Full Ahead No 1

[Laminar Flow]

(It's in Bolton, rather elegantly.)

Nice. Who says engineers don't have a sense of humour.

 

[Kukri]

I am guilty of making a bold assumption over on the other thread... however.. now armed with a few more of the facts I am still wondering if - when the pilot decided to enter with just the two tugs - the wind wasn't blowing quite as hard?

I think you are probably onto something. The turbo lag smoke from the emergency full astern goes sideways over the berth but the water is flat...

 

[mjcoon]

Nice. Who says engineers don't have a sense of humour.

As a long-term Meccano owner (all metal) I think it is rather beautiful. But am baffled at the comment preceding the photo and how it got into this thread anyway... Also reminiscent of some of James May's TV projects.

Mike.

 

[grandpaboat]

I have been chatting this one through with a group of friends who are former colleagues, I mention this because they are Masters and Chief Engineers - British, Australian, New Zealand, Filipino, Chinese - with several hundred years experience in command between them. So I pass on the group’s conclusions.

1. The ship is flying light, and to judge by the state of the paint she may be fresh out of dry dock.
2. The berth where this was shot is immediately after a roughly 90 degree turn to starboard in the channel.
3. The stern tug is a water tractor type and is pulling with full power in the correct direction but she is simply not powerful enough to make a difference.
4. The ship went into the turn at 9.2 knots (dead slow ahead, probably) according to the AIS, and came out of it at 5.6 knots.

I have commented on another thread here from a Chief Engineers perspective. However having now slept on it I recall an old shipmate who became a Singapore pilot regailing the following.
He was undocking a completely lightship VLCC from Jurong drydock in the deadship condition (No Engine or steering). An afternoon squall kicked in and all four tugs lines parted. Fortunately he had sufficient sea room to re-deploy the tugs on the opposite side to push.
This would concur with your observation that the tug was not poweful enough to overcome the stern swinging to port in the light condition. It also appears to me that the ship is also still trying to turn to starboard to avoid the ship berthed ahead, so the tug would also be fighting that.

 

[grandpaboat]

I think you are probably onto something. The turbo lag smoke from the emergency full astern goes sideways over the berth but the water is flat...

This was also my thought that the Ship was still going ahead and turning to starboard to avoid the ship berthed ahead on the port side.

 

[dom]

“Big ship, flying light, bucket loads of horsepower - I get the impression, looking at the AIS track, that the pilot didn't factor that in when he made his turn and approach. Completely overcooked it.”

“From a naval architecture point of view, the prop walk effect, that might have been relied upon to shove the stern to starboard (assuming a RH prop) would be reduced as the prop is out of the water, however when the engines went astern the effect would increase shoving the stern to port. Rudder not fully submerged would reduce it’s effect also. There but for the grace of God....”

Poor seamanship IMHO. OK, the pilot was attempting a standard Flash Harry handbrake-turn, reverse-thrust, arse-in docking maneuver. Fair enough, racing yachts often deploy this in equally lightweight condition. It all started well with a hairy approach speed and nervous bystanders. That's good.

Then it went tits:

Mistake 1: the crew forgot a big juicy round fender on the stern quarter. This is essential when one winds-up that reverse thrust and the arse swings in.​

​

Mistake 2: where was the crew with a line to lassoo a handy bollard/cleat with a forward spring? This is essential to arrest any excess motion. But care is required; I once lassoed a neighbour's £50 dan buoy, never a crane mind. ​

​

Mistake 3: a full risk assessment must be carried out ahead of any docking maneuver, to include the level of YouTube Risk posed by prying smartphones. If a military ship, just jam the damn things, if not, steady.​

But what I don't understand is why deploy this technique with an onshore wind. Here the Flash Harry approach is to arrive abeam-on, switch engine(s) off, and go below decks to sneakily YouTube scared neighbouring crews as your boat gently floats alongside

 

[Kukri]

The bit about “a full risk assessment to be carried out ahead of any docking manoeuvre” ... is NOT FUNNY...????

 

[Frank Holden]

The bit about “a full risk assessment to be carried out ahead of any docking manoeuvre” ... is NOT FUNNY...????

Ah... toolbox meetings and checklists... the latter to be filled in after the ship is alongside...

The die was - most probably - cast in this case prior to the pilot arriving on the bridge...

 

[dom]

The die was - most probably - cast in this case prior to the pilot arriving on the bridge...

"Ooh, Err, there you go mate...

"BTW your PPU is flashing....

"See ya ....I'm bursting for a leak!"

 

[grandpaboat]

Poor seamanship IMHO. OK, the pilot was attempting a standard Flash Harry handbrake-turn, reverse-thrust, arse-in docking maneuver. Fair enough, racing yachts often deploy this in equally lightweight condition. It all started well with a hairy approach speed and nervous bystanders. That's good.

Then it went tits:

Mistake 1: the crew forgot a big juicy round fender on the stern quarter. This is essential when one winds-up that reverse thrust and the arse swings in.​

​

Mistake 2: where was the crew with a line to lassoo a handy bollard/cleat with a forward spring? This is essential to arrest any excess motion. But care is required; I once lassoed a neighbour's £50 dan buoy, never a crane mind. ​

​

Mistake 3: a full risk assessment must be carried out ahead of any docking maneuver, to include the level of YouTube Risk posed by prying smartphones. If a military ship, just jam the damn things, if not, steady.​

But what I don't understand is why deploy this technique with an onshore wind. Here the Flash Harry approach is to arrive abeam-on, switch engine(s) off, and go below decks to sneakily YouTube scared neighbouring crews as your boat gently floats alongside

Trying to compare maneuvering a light weight racing yacht to berthing one of the world's largest moving objects isn't great.
Rule 7c:
Assumptions shall not be made on the basis of scanty information especially scanty radar (or video) information.

 

[dom]

Trying to compare maneuvering a light weight racing yacht to berthing one of the world's largest moving objects isn't great.
Rule 7c:
Assumptions shall not be made on the basis of scanty information especially scanty radar (or video) information.

You are of course absolutely right, I was really just drawing a lighthearted comparison.

Then again, if that container ship also sported a folding prop...........
?

 

[Kukri]

I think Dom was being humorous!

But 7c is a good rule here!

I think that, as long as nobody is killed or seriously hurt, and afaik no one was badly hurt here, there is usually humour to be found in these disasters.

Of course, disasters differ, depending on one’s perspective

I had a very diligent Tech Super who once walked into morning prayers with the words “we’ve had a disaster with the (... worst ship in fleet). It turned out that she had had a three hour stop at sea.

At the other extreme, Ralf Rutkowsky, the unflappable senior salvage master with Bugsier, announced to me over the phone when the towline to the Amoco Cadiz parted that “I think we may have a problem with this one - she is too big and the weather is too bad!” That was an understatement on the scale of Apollo 13 if not quite at the level of “The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage!”

Ralf was a traditionalist so far as ship’s bridges were concerned. He liked open bridges. This may have been connected with his twice having to step smartly off laden German ore carriers when they were torpedoed by British submarines in WW2?