Mega Vsl Gunvor Maersk crashes into felixstowe crane

[Milind Balaji]

The following is being reported out of the port of felixstowe, Suffolk:

Ship crashes into new

[Andrew McAlpine]

It would be nice to see any pics of the incident, the incident happend approx 0300hrs and according to Maersk the Gunvor Maersk

[Andrew McAlpine]

It would be nice to see any pics of the incident, the crane could be out of action for up to nine months.
The incident happend approx 0300hrs and according to Maersk the Gunvor Maersk

[Mats]

Here's a short news story about it, with a few pictures of the crane (none of the vessel, though):

http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=znews&itemid=IPED13%20Mar%202006%2018%3A34%3A13%3A250

Best regards
Mats
Oslo

[Milind Balaji]

What baffles me is why Gunvor Maersk was not protected adequately by her forward and aft tugs. I am not sure what part of the vsl came into contact with the gantry crane, but since the tugs would presumably be holding the line at the bow and the stern, why didnt they scramble and pull the vsl away from the wharf??
Also, the G class vessels have 2 stern and bow thrusters therefore these could have been engaged as well. The vsl being so new is further making this an odd incident.


Milind

[Charles McAllister]

As Milind says, this account creates more questions than it answers, mostly about why tugs, multiple thrusters, and backup control systems were unable to keep one of the newest and largest containerships in the world from making contact with a port crane.  Looking forward to more information.

Regards to all,

Charles

[eastsailor]

It's looking like the incident of the Savannah Express in Southampton last July:
Big ship, engine troubles and shore contact... I think jumbotisation of the vessel will require a complete rethinking of docking operation and maybe more training on simulators!

Best Regards

Eastsailor

[Ian G Hardie]

Somebody please correct me if i'am wrong.
Their is only one large tug and a couple of smaller vessels at Felixstowe these days the Trimley a few years ago any large ship berthing would have had two in them days i  belive their was a fleet of five or six large tugs plus several smaller vessels
dumpieship

[John Jones]

I don't know too much about goings on at Felixstowe, it not being my local port. But somebody on this site has posted a picture of her more successful departure and said that the first one involved NO tugs.
When I visited there last year I was surprised at how the Anna Maersk swung a 180 degree turn with the assistance of just one tug, in the Thames at Northfleet Hope Container Terminal this would never happen. Obviously there must be different rules regarding tug use at Felixstowe, and presumably it is not as critical as in the Thames regarding depth of water. As I watched Lars Maersk exiting the Thames last Sunday I overheard on the radio the pilot on board a BP tanker departing Coryton say that he would wait for her to pass before swinging, upon which the pilot on the Maersk boat said 'I am going as fast as I can with this draught'. I think there is so little water available that it is critical to have the tugs to avoid going aground let alone hitting a shoreside crane. Maybe there will be a review of procedures at Felixstowe now?
regards
John J.

[Ian G Hardie]

Thinking back a couple of other incidents spring to mind
in the eighties a South African ship hit the quay and knocked a couple of cranes off their rails.
In the ninties the wind blew one crane in to a second one although these did not seem damaged they had to shut part of the quay and totally dismantle the cranes to check for cracks  they were out of service for months

dumpieship

[Hawkeye]

Hi
Having been based at Felixstowe for about 18 years, followed by 2 years at Harwich, I don't recall seeing any of the large ships without tugs in attendance only the Roro ships. But do they need them? With ships these days with massive engine power, bow & stern thrusters, it will make sense to use it, rather then paying for tugs.
As for your comment about the number of tugs in Felixstowe, I'am sure there are more then one of the larger tugs, but I will check to make sure.
The dock basin, I think, is due to be filled in shortly and this is where the tugs are berthed. Where will they go?

Regards

Karl
 :-)

[Milind Balaji]

Some good information provided by John. I was reading about what he said above of the conversation between the 2 pilots on board the BP Tanker and Lars Maersk and it brings to the fore an important point. The smaller the distance between the ship's bottom and the seabed the worse the manouverability of the ship itself.
Large vessels like capesize bulkers and tankers when fully loaded have a lot of draught and find it very hard to make turns and use their rudder/propeller to full effect. What I am leading up to is that these huge post-panamax vessels have a deep draught and this is precisely why I would imagine they need more help from tugs nearby and MUST have a suitable backup plan.
Someone above made a great point above that these new mega vessels turning etc in small basins and ports need to have new procedures in place to adequately protect ship and property from damage in the event of a failure like on Gunvor Maersk. The incident was bad but could have been a lot worse had she been at higher speed. Just a few more thoughts from my side.

Milind

[Charles McAllister]

More random thoughts:

A few years ago I was  troubleshooting on-board systems on cruise ships and viewed a number of engineering control spaces.  One point made by virtually all engineers was the control backups and emergency plans for in-port manuevering.  I was impressed at the seeming thoroughness of emergency planning, and I had assumed that major cargo lines would have similar systems.  Maybe not so?

About 15 years ago there was a ship-crane collision in Port Newark, in New Jersey in the US.  A Saudi owned ship broke her mooring lines during high winds and collided with a container crane, toppling it.  There were serious injuries and the crane was a total loss.  These cranes are incredibly at risk and vulnerable to vessel mishaps.

Searching the name Gunvor Maersk I found some photos of her manuevering out of the shipyard pier, under her own power with thruster wake visible, but with tugs connected fore and aft.

Regards to all,

Charles

[Milind Balaji]

You are absolutely correct Charles, thats why I am surprised that a company like AP moller Maersk had this little mishap. More embarrasing because this is one of their so called Flagships!
From my time on board various vessels, I was always aware of their backup plans for various problems, especially fire and environmental mishaps. One frequent problem many ships face is a loss of power during manouvering. This is a serious worry for all on board because a ship without power is a serious accident waiting to happen. With this in mind, it beats me as to why one of the worlds largest ships was so unprotected during a critical phase of manouvering.

Milind

[rgr004]

Was Gunvor Maersh assisted by tugs at the time of the incident ? I would be surprised that no tugs were requested in windy conditions. A collision with a gantry cranes occured in Mobile (Alabama) about 15 days ago and 1 person was killed by the collapse of the crane.

roland