Whale watching boat sunk

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by peter radclyffe, Oct 27, 2015.

  1. peter radclyffe
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    peter radclyffe Senior Member

    Does anyone know anything
     
  2. jehardiman
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    jehardiman Senior Member

    Last I heard it was capsized, not sunk. Waiting for the Transport Canada investigation.
     
  3. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    At this time, only that a whale watching boat off the inshore coast of British Columbia, Canada had 27 passengers. The boat is said to have capsized from a large wave. The early reports are that four Brits and one Aussie lost their lives. It is reported that some of the indigenous people of the area had rescued the remaining survivors.

    The area where the tragedy occurred is well known for whale activity. There are some entrepreneurs with relatively small boats who take passengers for those observations.

    I have a notion that a lot of people, having spotted a whale, rushed to the same side of the boat. In such a circumstance no rogue wave would be needed. Only a moderate sized wave could have caused the capsize under those regrettable circumstances. We will have to wait to get more factual information.
     
  4. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    It certainly does happen like that on the whale spotting tours.
     
  5. mick_allen
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    mick_allen -

    First indications are that most of the passengers [of the 27 total including crew] were on the port side of the top deck when a large wave hit the starboard quarter. It was noted that the loading on one side would be a typical situation [when seeing things] and that further investigation was necessary to see if other factors contributed to the event. 5 confirmed dead with 1 missing.

    this is the boat:

    [​IMG]

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/centre...ave-hit-b-c-whale-watching-boat-tsb-1.2629258
     
  6. PI Design
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    PI Design Senior Member

    This report is a bit confusing. Were there just 5 on the upper deck, or "most" of the 27? The boat is supposedly able to carry 50.


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34654795


    Either way, surely on every whale watching trip everyone rushes to the side the whale is on, and most would want to be in the fresh air of the top deck?

    So why just capsize this time rather than everytime there is a whale to port and a wave to starboard? Has the vessel recently been modified?

    Could the fact that the season ends in a weeks time have meant tourist numbers were dropping off and there was not enough 'ballast' in the lower deck?

    There must have been a number of near misses before this capsize if such a benign set of circumstances can cause this to happen.

    Has being tipped over by a surfacing whale been discounted?
     
  7. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    sounds very 3rd world
     
  8. Tad
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    Tad Boat Designer

    Leviathan II was built in 1981 as the CZ-72-112, a fast aluminum crewboat, her name changed at some point to Crown Forest 72-112, and she was rebuilt in 1996 to become the Leviathan. Registed length is 64.5', beam 15'1", and depth 5'3" (this is not draft but depth of hull, deck to keel). 32.58 gross registered tons (this is not displacement). She was built in Vancouver by Rivtow Industries, design speed was 20 knots and power twin 515 kw engines.

    What's known about the accident is this http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/marine/2015/m15p0347-20151027.asp

    My understanding is that the vessel was certified for 46 passengers. At the time of the accident there were 24 aboard, along with 3 crew. Stability is assessed in various load cases and the ship must meet requirements in all cases. Usually there is a "worst case", and often (almost always) it's the Arrival Condition. This is on return to port with mostly empty tanks but still full passenger load. The assessing NA will distribute passengers over the three (in the Leviathan case) decks until the boats meets requirements. Then the owner will post a sign stating maximum passengers on the upper deck. It's up to the crew to enforce this. But there is no requirement(that I'm aware of) to assess stability with various partial passenger loads. This is something I've long been worried about but I just dealt with it by severely limiting the number of passengers allowed on the upper deck.
     
  9. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    Aside from the tragic loss of lives, this episode is going to cost the insurers dearly, I would surmise.
     
  10. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    are we saying you could have the allowed number of passengers on the top deck but nothing below and empty of fuel and it would pass or fail?
     
  11. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    Coming from a guy who lives in a bankrupt corrupt country with elections every few months while relying on the EU for survival (Italy), and a country which has it's share of marine accidents (Singapore) and the amount of boating fatalities in Australia every year...you come across as very 3rd world by commenting on a topic you know nothing about.
    In which 6 people died.

    And in the most difficult cruising waters in the world.
     
  12. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    a picture of the modified vessel as used "in the most difficult cruising waters in the world" says it all
     
  13. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    Shark attacks aren't boating fatalities. And some of our prime ministers last over a year.☺.
     
  14. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    You must admit that boat looks like a pile of crap. You can't beat cats for that sort of work.
     

  15. powerabout
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    powerabout Senior Member

    the world is full of unhappy endings when a boat has an alteration and is still used professionally
    The authorities have failed time and again ( that includes class which is generally the cause of the failure)
     
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