As long as oil stays above $100 a barrel, companies respond worldwide.
For instance, activity in the North Sea has picked up and daily rates for the powerful
anchor-handling tugs that deploy a drill rig’s anchors soared to $170,000 (£111,000)
while rates for platform supply vessels reached about $30,000 (£20,000). Those rates
may go higher because many newbuild rigs will arrive in the coming months and years.
For the deep offshore industry, 95 drilling rigs are being built,
an all-time high and almost one third of the fleet in service. Some 88 jack-up rigs
and at least 30 floating production storage offloading vessels are also currently
under construction.
The strike by 450 Hong Kong dockworkers ended after forty days
when they accepted a 9.8% pay increase. The strike caused a backup of 80,000 to
90,000 containers. At Portland, Oregon, a terminal operator locked-out its unionized
work force, claiming it had been “engaging in ‘inside game’ tactics, including slowdowns,
work-to-rule, and demands for repeated inspections of the same equipment.” The union
accused the terminal operator of planning the lockout for months and aiming to use
it to break the union local. And at the Port of Vancouver in Washington State, another
terminal operator indefinitely locked out its union dockworkers workers last February
after accusing a union official who worked there of sabotaging equipment in retaliation
for the contentious ongoing contract negotiations. (Video surveillance and other
evidence apparently showed that a union leader intentionally sabotaged equipment,
resulting in $105,000 in damages.)
Thin Places and Hard Knocks
On the Mahakam River in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia,
the overcrowded ferry Karya Indah sank after the mostly woman
passengers crowded into the bow. While the vessel reportedly was well-equipped with
life vests, the passengers did not use them and only twenty-one of 44 were saved.
The victims are all employees of plywood companies.
The Chinese freighter Xinchuan 8 hit a pier on the Nanjing
Yangtze River Bridge. The ship and its cargo of 12,500 tons of limestone then drifted
off and sank about two miles away but all 18 crewmembers had been saved five minutes
earlier. While departing at Barcelona, the ro/ro Eurocargo Genova damaged its
bow when it came in contact with the concrete loading ramp.
At Genoa, the ro/ro/container ship Jolly Nero, under control
of two tugs and a pilot, failed to complete a sweeping turn into a basin and toppled
the port’s 177-foot-high traffic control tower into the harbor. It was shift-change
time and thirteen people were in the tower or its elevator. Four survived. (The
elderly vessel was built in 1976 as the Axel Maersk, part of Maersk’s six-vessel
A-class featuring container cells forward of the superstructure and a series of
vehicle decks crowded in aft. A decade later, Maersk made changes to the A-class
vessels, swapping bows, changing engineroom stern sections from steam to diesel,
and adding forty-foot midsections. Five years later, the rebuilt vessel, renamed
Adrian
Maersk, was chartered to the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command as the forward-positioned
ship SP5
Eric Gibson. After that, it became the Maersk Alaska until its sale
in 2006 to Linea Messina, an Italian company that has a dozen other vessels with
names starting with “Jolly.”)
And in the US, unlike conditions not so many months ago, inland
rivers in the US were running high and fast. On the Mississippi River at St Louis,
114 barges broke free and eleven sank. (When one broke loose, it bumped into another
barge and knocked it loose. Those barges knocked into other barges, creating a domino
effect. As a Brit might say, it was a beautiful demonstration of the knock-on effect.)
Farther south at Vicksburg, other barge accidents and sinkings involving at least
thirty barges closed the Mississippi for several days. In Illinois, seven barges
allided with the Marseilles Dam. When waters subsided, inspection revealed multiple
damages to several gates. The damage did not pose additional flooding risk to downstream
communities but, as the water levels continue to recede, the decrease in depth of
the pool between Marseilles Lock and Dam and the Dresden Island Lock and Dam will
mean no use of the Illinois River for several weeks. (On several inland rivers,
a series of dams create pools of virtually current-less water, thus aiding upstream
passages.)
In the Philippines, the Supreme Court approved a petition for
a writ filed by a multi-sectoral group seeking higher penalties (somewhere between
$16.8 million and $27 million) and the criminal prosecution of US Navy officers
for allowing the mine countermeasures vessel USS Guardian to run aground
on the Tubbataha Reef in January. The petitioners claim the US Navy cannot invoke
immunity under the Visiting Forces Agreement. They also want the Supreme Court to
stop military exercises between the Philippine and US forces. The petitioners include
two Catholic Bishops, and the Navy has already agreed to pay $1.4 million for reef
damage.
While en route from Valencia to Takoma, a fire in the accommodation
area on the container ship killed two but the cargo was untouched. At Hamburg, the
ro/ro/container ship Atlantic Cartier had a car-deck fire
among 70-80 vehicles bound for the US. Two fireboats, multiple fire engines, the
tugs RT
Zoe, Hunte, and Bugsier 9, three police launches, and
five volunteer fire departments fought the fire and two problems all night; the
25 tons of CO2 ordered by the firemen were not available in Northern
Germany and the fireboats’ monitors proved to be puny. Next day, the damage was
thirty Volvos destroyed, about forty more severely damaged, and the ship needing
far more than Band-Aids.
The capsize of the Swedish America’s Cup challenger Artemis
at San Francisco fatally trapped the team’s tactical strategist underwater
for about ten minutes.
Off Louisiana, the off-shore supply vessel Lady Brandy notified the US Coast Guard
that a man and a woman aboard the 36-foot sailing vessel Escape Pod were in distress due to
a damaged sail and rigging and requested assistance. A chopper hoisted both and
a laceration on the woman’s leg received medical attention. Later, the Escape
Pod, its jib still set and flapping, was towed to Port Fourchon
by the 220-foot supply boat Paul A. Callais. In Thailand, the offshore
patrol vessel HTMS (His Thai Majesty’s Ship) Pattani rescued approximately
455 tourists stranded on Tachai Island in Khura Buri district about 80 kilometers
away from the mainland. Bad weather incorporating thunderstorms was the reason for
the rescue mission. In Alaska, when the 31-foot sailboat Etak lost power, the sole
occupant EPIRB’d for help but didn’t respond to radio calls. So a Coast Guard helicopter
lifted the uninjured man 200 miles southeast of Sitka. The Etak was left to drift.
Gray Fleets
The US Navy created a drone aircraft squadron for the first time.
Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35 (“Magicians”) has both manned and unmanned
vehicles that will accompany US warships into battle across the world. Included
are eight traditionally piloted helicopters and a yet-to-be determined number of
Fire Scout MQ-8 B drones, each capable of being operated at a distance of 110 miles
away and maintaining flight for half-a-day straight. Look for the aircraft to operate
from the new Littoral Combat Ships in about a year.
An influential US Navy publication noted that the US Marine Corps
is almost as large as the entire British or Japanese militaries, and suggested the
Corps might be too big for its own good. For example, at about 200,000 strong, the
Corps is larger than the active-duty Israel Defence Forces and the active-duty British
Army.
Torpedoes must be dropped from very low altitudes (100 feet or
so) but an add-on kit will allow the lightweight Mark 54 torpedo to be dropped at
30,000 feet and glide for seven to ten minutes before jettisoning wings and other
bits and entering the water. Meanwhile, the targeting aircraft can stay high and
well away, maintaining its surveillance. Most of the add-on equipment is already
used on other airdropped munitions.
An award-winning US Navy computer predicts the vulnerability
of shipping to pirate attacks.
Fire on a nuclear sub always is news, even the minor deck fire
on HMS
Torbay. It was on top of the outer deck just below the fin, and was put
out by a crewmember before the fire service arrived. There was no damage to the
submarine.
White Fleets
Wind gusts caught the cruise ship AIDAcara while it was departing
from the Vippetangen Cruise Terminal at Oslo. Both ship (a dent in its stern) and
quay (minor damage) survived the resulting allision. The ship redocked for a quick
checkout and departed late.
CCTV footage showed a woman in the process of divorce perching
atop a railing on the Carnival Spirit, and then she plunged
into the Tasman Sea. Her boyfriend, a paramedic, followed. Nobody noticed their
departure and neither were found.
Carnival Corp agreed to pay the US government for the expenses
of Navy and Coast Guard vessels involved in the tow of the fire-stricken Carnival
Triumph into Mobile, Alabama. The Coast Guard’s estimate? $1.5 million.
Similarly, Carnival will pay another $1.5 million for government services connected
with towing the fire-stricken Carnival Splendor off California.
[Carnival Corp’s ten brands (Carnival, Holland-America, Cunard,
P&O, Seabourne, P&O Australia, Costa, Princess, Iberia, and Aida) and their
101 cruise ships carry 48 percent of the cruise business, while RCL Group (40 ships),
MSC (13), Norwegian (12), and 33 other companies have another 115 ships.]
Those That Go Back and
Forth
A woman told rescuers that she had a newborn infant in her arms
when she “threw herself” off the Superfast VII ferry at Belfast last May.
Her tale triggered a massive but fruitless search lasting ten hours over two days.
The sad affair ended with her in court charged with wasting police time.
A deckhand who was acting as fourth officer on the British Columbia
coastal ferry Queen of the North was found guilty of criminal negligence causing
death. The ferry had missed a scheduled turn and struck Gil Island and sank, killing
two passengers. Prosecutors suggested he was distracted by the female quartermaster
because they were arguing or having sex. They had recently terminated a love affair.
At Douglas on the Isle of Man, the island ferry Ben-my-Cree
struck a berthing fender (probably what is called a dolphin in the US) hard enough
to need some quick patching above the waterline. No passengers were hurt.
In the Orkney Islands, ferry crews refused to take on additional
duties to cover absent crewmen over the Bank Holiday so passenger and cargo trips
were cancelled or ran late. The ferry company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council,
which has insisted that increased costs due to an increase in basic pay must be
funded by commensurate savings in other costs of employment but offered a 1 percent
pay increase anyhow. The three unions said this is unacceptable as it is less than
the rise in the retail price index and that the
maritime sector is a special case as the Council will be unable to recruit suitable
staff if the current workforce leaves (italics added).
Elsewhere in the Orkney Islands, a broken crankshaft disabled
the Stromness-Scrabsterferry Hamnavoe. A week later, it limped south
to Rosyth (near Edinburgh) on the other engine for repairs but the ferry may not
be ready in time to carry music-lovers to the four-day Orkney Folk Festival. Ferries
on other routes can fill the gap but that means revelers must own and use cars to
drive to the Festival. The ferry owners put the cargo-only ferry Helliar
on the route and expressed its managerial pride at handling the situation thusly:
"We are pleased that we have managed to secure a suitable location to repair
the
MV Hamnavoe at short notice."
The creditability of some foreign press reports is low. Take
this one:
“Over 100 passengers today had an escape when a ferry in which
they were travelling developed a technical fault in mid-Brahmaputra here, officials
said.
Inland
Water Transport's MV Kaziranga, en route to North Guwahati
from the city's southern part, developed a technical snag and started moving at
a rapid speed upstream they said.
IWT authorities
were immediately informed about the problem and another ferry was dispatched to
rescue the passengers” (italics added),
Energy
Many oil production wells also produce gas and it may be uneconomical
to get to a market so it is commonly burnt off in gas flares, a waste of energy
and a polluter of the atmosphere. The gas consists of useful methane plus heavier,
harmful hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane and butane. This gas cannot directly
be used as an engine fuel because it causes knocking or uncontrolled ignition but
eliminating the harmful components could raise the methane level to useful levels.
Now this conversion can be done on-site so the methane can be used in suitably designed
engines to generate electricity.
The Supreme Court in Belize ruled that offshore drilling contracts
issued by the Government in 2004 and 2007 were null and void, effectively ending
the Government's immediate effort to allow offshore oil drilling in the Mesoamerican
Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world. The reef is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site and a popular travel destination made famous by legendary ocean explorer Jacques
Cousteau. The Court cited failure to assess the environmental impact on Belize's
ocean and expressed concern about a company’s financial abilities. (It was the operator
of hotels and casinos before being given a secret concession to drill for Belize’s
oil.)
Legal Matters
Hong Kong, normally noted for its safe vessel operations, has
been up-tight ever since the collision between the ferry-type vessels Sea Smooth
and Lamma
IV killed 39, including eight children. A 2008 law required all vessels
to carry children’s lifejackets but the Lamma IV had none so a newspaper checked
six ferries and found that four did not have life jackets for children, one had
locked up its kiddie vests, the life jackets on another ferry were tied-up in plastic
bags inside cloth bags that had to be unclasped to open, and three ferries did not
display their certificates of survey. The last three ferries are owned by the same
company that operated the Sea Smooth.
In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive ruled that the Exeter
City Council must stand trial for the death of an 80-year-old woman who fell off
the hand-operated cable ferry in Exeter. The ferry [about 15-feet long] is manually
pulled across the River Exe using a overhead cable. Described by the council as
"one of only five floating bridges in the country,” the crossing is believed
to have been in use since the mid-17th Century. The woman fell because her walking
stick broke.
Nature
Because the tail of a seahorse is made of boxes based on four overlapping
L-shaped armored plates it can be compressed to about half its size before permanent
damage occurs. Researchers hope the same concept can be used to create a flexible
robotic arm equipped with muscles made out of polymer. This might prove useful in
medical devices, underwater exploration, and unmanned bomb detection and detonation.
A California woman pleaded guilty to feeding killer whales in
the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary without a permit. She operated a whale-watching
business and apparently wanted an edge over competitors.
Metal-Bashing
It isn’t poker but the ante keeps getting raised. A Korean shipbuilder
will construct five 18,400-TEU containerships for a Chinese firm. They will be the
world’s largest box ships, at least for a few months.
The size (and costs) of “tools” in the oil and gas world amaze
many. For example, a €22-million, 900-tonne active heave-compensated (as the ship
moves up and down the crane’s load doesn’t) subsea crane will be installed on a
$150-million multi-purpose offshore construction vessel.
Odd Bits and Headshakers
If you have the time to waste and a computer, why not search
for “smallest trans-Atlantic crossings.” You will find mention of a 3’-10” boat
and the tale of one sailor who sawed another inch off his tiny boat after an unsuccessful
attempt.
A relatively new forecasting model using four predictors with
above-average predictive values predicted a 72 percent probability of a major hurricane
making landfall along the entire US coastline this year versus a 52 percent average
for the past century. For the US East Coast including the Florida Peninsula, the
probability of landfall is 48 precent versus a 31 percent historic record. For the
Gulf Coast from the Florida Peninsula to Brownsville, Texas, the probability is
47 percent versus a 30 percent record. The model also estimates that the Caribbean
has a 61 percent probability versus 42 percent historically of experiencing a major
hurricane landfall. These higher-than-historic probabilities will keep the US petroleum
industry and nervous types everywhere on edge during the upcoming season.
It may be hard to believe but an anchor chain can become knotted
while a ship is at anchor. Such happened to the port anchor of the tanker British
Eagle and the knot became apparent when it tried to unmooor at Rotterdam.
Divers and two cranes managed to untie the knot in a little more than four hours.
It was Cowes Week 2011 in Great Britain, a time when very-proper
sailboat racing comes to the fore-front, but the world watched with amazement as
the racing sailboat Atalanta of Chester ignored an exclusion zone, sailed across the
bulbous bow on the oncoming tanker Hanne Knutsen, lost its mast on a protruding
anchor, and scraped down the length of the tanker as yachties jumped overboard,
leaving an injured man on board. The sailboat‘s skipper, a Royal Navy officer, recently
denied three charges of flouting maritime laws
by cutting across a narrow shipping channel as the tanker navigated the Solent.
(The specific charges were failing to keep a proper lookout and two charges of impeding
the passage of the 830-foot-long tanker.) A trial has been set for October. (It’s
a surprise to many sailors but a sailboat does not have the right of way if the
other vessel is constrained to a channel. See COLREG, Rule 18 (b).)
Can you teach an old seadog a new trick? It may be time to do
so. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued a 72-year-old Brit after he requested a medevac
from his 24-foot sailboat Erma about 70 miles east of Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina. He told the chopper crew that he had been unconscious for seven
hours and believed that he had fallen and hit his head. It was not his first rescue.
In 2000, he set out on a solo sail across the Atlantic from the UK. A broken rudder
ended that trip and he had to be rescued and lost his sailboat. He tried again in
2002 but got caught in a hurricane. He broke three ribs, was rescued, and lost his
sailboat. In 2005 he tried again, this time making it to Brazil – but then a storm,
a lost mast, and finally a sinking off Guyana led to another rescue and a third
lost sailboat. Now the loss of Erma makes it number four.
