Blue Star Logbook

Milano Bridge Container ship cleans up gantry crane.

https://youtu.be/EfC2lidXiMY

Your comments gentlemen of the deck department.

Could have been a Bridge control malfunction, ship looked brand new, not a scratch until then. Unfamiliarity of systems.

You will notice the funnel looked like a coal burner on cheap coal.
Somebody was giving it a bit of stick but nothing was happening .

Look at the Port of Registry.

I am sure ships' bridge looked like Starship Enterprise with screens and alarms, flashing lights and various other toys. Bow & Stern thrusters.

What happened to the Mark 1 Eyeball, Experience and knowing your ship.


No different in the ER, don't believe all the alarms that go off, check the job the old fashioned way, sight, touch, smell and sound and plain experience.

Any more that come up during the cruising season (there is bound to be more), add the U-Tube link and people can give us the benefit of their experience.
PJ Newton was an avid writer on Ship Nostalgia, with his wisdom.

AIS track

https://youtu.be/Jss80d_G7R0


https://youtu.be/x-oX2j7Jedw

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-53750151

Almost like Concordia Cruise ship disaster, the reason.
Appears they wanted to be within WiFi range for this party.

11/09/2020
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese operator of a bulk carrier that struck a coral reef and caused a widespread oil spill off the coast of Mauritius said Friday it will provide 1 billion yen ($9 million) to fund environmental projects and support the local fishing community.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said the Mauritius Natural Environment Recovery Fund will be used for mangrove protection, coral reef recovery, protection of seabirds and rare species, and research by private and governmental groups.
The environmental disaster began on July 25 when the ship MV Wakashio strayed off course and struck a coral reef a mile (1.6 kilometers) offshore. After being pounded by heavy surf for nearly two weeks, the ship’s hull cracked and on Aug. 6 it began leaking fuel into a lagoon, polluting a protected wetlands area and a bird and wildlife sanctuary.
MOL President Junichiro Ikeda apologized for the damage and said the financial contribution reflects the company’s commitment to fulfill its social responsibility.
“The accident has caused tremendous environmental damage to Mauritius. We naturally bear social responsibility,” Ikeda told reporters.
The ship owner, Nagashiki Shipping, is also joining the fund, MOL said. Mauritius has said it is seeking compensation for the damage from Nagashiki.
More than 1,000 tons of oil spilled into the coastal waters. About 3,000 tons that remained on the ship was pumped into barges before the Wakashio broke in two several days later.
Thousands of civilian volunteers worked for days to try to minimize the damage from the oil spill, while environmental workers ferried baby tortoises and rare plants to shore and plucked trapped seabirds out of the goo.

It would have cost them less than $9m to train or employ British Officers & Crew and this could have been avoided. Though it would have been their Insurance Company that paid up, so they will be changing Insurance Companies and name of the company after this as these fly- by -nights tend to do plus Mitsui OSK will not be chartering any more of their ships.

This article was sent to me by Richie Dellow.


Fears 42 crew and 6,000 cattle drowned after ship sinks in typhoon off Japan

A major search operation has been launched off the coast of Japan after a ship carrying nearly 6,000 cattle and 43 crew members capsized in stormy weather.

The cargo vessel sent out a distress call late on Wednesday as it was caught up in Typhoon Maysak, a storm that has been lashing Japan and the Korean peninsula.
Japan’s coastguard said it had found one member of the crew in the East China Sea, bobbing in the ocean wearing a life vest and waving to a naval surveillance aircraft. Dramatic images provided by the coastguard showed a person in a lifejacket being hauled from choppy seas in darkness.

The 45-year-old Filipino chief officer, Sareno Edvarodo, told his rescuers the ship lost an engine before it was hit by a wave and capsized.
He said crew members were ordered to put on lifejackets as the ship capsized, and that he jumped in the water before watching it sink. He said he did not see any other surviving crew members before he was rescued.
Of the 42 missing crew members, 38 are from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and two from Australia, the coastguard said.
The vessel, named Gulf Livestock 1, was transporting 5,867 cattle from Napier in New Zealand to the port of Tangshan on China’s eastern coast. Owned by Gulf Navigation Holding, a UAE-based company, it departed Napier on 14 August.

Japan’s coastguard said three vessels, five aircraft and two divers had been deployed in the ongoing search, which was taking place on Thursday in good weather after the typhoon completed its passage through the area.
The incident has put a spotlight on the practices of the live cattle export industry, with New Zealand authorities saying they have put a temporary suspension on all permit applications in light of the ship’s sinking.

Last year the country launched a review of its live export trade, worth an estimated NZ$54m (£27.4m) in 2019, after thousands of animals being exported from New Zealand and Australia died in transit.
The New Zealand animal rights organisation Safe said the incident demonstrated the risks involved in the trade, to both humans and animals.

“These cows should never have been at sea,” campaigns manager Marianne Macdonald told the Reuters news agency.


“This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the 43 crew who are missing with the ship. But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue.”

Shades of Wellington Star from Frozen NZ Lamb to Live Lamb.
Could have been a stability problem. As the Mate said to the Chief Engineer, stability is like riding a bicycle, " Don't stop the job Chief or we fall over".

Sent to me by Richie Dellow
And yet another one.
John Taylor sent out an email today reminding us it was Merchant Navy Day(new one on me).

If we had one perhaps these two fatalities would not have happened.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A fire broke out on a large oil tanker off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka on Thursday, leaving one of its 23 crew members missing and another injured, a navy spokesman said.
The fire started in the engine room of the New Diamond, which was carrying crude oil from Kuwait to India, and then spread, spokesman Capt. Indika Silva said.
The navy sent four ships to help the ship. By the time they arrived, 19 of the crew members had left on lifeboats and were picked up by the ships, Silva said.
As the navy ships tried to put out the fire, the captain and two others abandoned the tanker, he said. The remaining crew member was missing.
The injured crew member was identified as the third engineer of the ship and is being taken to land in a navy boat, Silva said.
He said two anti-submarine Russian ships anchored at a Sri Lankan port were also heading to the scene. The Russian ships had arrived at Hambantota port for replenishment and crew rest.
The Indian coast guard said it also had deployed ships and aircraft after the Sri Lankan navy sought its help.
At the time the fire broke out, the Panamanian-registered ship was about 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers) east of Sri Lanka.

Another one from Richie.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan navy has towed a fire-stricken supertanker further out to sea to keep it off the coast of the Indian Ocean island after the wind picked up strength and changed direction, a spokesman said on Thursday.
The tanker, loaded with 2 million barrels oil, was 50 nautical miles (95 km) from the east coast and moving in a northerly direction, the navy spokesman, Indika de Silva, said. Earlier, it had been headed southwest.

The stricken vessel has raised fears of an environmental disaster, but two oil slicks in its trail are the result of escaping marine fuel oil, rather than leaking crude.
A fire broke out in the engine room of the Greek-owned New Diamond tanker last Thursday. The blaze was believed to have been doused on Sunday but reignited a day later.

De Silva ruled out the possibility of fire breaking out again after a team of salvage experts visited the ship on Wednesday.
New Shipping Ltd, the manager of the Panama-flagged New Diamond, has appointed SMIT Singapore Pte Ltd as its salvage expert, he said.

There was no immediate comment from either company.
A preliminary investigation by the salvage firm showed the presence of a toxic gas in and around the vessel, de Silva said, but gave no further details.

Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has said it plans to take action against the ship's owner under the country's laws to protect the marine ecosystem.
The oil slicks have been sprayed with chemical dispersants from a Dornier aircraft deployed by the Indian Coast Guard.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma;

Dornier aircraft, thought we shot all those down by 1945. Well if the Indians are still building Morris 1000's its possible.

Cargo ship, identified by local sources as OCEAN SHIP 2, managed by Kartika Samudera Indah company, capsized with starboard resting on pier at Tapaktuan Port, northwest North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Sep 25. The ship was berthed since Nov 2018, after delivering a cargo of cement, understood abandoned for reasons unknown. She was developing list during at least a week prior to capsizing, due to lack of maintenance and water ingress. Understood it’s a general cargo ship OCEAN SHIP, IMO 8614247, with no available AIS records, history.
General cargo ship OCEAN SHIP, IMO 8614247, dwt 1000, built 1987, flag Indonesia, manager Kartika Samudera Indah PT (EQUASIS).

Another insurance job, maybe the caustic nature of the cement corroded the already dodgy hull plates. Doubt if the company exists any longer. Even the crane brakes are rusted to the rails, note its on the high side.

Not a disaster, but could well have been had it not been for the Ships Engineers skill and ingenuity in preventing it also making observations and comments that the company or class never picked up.
It also makes one wonder about ship designers , BOT and class when they review ships plans.
Makes interesting reading.
https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/floodin ... d-atlantic

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... round.html

Evergreens - Ever Given

Comments from former Deck Department welcome.

Did she ingest too much sand and it stopped the generators.
If she was southbound, did she bunker a drop of dodgy fuel that the purifiers couldn't deal with and just pumped into the service tank?
Electrical fault causing a blackout?
SW filters choked up (still on low suctions) and generators tripped on high temp.

US Research vessel topples in Lieth drydock.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65038617
https://youtu.be/jPE1Ezho3GA

3000 ton neither a large boat or a large ship.
I wish these people would get their terminology correct.

One wonders how HMS Prince of Wales faired whilst in drydock.
Who ever ok'd the alignment of the tail shaft for the Navy has no doubt been promoted. Don't they use lasers these days rather than a stick of chalk and a bit of string from the fitters tool box as in the past.

We cannot build anything these days, thats what a university education does for them.

Well it looks like the Old Man's livener got shaken not stirred, the Grocer can signoff more china to the accident than he had. The beer will be a bit lively for a while.
Wonder how all those computer screens survived?
The NA term 'Angle of Loll' comes to mind.

Not a hull or bilge chock in sight, no doubt a high GM with all that scafolding and dishes round the bridge, then you have the submersible that will be darn thick steel for the depths that goes so a bit of weight there, which could be on deck and even stored on one side, rather than athwartships or fore and aft on the centre line.

Somebody who knew the ship made this comment.
Assisted with transfer of ownership and induction of the new crew when the vessel was transferred from Subsea 7 to Paul Allen in 2016 which took place in the same dockyard as yesterday’s incident occurred.
Find it hard to believe that a “gust of wind” managed alone to topple the vessel which has been effectively in “lay-up” in that dockyard since 2020 and must have been subject to as strong if not stronger winds during this period without adverse effects. Has something i.e. distribution of weight within the vessel changed or was changing at the time contributing to the accident?
I remember that the PETREL has a high large windage area and is very top heavy, totally different to the other vessel in the d/d at the time.
Still I’m sure the MAIB will in due course release their findings. In the meantime hope the casualties make speedy recovery’s

Looks like she was nearly finished all painting done but not the props polished as usually happens.