ShipSpotting.com Forum
Shipspotters all over the world => Shipping News and information => Topic started by: Jens Heri on April 15, 2007, 09:03:27 PM
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At around 20:20 GMT Bourbon Dolphin finaly sank.
At the time she was no longer attached to the oil rig.
The deept is 1100 meter
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I havent been keeping up with this for a few days. Did they get the bodies out or anyone out alive?
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No bodies have been found since the accident.
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This is just horrible. My thought (and the thoughts of everyone here I am sure) goes out to the families of the victims.
The Norwegian authorities will investigate the casualty with vigour, which they are known to do in such tragedies. They must get to the bottom of this so it never ever happens again.
Mats
Oslo
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If it was this unstable how on earth were they going to tow it to a harbour.. would have been another disaster if this sunk while being attached to a tug(s). 1.1km down could they recover this ship for investigation?
Thoughts are with all the families involved.
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Very bad news. Both for the families and relatives of the missing crewmembers, and for the shipping company. As if the vessel could have been towed safely to the shore and turned up, she could have been repaired. Now about
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So very sad that this happened, and more sad that she sank, preventing any attempted recovery of the bodies of her crew remaining inside.
Many years ago I witnessed a harbor tug capsizing; fortunately the crew all escaped and survived. It was a sudden and terrible event. Apparently miscommunication led to the ship getting underway while the tug was still connected. There was a lot of slack in the line, it led straight aft and over the tug's stern. In an instant it came taut and snapped around to the port side, pulling the tug over. It happened in a matter of seconds. A crewman on the ship reacted quickly and cut the line with an ax. Not soon enough to prevent the capsizing, but fast enough to prevent the overturned hull from being dragged along, which might have killed the crewmen who were in the water.
I mention this because I saw how quickly things can go badly in the midst of normal operations. It would seem that the anchor line somehow came to be led over the side rather than over the stern, perhaps she dropped and turned suddenly from wave action. that would appear to be the only way to lose stability so quickly, but this is only speculation.
Prayers for those who did not survive and for their families. Now we just hope that the cause can be learned, so this tragedy will never occur again.
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Vox wrote:
At around 18:30 GMT Bourbon Dolphin finaly sank.
At the time she was no longer attached to the platform.
The deept is 1100 meter
Hi Vox
This piece freom the BBC web site @
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6558439.stm
"Capsized rig support vessel sinks
Seven of the 15 crew members survived the tragedy
The oil rig support ship which capsized off Shetland, killing eight of the crew, may not be raised after it sank.
The Bourbon Dolphin overturned in the Atlantic on Thursday and coastguards said it sank at 2115 BST on Sunday.
Among those who lost their lives in the tragedy was a 14-year-old boy who was on work experience.
On Sunday, relatives of the dead crew members had gathered at a beach in Lerwick for a memorial service before flying over the upturned ship.
Three bodies have so far been recovered and five others are missing, presumed dead. It is thought their bodies may still be inside the boat.
Mr Hafsas said he could not feel happy about being rescued
Survivor's story
The ship's operator, Bourbon Offshore, had hoped to tow the vessel back to shore.
Describing the ship as "very unstable", Shetland Coastguard watch manager Neil Cumming said: "It was released from a rig yesterday and slowly it began to sink."
It is now thought unlikely the Bourbon Dolphin will be raised from the seabed, about 3,500ft down.
Survivors of the capsize joined relatives of the victims on the Sands of Sound beach where a service was conducted in Norwegian.
Report findings
One crew member, Egil Hafsas, described what happened when the boat overturned.
He said he was on deck when the ship lurched and started to list.
He ran into the accommodation part of the main deck, grabbed a life vest and shouted for everyone to leave.
Then he jumped into the water along with two young trainees just before the ship rolled over into the sea.
Bourbon Offshore released the names of the dead and missing crew members, who included 14-year-old David Rem
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Hi,
are there more details about the events that led to the accident?
I feel very sorry for the loss of lives.
All my prayers will go to them and their families.
Regards
Cedric
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Fred over deres minne. Ah, this is sad. The fourteen-year old boy that traveled with his father is one of the missing that presumably went down with her.
Rest in peace, guys....
Tomas sandefjord Norway
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The Dutch salvage contactors Smit Salvage have this morning started the salvage operation of the capsized anchor handling supply tug \'Bourbon Dolphin\'.
The salvage operation plan is to recover the chain between the 'Transocean Rather' rig and the 'Bourbon Dolphin'. The 'Olympic Hercules' and the 'Vider Vicking' remain on scene to assist in the recovery of the chain; the 'Highland Valour' is also expected to be on scene later tonight to support the operation.
Eventually Smit Salvage hope to be able to tow the 'Boubon Dolphin' back to Shetland
Regards
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i wonder,if they ever will find out the reason for the capsizing of the vessel,which is now deep at the sea bottom.
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Hi,
Please forgive my ignorance but when SMIT say they are going to eventually tow Bourbon Dolphin back to Shetland, how on earth are they to accomplish that feat ??? If it is about a kilometer down surely that would prohibit recovery of the Bourbon Dolphin ?
Regards
Richy.
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richyD ,the salvage plan you refer to was drawn up to deal with the situation at the time, a capsized but floating vessel. Following the sinking, the situation has changed completely, so fresh decisions will have to be made.
According to the Bourbon website most of the Smit team had left the site before midday on the 16th April.
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Sandy wrote:
richyD ,the salvage plan you refer to was drawn up to deal with the situation at the time, a capsized but floating vessel. Following the sinking, the situation has changed completely, so fresh decisions will have to be made.
According to the Bourbon website most of the Smit team had left the site before midday on the 16th April.
Hi Sandy
Chances are that the vessel will never be recovered - sad but true.
Regards
Steve Ellwood
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Hi,
Do you think they will be able to retrieve the missing crewmen from that depth ? I hope so, can't imagine what the families are going through.
Regards
Richy.
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RichyD wrote:
Hi,
Do you think they will be able to retrieve the missing crewmen from that depth ? I hope so, can't imagine what the families are going through.
Regards
Richy.
Hi RicyD
The wreck is lying a 3,600 feet - too deep for a human to dive. I suppose it's for the owners and insrurers to decide the commercial reality of carrying out a salvage to raise her. My own opinion is that she will be left as a grave. However much depends also on what the relatives want - human emotion can put a great deal of weight onto whatever decision is taken!
Regards
Steve Ellwood
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I think the Norwegian govt might end up doing it.
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Hi again,
How difficult would it be to raise the ship from those depths ?
Richy.
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Extremely difficult. At somewhere in the neighborhood of 3500 feet, it is too deep for divers, so all work has to be done with ROVs, initially. Smit are true experts in this field, however, so I'm sure they are up to it...the only question being, is anyone willing to pay the price...financially and emotionally. Maybe it is better to leave her as a grave on the bottom, as Bourbon Offshore is fully insured and can always build another ship. Most recoverable vessels are at much shallower depths, the Mighty Servant 3 sank in 52m or 171 feet in December, 2006.
From their website, Smit (http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=1095) stated of the Mighty Servant 3 salvage: "the
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pinemikey,
Let's say that the company who own the ship decided to leave it where it lay, as you said as a grave, and the relatives of the missing crewmen wanted to raise it to recover their loved one's, would there be a legal obligation to raise it by the owner ???
Richy.
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RichyD wrote:
pinemikey,
Let's say that the company who own the ship decided to leave it where it lay, as you said as a grave, and the relatives of the missing crewmen wanted to raise it to recover their loved one's, would there be a legal obligation to raise it by the owner ???
Richy.
Hi Richy
The answer to that is no - there is no obligation. Only have to look at the case of the Gaul for confirmation of that. Now if we are talking "emotional obligation", now that is a different kettle of fish :-x
I reckon the answer will be that unless there is an industry wide need to know why she sunk and the only way to do that is by salvaging the vessel, then she will lie as a grave.
Regards
Steve Ellwood
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I feel you are correct, Steve and I agree, but not being a lawyer - and I stand to be corrected by some of the one's who are good enough to contribute to this site and these discussions, I would think there would be no legal requirement to recover crew member's remains. Maybe it might be required if an inquest into their deaths or an investigation into the sinking was called for. Outside a call for an investigation then this would usually be the place where a government entity would step in and request (ie pay) the salvage company for recovery.
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Hay man, check out the estonia-tragedy, there was quite a lot of fuzz about raising the ship, trying to get up the dead, and so forth. Check it out, pretty raw stuff.
Tomas sandefjord Norway
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Hello,
I've just registered and I hope you don't mind me posting some comments.
I am one of the people who hope the Bourbon Dolphin will be raised. If I had the money, I even paid the raising myself. There has to be someone who has enough energy and/or money to make the raising happen. For the men and the boy who lost their lives in this tragic accident. For their families. And for the ship, which really shouldn't lie there after just half a year of service. Don't let them remain swallowed by the ocean. Please. :-(
Regards
Jean
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I can`t agree to that. Almost every day people lose their lives at sea and are trapped within wrecks, and no one cares, if they are, f.e., Philippinos or Chinese. A ship is a grave as well as that on a cemetary. Raising the wreck would cost a horrible sum which could f.e. better be spent on research on safer ships. And the "Bourbon Dolphin" itself won`t be much of a ship worth repairs after having drifted upside down for some days and then making a descent of 11 metres.
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The loss of the "Bourbon Dolphin" was not as singular an event as sometimes called in the recent days. F.e., on 19th October 2003 a Danish AHT, the "STEVNS POWER", sank whilst operating off the Nigerian Coast. She was at the time moving an anchor, one of 12, that was holding the position of the "CASTORO OTTO", a pipe laying vessel. Unlike the BOURBON DOLPHIN she was not a new vessel, being built in 1976, but the procedure was one she and her crew were largely familiar with and had been doing so regularly for at least two years with the CASTORO OTTO. It is the job of an anchor handler to re-position the anchors that keep a rig or other sea platform in their desired position. The CASTORO OTTO was laying a gas pipe and needed to relocate her anchors. Late that afternoon STEVNS POWER began operations to relocate anchor No.10. She lifted the anchor off the sea bed and indicated she had done so and CASTORO OTTO's winch then began pulling the anchor wire with STEVNS POWER manoeuvring astern as this was done. The tug then executed a turn, necessary to keep the anchor cable following a straight line to the new position for the anchor, when suddenly she heeled over. It appeared that her stern plunged below the surface of the sea and within a minute the vessel was so overpowered by the ingress of water she capsized, leaving just her bow sticking out of the water. None of her 11 crew survived the tragedy. A subsequent inquiry concluded that factors which had contributed to the loss of the vessel and her crew included: Lack of proper safety procedures between the pipe laying vessel and STEVNS POWER, the practice of having very little freeboard aft to allow easier lifting of the anchor buoy, the turning manoeuvre and the speed at which the anchor line was pulled in from the client ship. The tug was going astern too fast. Open hatches and perhaps open watertight doors (the heat in the region probably meant crew left doors open instead of closing them as is normal practice during anchor handling) There were other factors that could have contributed, but the inquiry did not have sufficient evidence to establish if they did: these included the anchor wires snagging, failure of steering gear (the STEVNS POWER had had problems with this before the incident), lack of experience on part of the navigator at the helm at the time or fatigue on his part. The report also concluded with a warning to crews not to wish for speedier, but safer operations. A few minutes saving was not worth the risks involved. The tragedy focussed minds on how potentially dangerous anchor handling is. Here were experienced hands on a vessel that had performed such tasks over and over again, often many times in a day, and in the relatively calm waters off the African coast.
Every day in our waters these vessels, with the expertise of their masters and crew, bravely carry out their duties in seas that can be hostile indeed. The general public never give such matters a second thought, nor do many shipping buffs for that matter, and whether or no the BOURBON DOLPHIN tragedy proves to have any similarities with the one in 2003, we must always remember that it can take just one minute for any operation to change from routine to disaster
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Timsen wrote:
I can`t agree to that. Almost every day people lose their lives at sea and are trapped within wrecks, and no one cares, if they are, f.e., Philippinos or Chinese. A ship is a grave as well as that on a cemetary. Raising the wreck would cost a horrible sum which could f.e. better be spent on research on safer ships. And the "Bourbon Dolphin" itself won`t be much of a ship worth repairs after having drifted upside down for some days and then making a descent of 11 metres.
Hi Timsen
Agreed - and what cost in potential life loss and injury in performing an operation to raise her from the 11,000 metres - best to let her and her lost crew lie in my opinion.
Regards
Steve Ellwood
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Just noticed that a few minutes ago Two tugs the Olympic Hercules and Highland Valour have both left Aberdeen harbour on route to the Transocean Rather. There was another yesterday but cannot remember it's name. I guess this is to deal with what the Dolphin never finished than for any other reason.
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First of, all my condolence to all the families. It's always a tragedy when a accident at sea happens.
With this said, it's "odd" that a vessel with such a good stability can capsized. Yet again they have a low freeboard and are towing a line from the rig. This means that the "heavy sea" where abel to move towline over the side and thereby make it capsize.
Simon
Svendborg, Denmark
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I posted this also in the other thread here concerning this tragedy. Can any of our Norwegian or danish friends translate?
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12617&d=1177370653
Thanks,