Pasha Bulker aground off Newcastle (Aus)

[hansp77]

an (unloaded) 40,000 tonne coal ship has been beached 50-100 meters off shore at Nobby's beach, after 'breaking her moorings' in cyclonic conditions with swell measured up to 17.9 meters.
All twenty two crew winched to safety, with worsening weather expected overnight. The ship is starting to leak her oil (she carrying 700 tonnes of heavy fuel and 34 tonnes of diesel on board) and fears are that she might start breaking up over night.
Two other coal ships are also in trouble.
Wild weather is lashing the area and state of NSW.
Pictures:
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149736_531695.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149564_530891.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149553_530926.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149543_530724.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149546_530747.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149559_530850.jpg

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1946306.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1946551.htm

[hansp77]

more images,
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149761_531835.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149545_530896.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149659_531361.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149492_530858.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149762_531844.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149584_531015.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149551_530914.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149510_530831.jpghttp://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r149755_531807.jpg

from
http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1946095.htm

[lazeyjack]

yes I remember in 74 a similar bulker broke n half there, the tug crews went on strike just as critical tide came, bad old days Australia, bad filthy unions I know this beach

[hansp77]

really bad weather expected again tonight, but at least the ship is reported to be settling in and no longer moving with no apparent sign of breaking up.
A 'natural disaster' declared in the area, with a fair few losses of life from floodwaters.
a couple more shots,
http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5517513,00.jpg http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5518140,00.jpg

[lazeyjack]

fabulous pics, but we have no tugs of enuff grunt to pull her off,
anyways its a calm weather sand tunnel job,
Least they can't blame the Ship, cos she busted her mooring?

But how come the others did not make to sea?

[westlawn5554X]

That ship is HUGE... in the last pic... Thanks :)

[timgoz]

Hope they get her off w/o alot of enviromental impact.

Tim

[charmc]

Fortunate that she is recently built and not overly large for a bulker. Strong hull, soft sand; if she stays bow on, a dredge and straight tow out may get her off without "too much" trouble ("too much" trouble has a different meaning in salvage circles!).

[lazeyjack]

Fortunate that she is recently built and not overly large for a bulker. Strong hull, soft sand; if she stays bow on, a dredge and straight tow out may get her off without "too much" trouble ("too much" trouble has a different meaning in salvage circles!).

fisrt reports said she :broke her mooring" which seemed odd to me at time,
so did she drag or did she break her rode?also seems odd she stayed anchored on the lee shore while the weather came up,

[charmc]

True. The statement from the operating company was clear in saying there was no blame to the crew (therefore no blame to the operating company, according to themselves ... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ) because they were properly moored. That sounds like either a dragging or a line letting go. For us small boaters, anchoring off a lee shore while the weather is building is a definite no-no. Maybe there are different rules for large ships with high freeboard when in ballast?? :rolleyes:

[lazeyjack]

True. The statement from the operating company was clear in saying there was no blame to the crew (therefore no blame to the operating company, according to themselves ... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ) because they were properly moored. That sounds like either a dragging or a line letting go. For us small boaters, anchoring off a lee shore while the weather is building is a definite no-no. Maybe there are different rules for large ships with high freeboard when in ballast?? :rolleyes:

listening to our dip stick news readers this morn, one sheila said:looks like will be big bill to owner,
Well IF she dragged her mooring and IF the port authority supplied the mooring then they are liable UNLESS it was act of God, don't laugh an act of God is in the (act) and means a state of nature occuring one every 100 years. These winds were not high by Atlantic standards,
I have first hand experience of this cos in 81 my yacht dragged a borrowed mooring in high winds, and wrapped around a plastic boat
We were taken to court, but the judge through it out

[hansp77]

From what I can remember, the Pasha Bulker (and the other two ships that were in trouble for a while were three amongst eleven ships who) ignored the warning to head out to sea.

latest news is that the starboard side outer hull has been breached and is taking on water, but this should not prove too problematic so long as the inner hull is still sound (which it appears to be). There is no apparent oil leaking as yet.

The state premier has announced that the salvage operation will be completely funded by the Owners of the ship. One salvage tug (Woona from Sydney) is already there, who's crew discovered the hole, and another on its way (Keera from Melbourne).


Woona, and Keera

[lazeyjack]

salvage tugs?
look more like rowin boats

[hansp77]

Thats what I thought, and you may be right. It was all I could find under those names and locations however.

[safewalrus]

Harbour tugs more like - won't shift that load! doubt if anything will - glad I'm not involved, lot of hard work for nothing! Get all the oil pumped off and any other pollutant befor thinking of shifting her! But methinks it may be to late, a hole in her already!? what we going to do weld a cover over the hole? In water, not gas free, yeah no welder I know is that daft!

What's this crap about the crew not being to blame? of course the crew are to blame that's why you have a crew on the vessel - to prevent this sort of thing happening!

As in the most famous shipwreck of all - the Titanic the crew wern't to blame for running into the iceberg? what happened the iceberg ran into them, deliberately? the same thing here Australia suddenly got up and shove a beach under the hull of this bulker! Tell that one to the admiralty court or whatever - they'll be laughing into their pink gins for nest hundred years on that one!!

[lazeyjack]

Harbour tugs more like - won't shift that load! doubt if anything will - glad I'm not involved, lot of hard work for nothing! Get all the oil pumped off and any other pollutant befor thinking of shifting her! But methinks it may be to late, a hole in her already!? what we going to do weld a cover over the hole? In water, not gas free, yeah no welder I know is that daft!

What's this crap about the crew not being to blame? of course the crew are to blame that's why you have a crew on the vessel - to prevent this sort of thing happening!

As in the most famous shipwreck of all - the Titanic the crew wern't to blame for running into the iceberg? what happened the iceberg ran into them, deliberately? the same thing here Australia suddenly got up and shove a beach under the hull of this bulker! Tell that one to the admiralty court or whatever - they'll be laughing into their pink gins for nest hundred years on that one!!

whoa mate, apparently they were on a MOORING, and I guess they thought it was safe, but details are sketchy as per Pasha has double skin , all new ships plying our coasts have to have this, another rule!!:)),
i have no idea of the wind speed, but we dont get Atlantic Storm wind speeds here , even in cyclones which drift this far south, here in QLD they issue a strong wond warning at 15 knots, this is to protect pleasure boat insurers for having to coff for people going out in :strong winds: we all know that at 15 sailing becomes very pleasent

[charmc]

The good news so far is that she is bow on to the beach. That will make pulling her off much less difficult than otherwise. Woona is classed as an ocean going tug, 42 T bollard. Keera is a salvage tug, 62 T bollard. They may be needed to keep her stern off the beach, but I suspect they'll need more grunt to pull her off. The key may be getting a dredge to dig a trench from the stern out to deeper water. And, of course, a sustained break in the weather!

It's been done before. APL Panama was stuck on the beach parallel to the shore. (The skipper was impatient, didn't want to wait for a pilot, came too close to the beach at dusk in calm weather.) It took several months, but most of that time was offloading cargo.

[safewalrus]

lazey mate unfortunately no matter where you are the Master is still resposible for his vessel amd the crew are responsible to the master! so yep no matter how safe they thought they were - they were not and thus stand condemned! 5H1T happens but happen it does! and frequently too!

[safewalrus]

Charlie, yes it is possible to shift her but at what cost? and the weather needs to be pretty good for some time as well! In the end is it worth it? if it is go for it, but......

[charmc]

As in most things related to the sea, the weather will be the key ...

[safewalrus]

Charlie again you are absolutally right!

[bhnautika]

Live Webcam on the beach http://www.coastalwatch.com/camera/cameras_large.aspx?cam=2790&state=NSW

[hansp77]

Well they have been trying to salvage her tonight, and apparantly they have just called it off.
Not sure why yet, will catch the late news.

here is a video story on it from the 7:30 report that played last night
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r155189_559477.asx
(more versions here (http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1964023.htm) if that one doesn't work for you)

[hansp77]

Apparantly one of the six cables (to one of the tugs) snapped a few hours ago. They managed to move it around about 6 degrees, and will reattempt the procedure again tomorrow night, and if that fails again the next. After that the king tides will be past, probably along with any real hopes for salvage.

another nice photo,
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r150340_534594.jpg

[Poida]

My boat's GPS has an anchor alarm which is activated if it is (mine's set at 10 metres) away from it's original anchor point.

Don't ships this size have that or do they just rely on the person on watch to notice the boat isn't in the right spot. ie. when they are parked not moored.

Poida

[charmc]

here is a video story on it from the 7:30 report that played last night


Amazing how the news reader has magically transformed "Pasha Bulker" from a bulk carrier to a "massive container ship". :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Guest625101138]

My boat's GPS has an anchor alarm which is activated if it is (mine's set at 10 metres) away from it's original anchor point.

Don't ships this size have that or do they just rely on the person on watch to notice the boat isn't in the right spot. ie. when they are parked not moored.

Poida


I suppose we will eventually hear the full story of the Pasha Bulker but the conditions were severe. There are unsubstantiated (from what I can find) accounts of 17m (55ft) seas - that is serious even in a large vessel. Such waves have been reported before in the area and a large ship went aground in similar location, similar circumstances and conditions in 1974.

Off Newcastle is like a ship parking lot these days. The place has had up to 70 bulk carriers moored offshore at a time. Normally there is ample sea room between each other and the shore but in severe conditions the room can quickly be too little.

My understanding is the ship dragged its anchor. There were at least two others reported to be in a similar situation. I do not know why they could not steam but you could imagine compounding circumstances - trying to get the anchor to hold; trying to make way against steep seas (it is not very deep) and getting into a panic. The crew were reported to be terrified prior to being lifted off. Anything moves fast in 100+kph wind.

So I think they were well aware that the anchor was not holding just too little time to get out of trouble. They should have been ordered to sea based on forecasts but this costs money so not done a whim.

I would dearly like to find a better quality image of the Sygna that I have attached. It shows some serious waves. I do not look forward to ever being in 17m seas in any vessel.

Rick W.

[Bergalia]

Watching the painful process I've a feeling that she'll stay aground until they decide to cut her up for scrap. Too many 'experts' claiming that her internal structure is 'reasonably intact' to be believeable. Possibly to calm public fears of potential pollution. Quixotic really as she's beached in an area which has just been proclaimed a 'Marine Park'....:(

[Poida]

Instead of trying to move the boat out, why don't they move the beach back.

When they are making canals for canal homes they excavate the canals and leave a dam wall between the sea and the canal.

Then they cut a small ditch between the two and the sea rushes in and the erosion clears out the dam.

Or excavate around the ship and get dredges in to clear away the sand. Excavate when the tide's out.

Think I might have to go over there and sort this stuff out.

Poida

[Poida]

Latest they've spotted oil coming out of the intact structure.

Poida

[safewalrus]

Yeah - everything going true to form! If it's in a Marine Park hows about rigging some slides, coconut shys and swings around to entertain the kids whilst the state government talks poo! Better to cut their lossess and get out the 'gas axes' got some good scrap there!!

[Guillermo]

They were not dragging anchors at the time of beaching, nor broke the rode(s), as both anchors seem to be well secured in their positions, as per the images.
So it seems to me they had just recovered the anchors and tried to manage through wind and waves, without success. If there was not enough room to maneouvre it may mean the ship was not in an enough safe position when anchored, or emergy action was taken too late. Maybe there's a crew responsibility there.

We had a similar case in January, when freighter 'Sierra Nava' beached close to Algeciras after dragging her anchors.
http://www.spanishshipping.com/sct/SierraNava.htm
Video:
http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/195874/0/buque/algeciras/vertido/

There was an oil spill and a judge inmediately seized the ship for 3.9 million euros to grant against echological damages. Sierra Nava was finally put afloat.

[Frosty]

Guillermo,--I understand what you are saying. Probably in a tight situation and couldnt give it the RPM needed to get the back round and into the wind. It a captains call.

Yet she would have been lying to wind anyway after hauling anchors.

Not quick enough on the engines and under estimated the weather.

There might have been a collision, but a small one and just slide off.

Better that than what did. Every one is scared of loosing thier jobs. Darent make desicions.

[hansp77]

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200707/r156602_566540.jpg

After last nights attempt (and movement) the oil leak (lubricant oil rather than fuel) that resulted apparantly has come from the propeller which was damaged. The rudder was also badly damaged.
Having turned her nose around to sea last night they will be trying to pull her off in a few hours on the high tide tonight, and are only 50 meters away from deep water (could be a very long 50 meters for one high tide).
The news just said, that because of the damage, if she makes it tonight, she will most likely get towed all the way back to Japan.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/02/1967797.htm?section=australia
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/02/1967252.htm

[hansp77]

News report just then on TV, they got her free, and it is now floating a couple of Km's off Newcastle.
Not much other news yet.

[Bergalia]

News report just then on TV, they got her free, and it is now floating a couple of Km's off Newcastle.
Not much other news yet.


Yes it seems that at 21.37 Australia time (Monday) she was moved 700 metres off Nobby's Beach and will wait for divers to inspect tomorrow morning (Tuesday) and then towed to Newcastle for 'repairs'.

[charmc]

Guillermo,--I understand what you are saying. Probably in a tight situation and couldnt give it the RPM needed to get the back round and into the wind. It a captains call.

Yet she would have been lying to wind anyway after hauling anchors.

Not quick enough on the engines and under estimated the weather.



I think you're right, Frosty. I suspect anchors were hauled in and she attempted to head out. Being in ballast, though, means tremendous wind force exerted on the hull, and the prop was likely never fully submerged, not getting a good bite, possibly fully exposed at times.

Heading out to sea raises costs, though. It's possible the delay resulted from waiting for head office permission. Some lines are known for their micromanagement.

[safewalrus]

I'm amazed they got her off! Good on them, now keep her off and get the job sorted! fancy somebody mentioning crew responsibility, thought I mentioned that a couple of pages back, but was called down for it! No I won't say it "told you...............

[Frosty]

Yes you did walrus, and did you see the sand buiding up around her on her lee . Given a few weeks she would be a tourist attraction.

[safewalrus]

so the town missed it's chance eh! And from what I remember of that particular Newcastle it needs a tourist attraction!!

[hansp77]

For a little update, I just read this article,

Captain at breakfast as ship sailed to doom

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696173754.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
interesting:rolleyes:

http://bambooman.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album02/ship005.jpg

[Bergalia]

Bloody disgraceful...7am and a skipper still at breakfast....:mad:

[safewalrus]

Jealous Bertgalia, and a man of your position too!