Tag: hazardous weather at sea

HMS Protector punches through Antarctic ice The Navy's Antarctic patrol ship had to punch her way through ice to first deliver, then pick up a team of scientists as the pack ice threatened to trap them - and the ship.The Portsmouth-based survey ship was charged with putting a small team from the British Antarctic Survey ashore so they could collect geological samples on remote James Ross Island off the eastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.She did so courtesy of her small work boat, Terra Nova, which carefully negotiated the ice field to land the scientists and their equipment, including sufficient food and fuel to last up to 30 days in one of the world's most inhospitable locations.While the scientists got to work, the weather and ice forecasts aboard the survey ship began to look increasingly unfavourable.After four days on James Ross Island, the decision was made to pull the scientists out much earlier than anticipated - a change of wind direction meant there was a chance ice from the Weddell Sea would be driven towards James Ross Island - potentially blocking HMS Protector in, like a cork in a bottle.Protector's Commanding Officer Capt Peter Sparkes decided the safest and least ...

Oil tanker was forced aground by high waves and heavy winds Sharjah/ Ras Al Khaimah Rough seas left four ships stranded in UAE waters while an empty oil tanker was forced aground by high waves and heavy winds Sunday.The UAE coast guard had a field day as they struggled to rescue the crew members from the vessels, with inclement weather hampering their efforts.Waves were reported to be as high as eight metres around the shore, which forced the oil tanker aground near Sharjah's Hamriyah port.The 40 metre Dredger II, which was coming from Ajman, hit the breakwater of Hamriyah port, following which the waves pushed it on top of the breakwater, an official said.Two Asian crew members of the ship survived the incident and were rescued by the coast guard. They are reported to be in good condition and are awaiting outpasses to return home."If the tanker falls from the breakwater it will go down on top of another oil tanker, Lady Moon, which sank on January 24 in similar weather conditions,'' an official at Khalid Port told Gulf News Sunday."Lady Moon, Hamd II and Dredger II posed a real threat to the outer seawall off Al Hamriya Port,'' the ...

Cargo ship capsized in the South China Sea Nineteen people were rescued and three people remained missing following a shipwreck off the coast of south China's Guangdong Province Wednesday night, local marine authorities said.The municipal marine rescue center of Shantou received a report at 9:27 p.m. that a cargo ship capsized in the South China Sea near the Nan'ao Cross-sea Bridge, which is currently under construction, throwing its eight crew members into the water.A container vessel then hit the wrecked ship and lost power, stranding 14 people on board and endangering the nearby bridge construction, the center said.As of noon on Thursday, 19 people had been rescued from the water and from the stranded vessel, while rescuers continued to search for the three missing people.An initial probe found that sea conditions were rough when the accidents happened.Source: Xinhua

Horizon Reliance containership rescue operation Horizon Lines, Inc. announced that one of its vessels enroute to Hawaii from the U.S. West Coast rescued three sailboat passengers, including a nine-year-old boy, adrift in stormy seas in the predawn hours of February 8, 2012.Captain James Kelleher and the crew of the 893-ft. Horizon Reliance containership were directed by the U.S. Coast Guard to alter course at full speed to assist the 33-ft. sailboat and its crew of three. The sailboat, said to be traveling from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Hilo, Hawaii, was reported to be adrift without power, with all sails destroyed, approximately 411 nautical miles east of Honolulu. Weather conditions were poor, with southwesterly winds gusting to 40 knots and sea swells in the 20-ft. range. Horizon Lines is a member of AMVER, a voluntary program sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard for mutual vessel assistance and rescue.The rescue took place at approximately 2 a.m. local time and all three passengers are now aboard the Horizon Reliance and reported to be in good health and spirits. The Horizon Reliance is scheduled to arrive in Honolulu at 4 a.m. local time on February 9, 2012. At that time, the rescued passengers, three ...

Adverse weather conditions have not affected freight transportation Adverse weather conditions have not affected freight transportation in the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan State Caspian Shipping Company (CASPAR) told Trend on Wednesday.According to the report, oil cargo is transported between the ports in normal mode. Also, ferry service is carried out between the ports."The weather conditions have not affected sea operations," CASPAR said.Severe snowstorm began in Baku in early Wednesday morning.As the Bureau of Hydro-meteorological Forecasts of the National Hydrometeorology Department of the Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry told Trend earlier, frost will rise within the day.On Feb.8, 3 - 5 degrees below zero, as well as snowstorm will be observed within the day.On the night of Feb.8 the minimum temperature in Baku is expected at 6-10 degrees below zero.It will snow in the Azerbaijani regions until early morning hours on Feb.9.Source: en.trend.az

Dry cargo ship Vera sank in a storm one mile off the coast of the Black Sea A dry cargo ship sank off the Black Sea coast of Turkey Tuesday and eight members of the 11-strong Polish crew were missing, Turkish media said.The Cambodian-registered dry cargo ship Vera was sailing from Russia to the Turkish Aegean port of Aliaga and sank in a storm one mile off the coast of the Black Sea port of Zonguldak, CNN Turk said.Three members of the crew were saved and taken to hospital, the television channel said, but coast guards and police were still searching for the eight others.Turkey has been hit by extreme weather and snow storms over the past week. There were gale warnings Tuesday for parts of the Marmara, Black Sea and Aegean, a shipping agent said.The Bosphorus Straits, a key shipping route passing through the city of Istanbul, was closed to all vessels Tuesday because of poor visibility caused by a snowstorm, coast guard officials said.Source: Reuters

Anothr disaster - The boat sank in bad weather A passenger ship has sunk off Iran, killing at least nine people.Twenty-two people were on-board the vessel, when it went down off the Iranian coast near Bandar Abbas.Five people have been rescued, but several are still missing.The boat sank in bad weather from sailing from an island to Bandar Abbas.It's believed the boat ran out of fuel, before capsizing in heavy winds.Source: Sky News

Weather is becoming more unpredictable and possibly violent There is a tendency these days perhaps to be a bit blasé about bad weather. Whatever one's view of climate change might be and the suggestion that weather is becoming more unpredictable and possibly violent, nobody can deny that shipping remains heavily weather-dependent. Indeed, it could be argued that we are likely to become more so if horsepower is to be penalised and slow steaming becomes "institutionalised". Just as the old sailing ship men were adept at using the weather to their best advantage, it could well be that the weather component of seamanship becomes more - not less, important - as the century progresses.All enclosed wheelhouses, externally generated weather forecasts and weather routeing services, along with reliable power plants, may well combine to almost isolate the mariner from the meteorological conditions, suggesting that weather is "somebody else's" business. Nothing could be further from the truth, although it is a regrettable fact that charterers often attempt to "micromanage" the conduct of a voyage by trespassing into areas that are more appropriately left to the Master.Charterers themselves, particularly those without seagoing experience, need to take a step back and learn something about the ...

No one was injured A Pirate-themed cruise ship carrying about 100 passengers ran aground in heavy fog on New Year's Eve, but no one was apparently injured.Public safety officials in Clearwater said late Saturday that crews responded at the Memorial Causeway Bridge when the cruise ship, the Pirate's Ransom, ran aground in the Intracoastal Waterway. A second vessel, Island Times, attempted to take some of the passengers to shore but it also ran aground. Police and fireboats were taking passengers to shore late Saturday night.A city press release says a 77-year-old woman was examined at the scene but refused treatment. There were no immediate reports of injuries.Built in 1993, the Pirate's Ransom is a 70-foot-long vessel that can carry 125 passengers, according to the web site of its operator, Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise."Get lost in the pirate antics of treasure hunts, face painting, water gun games, stories and dancing for all," the web site says.Authorities said fog is believed to have been a factor in the ships running aground. Clearwater is located about 30 miles north of St. Petersburg, on the Gulf coast.Source: AP

Due to the cylone Thane A Korean cargo vessel, OSM Arena, with 14 members on board drifted towards the Chennai coast following heavy wind due to cyclone Thane. The storm with wind speeds of 140 kmph made landfall this morning between Cuddalore and Puducherry.The ship is carrying around 400 tonnes of bunker fuel, and was seen a few metre opposite INS Adayar (one of the Naval stations), south off the Chennai port.Last night, the ship drifted towards the coast as its winch, which is used to drop the anchor, broke down. The Chennai Port Trust is sending its engineers to repair the winch. Despite the ship being outside the Chennai port's limits, the port trust is sending two tugs to tow the ship to high seas, said the Port Trust's Chairman Atulya Mishra."There is no danger due to the bunker oil. I personally spoke to the captain of the ship, and he said that things are under control. The ship can keep sailing within the limits," Mishra told Business Line.Currently, the ship is safe and is sailing. The draft level opposite INS Adayar is eight metres, which is enough for that vessel.Mr Mishra said that for the last one month, ...