Messages

1

Shipping News and information / Re: MARITIME and SHIP RELATED EVENTS in 2012 ?... please report / announce here...

« on: January 24, 2012, 10:06:34 AM »

UK - Bristol Harbour Festival 2012 - should get a few tall ships and lots of maritime heritage fun, starting on 23rd July - details to come on the website: link at http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/bristol-harbour-festival

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Shipping News and information / Re: Shipping tracking - South Korea to UK

« on: January 23, 2012, 10:11:29 AM »

Sorry for late reply - rule of thumb Far East to UK is 4 weeks although that will depend on voayage calls and port rotations.

John

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Shipping News and information / Re: Shipping tracking - South Korea to UK

« on: January 16, 2012, 03:47:50 PM »

Both the Blue Ridge Highway (20th) and Hyundai 107 (23rd) are ex S.Korea. Keep an eye on http://www.bristolport.co.uk/shipping-information/forward-movements for updates. A time of 0001 against a ship means that she is scheduled for that day but that the time is unconfirmed. A time that is not 00/15/30/45 minutes shows that she is scheduled for a particular tide - see vessel 'Sea Prince' for instance - ETA is 0411 which means expected on that particular tide which has a high water time of 0411.

John

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Shipping News and information / Mersey Mammoth

« on: November 25, 2011, 09:20:00 AM »

I am led to believe that the self-propelled crane barge Mersey Mammoth has been sold to new owners and is due to depart Liverpool shortly, attended by the tug Hibernia IMO7719686, bound for Ghent.

Any intel out there?

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Shipping News and information / Re: Containership "Rena" aground on reef near Port of Tauranga

« on: November 16, 2011, 12:03:02 PM »

Further to previous her deficiencies when inspected at NZ were;

Fixed fire extinguishing installation
Maintenance of the ship and equipment
Obstruction/slipping, etc.
Propulsion main engine
Doors within main vertical zone
Covers (hatchway-, portable-, tarpaulins, etc.)
Gangway, accommodation ladder
Charts
Lighting
Safe means of access
Stowage of lifeboats
Emergency Fire Pump
Railing, cat walks
Other (radio)
Lifeboat inventory
Fire-dampers
Auxiliary engine

and six days previously in Aus.......

nautical publications
MF/HF radio installation
voyage data recorder (VDR)
operational readiness of life-saving appliances
lifeboats
operational readiness of life-saving appliances
electric equipment in general
electric equipment in general
other (machinery)
jacketed piping system for high-pressure fuel lines
15 PPM alarm arrangements
stowage of cargo
covers (hatchway-, portable-, tarpaulins, etc.)
fire prevention
rudder angle indicator
other (SOLAS operational)
maintenance of the ship and equipment

She looked reasonably well run until late 2010 when she changed owners (and I assume crew). After the new owners took over it was a rapid descent to notoriety. MSC are very culpable in this in that they set their own standards but we are all well aware that the profit driver can lead many into making gross errors of judgement.
What I want to know is why the Master left the ship? In my time as Master I would only have abandoned ship (having already evacuated non-essential personnel) when the water was lapping the bottom of the lifeboats. Similarly most of the Chief Engineers I sailed with would not have left the ship and would have assisted in the transfer of fuel etc. I am unaware if the Master was arrested and taken ashore but herein lies a legal quagmire in that the ship would therefore not have been abandoned and thus free to salvage. I ended my career as a ship captain because of the knee-jerk reaction of governments worldwide to 'bang-up' the Master, who may just be the person that is required for a speedy resolution. BUT this assumes that the Master is well trained and competent and we know that this is not always the case. Rant ends.....

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Shipping News and information / Re: Some questions about navigation and ship handling.

« on: August 23, 2011, 08:17:09 AM »

Bob's reply is spot on, for clarity one knot if measured over the ground is 1852 metres per hour.

The effect which makes a vessel deeper in shallow water is called 'squat'. It is a constant subject for discussion and argument and as an ex-pilot I can say that the generic formula for squat is incorrect. The most important thing is to understand that squat exists and that it is a function of speed, if you feel your vessel starting to behave oddly or increase vibration then back off the speed (but not too quickly that you lose steerage).

7

Shipping News and information / Rare cruise ship visit at Bristol Royal Portbury 21st July

« on: July 20, 2011, 08:52:29 AM »

The Prinsendam will be visiting Bristol's Royal Portbury Dock tomorrow Thursday 21st July. Cruise ships into this dock are very very rare so it may be a good opportunity for some spotters. The pilot is boarding at Breaksea at 0630 so the ship will be at Portishead Point at 0800 hrs. Departure is set for 2300 hrs.

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Shipping News and information / HMS Gloucester - final 'home port' visit

« on: May 04, 2011, 10:28:28 AM »

HMS Gloucester (T42 Destroyer) will be calling at Avonmouth tomorrow for 5 days - this is her final home port liaison visit before being scrapped.
She should be visible from Portishead Point on Thursday 5th May from about 0815 hours onwards and she is scheduled a lock at 0900 hrs. She will depart from Avonmouth lock on Tuesday 10th May at about 1230 hrs.
Don't forget to look at http://www.bristolport.co.uk/shipping-information/forward-movements

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Shipping News and information / Re: Shipspotting Information please

« on: April 18, 2011, 08:47:38 AM »

Goole has a public right of way over the inner lock gates and it has two swinging bridges that are good places for seeing ships moving. It's a fairly close town centre/docks area so a general walk around will have you see most of the ships in dock. Immingham is more restricted I believe, there used to be a public bus service that ran throught the docks, passing the lockside pub, but I don't know what the score is today. However if you get the shipping schedule off ABP's website then Spurn Point is a fantastic viewing area especially if the sun is shining, the beach isn't bad either. I think you have to pay to get there though.

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Shipping News and information / Re: Shipspotting at Portishead

« on: April 06, 2011, 08:00:28 AM »

Bob

If I'm not too late......
On the Bristol Port Company website in the Forward Movements section there is a column A-PO, this is the arriving ship pilot order time. Ships generally take 1.5 to 2 hours to get from the pilot station (at Breaksea) to Battery Point. If you look also in the In-Dock section then again look for PO Time, a ship will take between 35 mins to an hour to leave from the lock into the estuary.
Whilst Battery Point is a good viewing spot, I prefer the Royal Inn (Pier Road, Portishead) which overlooks both Avonmouth and Portbury. Beer and food are very good :-)

John (Deputy Haven Master)

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Shipping News and information / Re: Maersk to replace danish officers by asians

« on: October 23, 2009, 08:38:04 AM »

I was exposed to many different nationalities whilst in senior ranks but my final trip as Captain was with Asian officers and it ended my seagoing career. It is the culture with which we will never merge, Europeans tend to have a 'can-do' attitude whereas Asians have a need for constant guidance. They will generally follow the rules and where there is no rule or guidance they will stall. I have experienced this as Chief Officer, Master and Pilot. I have sailed with some useless Europeans but, anecdotally, there would be one bad apple in ten, whereas with Asians theer would only be one star in ten. I left the sea as I was forced to sail with third world junior officers and it just raised my stress level. I worked for Maersk many years ago with British officers and the company's standards were upheld by the loyalty and competence of its officers. It looks as though Maersk have succumbed to financial pressure and it will tarnish their reputation accordingly. Very sad.