institute, the First Annual International Shiphandling Championship to be held at Northeast Maritime’s Fairhaven, Massachusetts campus from June 5 -7th, 2009.
The contest is open to the first fifty licensed professional mariners who send applications to NMI. These qualified mariners will compete for a total purse of $50,000. First place will be $30,000, second place $15,000 and third place $5,000. Professionally trained, these mariners will test their shiphandling skills against Mother Nature by using a state of the art TRANSAS Ship simulator and Tug simulator. These vessels will be operating under various simulation scenarios for the prestigious title of International Shiphandling Champion. Each mariner will be challenged by four different vessel types in different geographical areas each with a different shiphandling challenge. Contestants will be scored by a panel of judges and the TRANSAS Evaluation and Assessment System.
If your skills can match those of the world’s best shiphandlers then we encourage you to click HERE for more information.
Tags: · contest, shiphandling
Your car’s parked in the lot outside a roadside diner, well off the road, when a another vehicle pulling a trailer passes. As it passes the trailer breaks free and ploughs into your car, rupturing the petrol tank and spilling fuel. So the police arrest you because you should have assumed that the trailer would break free of the vehicle and parked somewhere else. That’s the sort of utter daftness today’s seafarers face daily and which 53 year old Captain JS Chawla of the Hebei Spirit faces today, so it’s a pleasure to report that while he waits under the threat of a $75,000 fine or up to a year in prison, he was announced one of two runners-up in the Lloyds List/Nautical Institute Shipmaster of the Year Award announced today, 2nd April.
Chawla deserves much kudos for the defense of his vessel, which you can read about here. An airline pilot in a comparable situation would have walked away with a medal in his hand, not convict’s stripes. It is to be hoped that the award might do something to publicise not only his plight, but those of other seafarers.
Says the Nautical Institute: “In a year when the trend to criminalise masters for unfortunate accidents has continued, it is not surprising that this case has become extremely contentious.”
The Shipmaster Of The Year award intends to: “…pay fitting tribute to a Master who has shown leadership, courage and vision while in command…”. Each of the 11 nominees had certainly earned their stripes and of the choice of the final three the Nautical Institute release says: “In judging, the panel recognized the special qualities the nominees brought to the wellbeing of crew and the commercial interests of the company, numerous initiatives to improve safety and operational performance, and cases of outstanding seamanship and leadership.”
Finally, the award went to Captain Alistair McFadyen of the 37,500 tonnes P&O ferry Pride Of Bilbao. This vessel, too, found lawyers on its gangplank in the past: The vessel’s second officer, Michael Hubble, found himself on three charges of manslaughter last year after the disappearance of the yacht Ouzo south of the Isle of Wight in 2006, which were dismissed.
Captain McFadyen’s award was for his command of the vessel “…during severe weather in the Bay of Biscay in March 2007. Over a period of 4 days, the P&O Ferry, Pride of Bilbao, encountered winds of Force 9 increasing to Storm Force 12, with waves and swell to match. The ship was hove to for many hours and skilfully manoeuvred to minimise risk of injury or damage.
“Throughout the ordeal Captain McFadyen kept the passengers and crew advised and ensured that the company was kept fully informed. The result was the safe completion of the voyage, satisfied customers, and a tired but professionally proud crew. The company were also commended for delaying the next scheduled sailing while the crew got some much-needed rest.”
The ubiquitous Youtube carries videos of the storm, and comments by some of the passengers here.
Scoring a “highly recommended” alongside Captain Chawla was Captain Chernobrovkin, master of the 47,326 DWT chemical product tanker MT Butterfly, who performed a tough mid-Atlantic rescue of a lone yachtsman in a winter gale.
Sadly, the kudos these men earned will inevitably pale against the current enthusiasm to prosecute seafarers so attorneys can bulk up their pension plans.
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This post was written by Bob Couttie of Maritime Accident Casebook. Bob Couttie has written for a number of maritime industry publications, including the prestigious Lloyd’s List International daily newspaper and Lloyd’s Ship Manager magazine. His reportage on problems with ship’s officer certification examinations in the Philippines in the late 1990s influenced the adoption of computerized examinations for ship officers by the country’s Professional Regulatory Commission.
Tags: · bob couttie, hebei spirit, nautical_institute, shiphandling
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