Ship collision off Hull

[Wansworth]

My maternal grandfather was a mid scale builder there, my other grandparents lived in Walberton. My wife and I were members at Arun in the 90s, but when we got our 1st Dragonfly the harbour master told us to move on.

Littlehampton is a bit behind the times but in the 1990s friends had a Dart cat……We were almost nighbours

 

[Frank Holden]

If you look at the aerial photos of both ships the burn damage to both is interesting to note, I thought..
The Tanker shows heat damage primarily in the area of the contact point, while the fire damage to the Solong is fore to aft, the length of the ship.
I get the impression that on impact jet fuel sprayed from the damaged Tanker, perhaps helped by wind direction, and soaked the Solong fore and aft, perhaps even before ignition. Even the forepart of her Bridge and the after housing seem to be thoroughly burned.
I note the hole above the waterline in the Tanker, I wonder just what the damage is below the waterline as the Solong's Bulbous Bow must have made contact, as the Tanker is deep in the water, fully laden.

Photos in article illustrate what I am rambling on about.
Tanker collision latest: Cargo ship captain arrested over collision in North Sea, owner tells BBC

You sound old enough to remember the Royston Grange / Tien Chee collision in the River Plate. 50 something years ago. The Yuyo Maru #10/ Pacific Aires collision in Tokyo Bay had a similar outcome although that was gas - not oil.
The oil on the surface of the sea effectively using the cargo ship as a wick.
Its never a good idea to stick the nose of your ship into the side of a tanker.

 

[veshengro]

Indeed I do Frank, Houlder Brothers. She could be seen in the Channel on the way up to Buenos Aires for weeks after she burned out. I was with Blue Star Line out of Royal Albert Dock, London, trading to BA and we loaded frozen Beef at the same berth.
I remember too, the late John Prescott MP supporting the families of her crew in the aftermath and kicking up a big rumpus in Parliament over the way the affair was handled after the collision. I only saw her once which was enough, the fire left her just a blackened wreck. She still had all her Derricks topped and the big white cross was still visible on her funnel.

I don't recall the Toyo Bay collision at all though.

 

[Frank Holden]

Indeed I do Frank, Houlder Brothers. She could be seen in the Channel on the way up to Buenos Aires for weeks after she burned out. I was with Blue Star Line out of Royal Albert Dock, London, trading to BA and we loaded frozen Beef at the same berth.
I remember too, the late John Prescott MP supporting the families of her crew in the aftermath and kicking up a big rumpus in Parliament over the way the affair was handled after the collision. I only saw her once which was enough, the fire left her just a blackened wreck. She still had all her Derricks topped and the big white cross was still visible on her funnel.

I don't recall the Toyo Bay collision at all though.

1974. The gas tanker was inbound with propane, butane, and benzine(naptha?) The cargo ship punctured one of her benzine tanks which then burnt for quite some time , incinerating all but one of her crew. The Yuyo Maru was towed outside with the intent of scuttling her which proved quite hard, eventually involving bombs, rockets, gunfire and torpedoes over two days.
I can only find the report in spanish
https://revistamarina.cl/revistas/1975/6/jbalmelliu.pdf

 

[Frank Holden]

Indeed I do Frank, Houlder Brothers. She could be seen in the Channel on the way up to Buenos Aires for weeks after she burned out. I was with Blue Star Line out of Royal Albert Dock, London, trading to BA and we loaded frozen Beef at the same berth.
I remember too, the late John Prescott MP supporting the families of her crew in the aftermath and kicking up a big rumpus in Parliament over the way the affair was handled after the collision. I only saw her once which was enough, the fire left her just a blackened wreck. She still had all her Derricks topped and the big white cross was still visible on her funnel.

I don't recall the Toyo Bay collision at all though.

I was up for masters in London when the Royston Grange collision happened. In 1968 I had gone 'East of Suez' for the last time and never went back west - apart from three trips 'round the Cape' - one to Le Havre, 2 to Brazil - in the early 70's.

 

[sailorbenji]

Arrested Captain of the Solong is a Russian national.

That'll get the tinfoil hat wearers' blood pumping!

 

[Frank Holden]

Arrested Captain of the Solong is a Russian national.

That'll get the tinfoil hat wearers' blood pumping!

I was going to say - but had chosen not to - that all the incident reports I had seen over quite a few years involving small ships in 'Home Trade' waters involved a/ eastern europeans b/ fatigue c/ vodka - sometimes independently , sometimes together.

 

[johnalison]

The last thing I said before going to bed was that they ought to arrest the owners too, and it seems I was right.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Arrested Captain of the Solong is a Russian national.

That'll get the tinfoil hat wearers' blood pumping!

You don’t need a foil hat for that to cross your mind. I wonder who the missing crew member is.

 

[Rappey]

In certain vehicle collisions involving serious injury a driver who is suspected of causing it is arrested but thats just standard practice and does not always mean he is guilty. Would it not be the same for a ship captain ?

 

[capnsensible]

You don’t need a foil hat for that to cross your mind. I wonder who the missing crew member is.

Jack Ryan

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Jack Ryan

More likely he’d have been on the tanker surely.

 

[billskip]

More likely he’d have been on the tanker surely.

Putting himself about...

 

[Stemar]

Even with a Russian Captain, I can't help thinking that cock-up is more likely than conspiracy. Conspiracy would have been more subtle

 

[winch2]

Agree about a conspiracy being more subtle but the Russians do have form for just having a go so to speak.,

 

[johnalison]

Agree about a conspiracy being more subtle but the Russians do have form for just having a go so to speak.,

It should be evident from the black box recording, I would have thought.

 

[billskip]

been more subtle

How does one T bone a tanker more subtle ?

 

[sailorbenji]

I can well imagine the strongest Russian link they'll find is a penchant for Vodka.

 

[Daydream believer]

If the OoW was looking at the anchored ship's AIS it could be that the transmitted AIS was faulty. I once followed a yacht past the Roche Dovres on passage from St Peter Port to Lezardrieux . I could see a target following me 1.5 miles behind on my port quarter but not see the vessel. The yacht was 1.5 miles in front on my stbd quarter. I wathed the target sail straight through the lighthouse. That made me realise that the transmitted signal from the yacht was incorrect. All other targets on my plotter seemed correct.
So if the anchored ship was doing the same thing, then Solong may have thought that it was passing with room to spare. Especially if its radar was not working & the OoW was relying on the AIS.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

If the OoW was looking at the anchored ship's AIS it could be that the transmitted AIS was faulty. I once followed a yacht past the Roche Dovres on passage from St Peter Port to Lezardrieux . I could see a target following me 1.5 miles behind on my port quarter but not see the vessel. The yacht was 1.5 miles in front on my stbd quarter. I wathed the target sail straight through the lighthouse. That made me realise that the transmitted signal from the yacht was incorrect. All other targets on my plotter seemed correct.
So if the anchored ship was doing the same thing, then Solong may have thought that it was passing with room to spare. Especially if its radar was not working & the OoW was relying on the AIS.

Perhaps the Russians were jamming the GPS signal