Container ship sinking in Channel

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having seen the tv news report I am astounded this large vessel was abandoned in favour of a liferaft/lifeboat

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No No No No No No! YOU CANNOT suggest that on this forum, I was slaughtered the last time I suggested a floating vessel is a better refuge than a life raft!
 
Just watched the report on the Ten O'clock BBC News. The ship was only shown briefly but it was red and the shot was taken fron a helicopter which also filmed the winchman going down to pick the crew up. I think it was unlikely to be "stock footage".
The following link shows the boat left Felixstowe on 14/1/07 having come from Las Palmas and next stop was Antwerp. Gross tonnage 53409, length 276metres.
http://www.portoffelixstowe.co.uk/shipping/frmSailingSchedule.aspx?historical=1
 
Just watched the ITV News which had a clear picture of the rear of the ship, including name, and it was as the libary pictures I referred to earlier. Ship was dark/black colour. The BBC pictures show the same rescue but the ship shown was red but the camera must have focused on one of the ships standing by, possibly the car transporter as there was no deck cargo!!
 
The Ch4 news showed a container ship with multiple layers of containers on deck.

So it the footage was taken today from a rescue helicopter, it would have been shared equally between the news agencies, hence suggesting that what was shown was stock footage, if what you saw on BBC was not a container ship at all?
 
Not a British ship as the term was once understood.

Owned by Zodiac Maritime Agencies, i.e. the Ofer group, who were more or less Israeli when I last met them. Built at Samsung in 1991 (not a yard then noted for containerships) and classed by DNV (not a classification society noted for containerships) and chartered to MSC who are pretty much Italian.
 
but a british ship in every legal sense, using the word 'british' in every sense ..........

and with a couple of british cadets (partially funded by the british taxpayer) to benefit from the tonnage tax rules.

I would estimate the vessels annual tax liabilities to the exchequer would be a couple of thousand pounds a year, ...... impressive what this gov has done to the 'british' merchant navy huh /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
(from today's "Lloyd's List"):

"The 4,427 teu vessel’s multinational crew includes two British cadets, as well as Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Turks, Indians and Filipinos.

MSC Napoli – ex-CGM Normandie – has undergone three port state control inspections in the last 12 months. Although three deficiencies were discovered at Le Havre on November 23, they were all of minor character.

Zodiac declined to comment by telephone, and has yet to respond to an email requesting further information."

I think it is mor probable that, absent Tonnage Tax, the ship would never have been registered in Britain nor would her owners have maintained anything more than a chartering office, paying tax on 1.25% of fixtures, here in Britain.

The real damage to the British merchant navy was done by Geoffrey Howe in 1979, when he abolished free depreciation and rollover relief in Thatcher's first Budget.

Things don't change much - once those cadets look for a post, they find that they are paying tax and National Insurance whilst their Filipino colleagues are paying nothing because as overseas workers they are tax and SSS exempt in the Philippines. The result is that the Brit cannot live on the wages. Not a problem for senior officers who can establish overseas residence by buying a house in Spain, but a killer for anyone wanting to become a junior officer today.

Since there are all of 13,000-odd British officers of all types revalidating their certificates, the cost to the Exchequer of remitting the tax and NI back to the employer (not to the individual, I'm not suggesting that!) would be small change.

I've advocated this for years - NOTHING has happened.

Thought for the day - there are currently SIX former Chairmen of the Chamber of Shipping of the UK on the board of James Fisher PLC.

Farcical, really, isn't it.
 
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chartered to MSC who are pretty much Italian.

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MSC aren't known as the Mafia Shipping Company for nothing you know /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Learning? Learning?

These people learn nothing. You seem to want to give our future away to this bunch of evil tyrants

Three minutes before this picture was taken, this woman was sentenced to death for an economic crime. She is on her way to a van parked outside the court where she will be injected with a single massive dose of poison. NO MERCY, NO APPEAL.

13EXECUTION.jpg


And you want to apply British "Fair Play" to this lot. My friend, they will just laugh at you behind your back whlst they continue to sell their tatty rubbish to us fools in the west who are too stupid to realise what they are up to.

WORLD DOMINATION - and they don't give a toss about environmentalism. They just blew up a satellite with a ballistic missile with no regard for anyone else's orbiting devices. See how easy they could knock out GPS if they felt like it.

Are you going to the Olympic games in the glorious Peoples republic of China? ME - No thanks. I don't support corrupt totalitarian governments.

Steve Cronin
 
Re: Learning? Learning?

There's something odd about the lighting in that picture that doesn't make it look like a reality shot. Most of the light is high left, but there's a high right light only on the l.h. WPC which looks a bit filmic.

Not saying that it isn't for real, but it might be worth seeking verification.

No, I'm not going to the Olympics either.

Economic crimes eh. Is Wee Gordy Broon visiting the PRC any time soon?
 
Re: Learning? Learning?

It, and other shots of the same scene from different cameras were circulated by the variuos news agencies at the time. I got this one via Reuters I think but there was a similar one in the Times.

Anyway, the existance of the process and the "Snuff Vans" isn't contested.

Steve Cronin
 
Wait a minute....

Where did I say I want to give our future away to anyone?
Or suggested to apply British fair play?
In other threads like this, I already expressed my view on these matters.

But now, I just picked up your comment about what *they* are doing to the atmosphere.
And let's face it, in this respect *we* have been leading the way for decades.
The fact that now *we* are more aware of (and careful about) it doesn't change our history.
Probably *they* also will become more democratic, environmentalists, etc.
Hopefully our children will grow old enough to see that.
In the meantime, I'll enjoy the games as you probably will - on tv.
 
Just a quick word on my favourite subject, rescue training: the navy diver, interviewed on local radio, said the casualties were not familiar with Hi-line procedure, so he had to drop in the water and swim to the lifeboat, where he remained until the last lift. i think he said that the helicopter lost two hi-lines, which may indicate that they were secured to the lifeboat, and jettisoned.
 
Re: Container ship NOT sinking in Channel .... and still afloat

there seems to me to be no training/experience/knowledge or command and control whatsoever on that ship

it would be interesting to hear from the MCA how a BRITISH ship could get into such a situation in the first place

maybe this incident will lift the lid off the diabolical situation where substandard crews with dodgy credentials are run by suspect companies within the international shipping market - but do not hold your breath /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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