| analyzing marine accidents |
| Interviewing - Mates - Chief Engineers - Designated Duty Engineers - Interviews - Deckhands Able Bodied Seamen - Tankermen - Dispatchers - QMED - Interviewing |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Maritime Accidents
Any vessel, however majestic or powerful, can find itself at the bottom of the
sea if a catastrophic chain of events takes place. The RMS Titanic sank in
the early morning hours of April 15th after hitting an iceberg the night
before. She was on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It
was long believed that a gash along her starboard side did her in.
However, it was later theorized that the ship foundered from water pouring
in through openings created by failed rivets and displaced hull plating. The
fishing vessel Arctic Rose sank with all hands in the Bering Sea in less
than five minutes in April 2001. Investigation determined a primary cause to
be a hatch had been left open at the stern of the vessel. The AHTS
Bourbon Dolphin capsized and sank off Shetland Island during anchor
handling operations in April 2007. The complex investigation yielded a
number of causes. The tug Valour sank 40 miles off the coast of
Wilmington, North Carolina in fierce winds and twenty foot seas. The Coast
Guard cited a number of factors for the sinking which included non-
compliance with the stability letter and improper use of fuel crossover
valves.
A vessel can sink for any number of reasons… loss of stability, fire,
puncturing of the hull, unsecured watertight doors, loss of propulsion, etc.
Some causes are more complex than others and require insight into naval
architecture. However, it’s probably safe to say this. During rough seas,
there is one measure that can be followed by all crew members, master
mariners or greenhorn deckhands alike. Keep watertight doors, hatches
and portholes closed! In twenty foot seas, the watertight integrity of those
things is all you have to make sure that a warm berth is waiting for you at
the end of your watch.
Any vessel, however majestic or powerful, can find itself at the bottom of the
sea if a catastrophic chain of events takes place. The RMS Titanic sank in
the early morning hours of April 15th after hitting an iceberg the night
before. She was on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It
was long believed that a gash along her starboard side did her in.
However, it was later theorized that the ship foundered from water pouring
in through openings created by failed rivets and displaced hull plating. The
fishing vessel Arctic Rose sank with all hands in the Bering Sea in less
than five minutes in April 2001. Investigation determined a primary cause to
be a hatch had been left open at the stern of the vessel. The AHTS
Bourbon Dolphin capsized and sank off Shetland Island during anchor
handling operations in April 2007. The complex investigation yielded a
number of causes. The tug Valour sank 40 miles off the coast of
Wilmington, North Carolina in fierce winds and twenty foot seas. The Coast
Guard cited a number of factors for the sinking which included non-
compliance with the stability letter and improper use of fuel crossover
valves.
A vessel can sink for any number of reasons… loss of stability, fire,
puncturing of the hull, unsecured watertight doors, loss of propulsion, etc.
Some causes are more complex than others and require insight into naval
architecture. However, it’s probably safe to say this. During rough seas,
there is one measure that can be followed by all crew members, master
mariners or greenhorn deckhands alike. Keep watertight doors, hatches
and portholes closed! In twenty foot seas, the watertight integrity of those
things is all you have to make sure that a warm berth is waiting for you at
the end of your watch.
Perhaps nothing can illustrate the point better than a line from the movie Titanic.
As the ship founders after hitting the iceberg, White Star Line Chairman Bruce
Ismay consults with the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews.
* In all fairness, watertight doors wouldn’t have prevented the inevitable on that
fateful April night in 1912. Titanic’s watertight bulkhead’s only came up as high as
D and E decks (one went as high up as F deck). The water level rose above
those bulkheads and cascaded aft like a waterfall, flooding one hold after the
other as the Titanic’s bow settled beneath the sea. The reason for this wasn’t a
lack of foresight by the designers. Carrying watertight doors too high up in such
a ship would have hampered the movements of crew and passengers. Think of
busy waiters will full trays banging their shins against the base of watertight
doors. However, the deficiency was not lost upon the White Star Line’s naval
architects. Britannic and Olympic, sister ships of Titanic, had their watertight
doors carried higher up than Titanic. Britannic was lost to a mine in the Aegean
Sea during World War I but Olympic had a long career, sadly shadowed by
running over the Nantucket lightship in 1934, with loss of life aboard the lightship.
As the ship founders after hitting the iceberg, White Star Line Chairman Bruce
Ismay consults with the ship’s designer, Thomas Andrews.
* In all fairness, watertight doors wouldn’t have prevented the inevitable on that
fateful April night in 1912. Titanic’s watertight bulkhead’s only came up as high as
D and E decks (one went as high up as F deck). The water level rose above
those bulkheads and cascaded aft like a waterfall, flooding one hold after the
other as the Titanic’s bow settled beneath the sea. The reason for this wasn’t a
lack of foresight by the designers. Carrying watertight doors too high up in such
a ship would have hampered the movements of crew and passengers. Think of
busy waiters will full trays banging their shins against the base of watertight
doors. However, the deficiency was not lost upon the White Star Line’s naval
architects. Britannic and Olympic, sister ships of Titanic, had their watertight
doors carried higher up than Titanic. Britannic was lost to a mine in the Aegean
Sea during World War I but Olympic had a long career, sadly shadowed by
running over the Nantucket lightship in 1934, with loss of life aboard the lightship.
Andrews: The pumps will
buy you time, but minutes
only. From this moment on,
no matter what we do, the
Titanic will founder.
Ismay: But this ship can’t
sink!
Andrews: She is made of
iron, sir. I assure you, she
can. And she will. It is a
mathematical certainty.
buy you time, but minutes
only. From this moment on,
no matter what we do, the
Titanic will founder.
Ismay: But this ship can’t
sink!
Andrews: She is made of
iron, sir. I assure you, she
can. And she will. It is a
mathematical certainty.
To serve as a small reminder that steel is denser than seawater, watch this video
of the sinking of the retired training ship Texas Clipper. It’s apparent that this is a
controlled sinking to form an artificial reef. Although this sinking was carried out
intentionally, don’t lose sight of the fact that open watertight doors can bring about
the same result… UNINTENTIONALLY. Tugs are not self-righting lifeboats. They
manage to do okay in rough seas only by virtue of size and an attentiveness to
dogging down watertight doors and hatches. If these things aren’t closed and
dogged down in rough seas, they’re not watertight!
of the sinking of the retired training ship Texas Clipper. It’s apparent that this is a
controlled sinking to form an artificial reef. Although this sinking was carried out
intentionally, don’t lose sight of the fact that open watertight doors can bring about
the same result… UNINTENTIONALLY. Tugs are not self-righting lifeboats. They
manage to do okay in rough seas only by virtue of size and an attentiveness to
dogging down watertight doors and hatches. If these things aren’t closed and
dogged down in rough seas, they’re not watertight!