RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 1, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 1, 2020 On shipowners, there are bad apples in any industry but an awful lot of shipowners are going an awful long way to look after their crews and batting on their behalf. Similarly, in these times I see a lot of negative comments about open registries yet I am seeing some of the open registries standing full and square behind seafarers and fighting on their behalf. I know one very senior director of one of these directories who has attended a number of ships in person to bang heads together and sort problems out to get crews off ships or address welfare issues. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 (edited) You may find this of interest if you have not read of it before. I think this is probably the right topic to post this in as we do not seem to have a "You couldn't make it up" topic. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull Edited April 4, 2020 by Ohmisterporter 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 4, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 4, 2020 Venezuela is such a tragedy that I am not sure how much worse it could get for people there. An object lesson that with sufficient incompetence what should be a very rich country can be made pretty much destitute. Sad. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ohmisterporter said: You may find this of interest if you have not read of it before. I think this is probably the right topic to post this in as we do not seem to have a "You couldn't make it up" topic. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32853/this-venezuelan-patrol-ship-sunk-itself-after-ramming-a-cruise-liner-with-an-reinforced-hull We were discussing this here on board earlier. We rather fancy that there was indeed some piracy planned - but it wasn't going to be by the passenger ship... ...but in any case, it's never a good idea to go close across the bows of something much bigger than you... Mark Edited April 4, 2020 by MarkC 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted April 4, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2020 4 hours ago, MarkC said: but in any case, it's never a good idea to go close across the bows of something much bigger than you... Wish I'd known that before I married her... 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted April 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 5, 2020 12 hours ago, jjb1970 said: Venezuela is such a tragedy that I am not sure how much worse it could get for people there. An object lesson that with sufficient incompetence what should be a very rich country can be made pretty much destitute. Sad. Cf. Zimbabwe. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) The track of RCGS Resolute is visible on Marine Traffic https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:370230 Compare and contrast: RCGS Resolute Quote The 403-foot-long Resolute, which is flagged in Portugal, reportedly had a gross tonnage of around 8,445 tons at the time. The ship was laid down in September 1990 and completed in June 1991. Intended for Antarctic cruises, it has a reinforced ice-capable hull. Naiguatá Quote The Naiguatá, which is just over 262 feet long, is a Guaicamacuto class offshore patrol vessel and displaces around 1,720 tons with a full load. Certainly looks like trying to intefere with a 8,445 tons Antarctic-grade ship with a lighweight 1,720 tons patrol ship was going to have unintended consequences. Quote Regardless of the exact circumstances, the Venezuelan Navy's attempt to seize the cruise ship has certainly backfired in the immediate term. The Resolute is safely in port and the country has now lost a third of its Guaicamacuto class patrol ship fleet. Time to rename the class to Guacamole? Edited April 5, 2020 by KeithMacdonald typo fix 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 5, 2020 Zimbabwe is another humanitarian tragedy and another example of what happens when government becomes part ideological playground and part cronyism to try and shore up power via political largesse. However I think Venezuela is the much bigger self inflicted disaster, for a country to go through a decade long oil boom which was a windfall of huge proportions for the big Petro-economies and which has the world's largest oil reserves to be in such a mess takes a special kind of incompetence and dare I say, malfeasance. 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Earliest relieving has now gone back to at least 4th May. Further Review promised for 27th April. Fortunately I have an absolute diamond at home in the form of my wife, who totally understands what's going on and also understands how frustrated the team at our Office are too, having met many of them on several occasions. I dread to think how my ex would have been - no, belay that, I know EXACTLY how she would have been...and it wouldn't be nice Still at San Juan - they have serious issues with their nice shiny new receiving facility - computer say no... We'll just keep buggering on... Mark 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 9 hours ago, MarkC said: Earliest relieving has now gone back to at least 4th May. Further Review promised for 27th April. Fortunately I have an absolute diamond at home in the form of my wife, who totally understands what's going on and also understands how frustrated the team at our Office are too, having met many of them on several occasions. I dread to think how my ex would have been - no, belay that, I know EXACTLY how she would have been...and it wouldn't be nice Still at San Juan - they have serious issues with their nice shiny new receiving facility - computer say no... We'll just keep buggering on... Mark Even when you did get relieved how will you get back to the uk? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 3 hours ago, Kris said: Even when you did get relieved how will you get back to the uk? That's one of the reasons why nothing is being looked at for movement before 4/5/20. There are very, very few flights. Our fleet is spread worldwide; those of us further afield will be be last to be changed, I suspect, unless we're lucky enough to be somewhere that restarts suitable flights, but this block ban applies to all our ships, even ones which are 'local'. We are, as I have said, a Dutch Company, flying the Dutch flag in most cases, with many Dutch officers. Even if the ships are in Dutch ports, no changes are happening. The logic here is clear; the biggest risk to us on board is infection being brought onto the ship by someone from shoreside. The good news is that we are being updated as soon as anything of significance is learnt by the Office, and fortunately we have had no further cases of arguments across the fleet with shore authorities, about who is, and who is not, allowed on board during this time. Effectively only Pilots (for going in & out of port) and an absolute minimum of shore staff at terminals (the folk who connect up/disconnect the cargo arms/hoses). Even they must wear PPE and are not allowed in the accommodation or machinery spaces. Even Pilots are brought to/from the Bridge via the outside stairs, and not, as usual, through the accommodation and internal stairs. Mark. 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 Ouch...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drmditch Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 On 04/04/2020 at 15:46, MarkC said: We were discussing this here on board earlier. We rather fancy that there was indeed some piracy planned - but it wasn't going to be by the passenger ship... ...but in any case, it's never a good idea to go close across the bows of something much bigger than you... Mark Hull interaction? Boundary layers? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 23 minutes ago, drmditch said: Hull interaction? Boundary layers? Get it wrong - or you lose power - you tend to lose Hull interaction is a common cause of collisions though, particularly in narrow waterways. Not everyone understands the physics involved... Mark 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 39 minutes ago, jjb1970 said: Ouch...... This cockup appears to have gone viral on shipping websites etc - hardly surprising really... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 35 minutes ago, MarkC said: Get it wrong - or you lose power - you tend to lose Hull interaction is a common cause of collisions though, particularly in narrow waterways. Not everyone understands the physics involved... Mark Having helmed a few hours of close navigation (YAG's, I wasn't doing it on HMCS Protecteur during a RAS !), and having watched a few hours more (on PRO, as bow thruster operator/ER bridge communicator), we only had one side on meeting in my time, and as helm, I knew it was going to happen for ~30 seconds before it happened. We got 10 boat too close to 314, and together they came. Not a huge issue- off throttles, let the boats slow down and separate on their own. I wasn't onboard for PRO's end on meeting with HMCS Algonquin. Again, I understand it was quite apparent from PRO's standpoint what was going to happen before it did... I also have heard that when HMCS Kootenay had it's nose job ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Kootenay_(DDE_258) ) that the words of the fog chaser were " Sh!t ! Ship ! SHIP ! as he ran over the breakwater...not in that case, one of the physics of hull interaction in the sense of water...it was much like the above "incident", and that was an "ice hardened" warship built to the old school way of ship building. James 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2020 19 hours ago, MarkC said: Earliest relieving has now gone back to at least 4th May. Further Review promised for 27th April. Don't rush to come home - you're more in danger of going cabin crazy here than you are there! Kev. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 1 minute ago, SHMD said: Don't rush to come home - you're more in danger of going cabin crazy here than you are there! Kev. A week or so ago there was something on the BBC about advice on isolation from the RN submarine service, an interview with a captain of one of the boats. I thought it was an ill-considered comparison, partly because there is a huge element of self selection among seafarers in general and especially submariners and partly because it's not actually that restrictive at sea. Seafarers, whether mercantile or military, have elected to pursue a career at sea and after some initial wastage during the first couple of trips away which identifies those just not cut out for the life the idea of spending a lot of time away from home is something people live with (I had the conversations in my career where I gently suggested that if people really were so unhappy at sea they perhaps needed to re-think whether it was the right career choice). And although it's not the same today as the days when a ship was like a floating village with quite an active social life on-board (although military ships still have big crews) there is nevertheless still interaction with others and people have adapted to a way of life where they spend a long time away in the company of a handful of others. Even when I was on offshore vessels working 6 hour watches there was still social interaction. OK you are stuck on a boat at sea but you can go for a walk around the deck, and you're not stuck in a cabin. And importantly, seafarers know when they join a ship and when they expect to leave (notwithstanding extensions like the current situation). People at home in the COVID crisis have not in general had the preparation of those occupations that necessitate time away from the normal world in relative isolation, have never elected to pursue such a life and have no idea when it will end. That said, there was one individual in P&OCL who was notorious for feeling sorry for himself for being away at sea who'd been doing it for years and is probably still at sea (assuming any company wants to employ him). 1 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 2 hours ago, MarkC said: Get it wrong - or you lose power - you tend to lose Hull interaction is a common cause of collisions though, particularly in narrow waterways. Not everyone understands the physics involved... Mark I was on a big box boat where the Suez boatmen were delayed in leaving and were dropped and let go as the ship was accelerating and they were dragged under the stern and ended up in a (hopefully) better place not on this earth. Not nice, and a monumental b*lls up all around. As a sign of how things are it was quietly dealt with by the company and the Egyptian authorities, and somehow I suspect the families of the dead received a miniscule fraction of the agreed compensation. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2020 I heard that BBC interview and thought it was superficial as in... Journalists - Everyone's isolating now. Let's do a story on it. I know, lets interview some people who are really isolated... I expect they only thought of submariners after finding out there are no light house keepers around anymore! Kev. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 21 minutes ago, jjb1970 said: I was on a big box boat where the Suez boatmen were delayed in leaving and were dropped and let go as the ship was accelerating and they were dragged under the stern and ended up in a (hopefully) better place not on this earth. Not nice, and a monumental b*lls up all around. As a sign of how things are it was quietly dealt with by the company and the Egyptian authorities, and somehow I suspect the families of the dead received a miniscule fraction of the agreed compensation. Ooh, that's bad. Really bad. I haven't seen a 'slice and dice' like that; however I did once witness a bunch of our nice friendly Suez gang waiting to disembark at Suez. They were told - only one at a time on the bottom platform of the gangway. They didn't listen - 4 of them (fortunately the last 4) crowded onto the platform, which then did its impression of Mr Pierrepoint's trapdoor and deposited the lot in the 'oggin. A quick application of helm to take the stern away from them - and a check that 4 heads could be seen, with their boat manoeuvring to pick them up - we went to Full Ahead and got the hell out of Dodge. Funnily, apparently there was a radio failure on the bridge just at that moment. A coincidence, I'm sure Poetic justice really - those 4 had been a PITA all the way through the Canal. They weren't officially there either; just blagged their way on board at Port Said to get a ride home and try their luck at getting fed and watered. Nothing was ever said... Mark 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 I knew a lot of seafarers who claimed the reason their marriages worked so well was that they and their wives had plenty of time away from each other. It's actually not a daft idea. 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2020 I read somewhere this week that CMA CGM are sending box boats round the Cape in preference to Suez. I never thought I would see that short of the canal being closed. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 7, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2020 18 minutes ago, jjb1970 said: I read somewhere this week that CMA CGM are sending box boats round the Cape in preference to Suez. I never thought I would see that short of the canal being closed. Down to lower fuel costs? 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientMariner Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 With the current low bunker prices, according to this article, it is actually now more cost effective to route a large box boat via the Cape of Good Hope rather than pay the Suez Canal tolls. https://gcaptain.com/cma-cgm-containership-reroutes-around-cape-of-good-hope-bypassing-suez-canal/ John 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now