Author Topic: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk  (Read 17715 times)

Offline Richy

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #15 on: April 17, 2007, 02:01:39 PM »
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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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #16 on: April 17, 2007, 02:22:06 PM »
Quote

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

Offline Bruce Sutherland

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #17 on: April 17, 2007, 06:17:32 PM »
I think the Norwegian govt might end up doing it.

Offline Richy

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #18 on: April 18, 2007, 12:17:12 PM »
Hi again,

How difficult would it be to raise the ship from those depths ?

Richy.

Offline Michael Martin

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #19 on: April 18, 2007, 02:04:07 PM »
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 stated of the Mighty Servant 3 salvage: "the

Offline Richy

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #20 on: April 18, 2007, 03:00:45 PM »
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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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #21 on: April 18, 2007, 03:38:43 PM »
Quote

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

Offline Michael Martin

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #22 on: April 18, 2007, 03:58:59 PM »
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.

Offline Tomas

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #23 on: April 18, 2007, 05:39:10 PM »
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

Offline 5501

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #24 on: April 18, 2007, 06:45:44 PM »
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

Offline Timsen

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #25 on: April 19, 2007, 07:32:12 AM »
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.

Offline Timsen

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #26 on: April 19, 2007, 09:30:49 AM »
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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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #27 on: April 19, 2007, 04:06:20 PM »
Quote

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

Offline Bruce Sutherland

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #28 on: April 20, 2007, 08:09:12 PM »
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.

Offline Simon Olesen

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Re: Bourbon Dolphin is sunk
« Reply #29 on: April 20, 2007, 08:22:11 PM »
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

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Best regards

Simon Olesen
Denmark

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