Bourbon Dolphin capsizes

Smartbight, Guillermo,

Thanks for including all those reports. Lazeyjack said it right; those accounts allowed me to picture the events and feel the tension on board both boats as the tragedy unfolded, almost inevitably.

From the vantage point of hindsight, there are always things to see that might have helped. Mike/Walrus makes sense when he says that allowing the line to run out, laying the anchor on the bottom without digging in, might have made it easier, actually a lot easier, for Highland Valour to hook on to share the load, while easing the strain on Bourbon Dolphin. Mike had some experience on boats like these, so his ideas count for more than any impression I have. But, for all of us, hindsight is easy. I think Mike is right in saying fatigue can play a major role.

Some have said 3 meter seas and 30 mph winds are normal, one of the hands quoted in a news report said the conditions were very rough. One thing is certain; the seas were not calm.

The point sticking in my mind is that Bourbon Dolphin was intended to be the assister rather than the primary on the anchor. Last minute changes in a carefully conceived plan rarely go well. I'll ask the same question Guillermo asked: are there industry standards for multi-tug handling of anchors?

Let's just hope the board digs deeply but without a prior agenda: neither making a scapegoat nor going easy on errors will help. The board needs to go wear the evidence leads, and produce an objective and accurate picture of the disaster. Then the job of determining the best changes for the future can begin.

 

lazeyjack,
Yes those things made the ship founder, in last instance.
I cannot understand the lowering of the starboard towing pin issue. What was the underlying reason to do such a thing? Initially the officers doubted to adopt that decission, what I can understand as the freeing of the chain under load would have made it to furiously slip through the deck and crash on the port pins, with a huge dynamic effect, as it did.

 

Mike, Walrus, easy boy!! Calm down, my friend. LOL and smilies means the same as you mean when you slag someone here and finish with, "Tee hee!".

Acearch72 was joking, as we all do here.

Acearch,

Welcome aboard; your post had some good insight. Don't mind the Walrus; he likes to dish it out, and he's got a good heart under the bluster, but sometimes he lets his emotions run a little ahead of his thinking and jumps to the wrong conclusion.

 

I think that act was pure desparation, was not the bridges idea but the idea of the rig to let it go

 

the fact that the number 3 anchor was so close downwind really put the Dolphin under so much pressure

 

Guillermo,

With all the warnings against second guessing and hindsight, I agree with you. I was astounded to read that the rig supervisor was urging lowering of the starboard pin, because it seemed to me that it would be obvious that the chain would move as it did. I believe that will be found to have a heavy effect on the disaster.

 

starbd pin

i can see why they thought this may help, , the ship was not making to weather, the thruster could not bring her head round, by dropping the tow to one side, they hoped for list which would bring her head around

 

?

How fast can a ship like that move ballast from port to starboard?
The ship was listing to port, with the chain over the starboard side of the aft deck.
The chief mate starts pumping ballast to starboard.
The captain steers to starboard a little to release the inner starboard pin.
Then the chain slides to the port pins.
Over she goes to port...

Link to Guillermos post

 

Ok, jack, I see your point. Still seems risky at best. You really think it would have brought the head around and centered the load? I know; we're all speculating here, but you've got experience on boats like these that I don't have. I'm interested to hear more about your thinking on this.

 

no , it would have enabled her to make to weather, eventually yes the tow would have come to centre
I can see it feel it, the scene the nosie , the wind, the feeling of THIS IS NOT WORKING
But what nobody has said, i feel the loss of the ship itself It took thousands of man hours to make her, she was a beautiful living thing, state of the art
Of cousre it made not a scrap of difference that the mains stopped, maybe they shut down when the oil press. dropped as she was over on her beam ends Itwas too late then

 

Another thinking: Maybe the winch did pay off the chain at the slow pace reported (12 m/min) because the chain was no longer pulling from the stern but 90 deg from the side after bouncing over the port pins and sliding forwards all over the rear port side. And the ship strongly heeled. Maybe the winch and its rollers arrangement, etc, were not designed as to freely let go the chain in those conditions. What do you think?

 

As I read the previous posts I was starting to think the same thing.

I wonder if they will bring the ship back up. A salvage company has stated that it's posible to rais her. I gues there is alot off interest to get her beck up both for the famelys and the owners. I heard that if you order a new midle speed engine Mak,Bergen, Wasa you can't have it until 2010 and the shipyards is fully bocked too so geting it back up could make sence.

 

as long as there is a fair lead onto the winch it does not matter what angle the tow is
Actually the rigs idea was ok ,in theory, but MAYBE they did not know the load on the winch at the time, the last reading being 290? maybe it went higher, who knows
yes they will bring her up
the Dutch Scmimt(sp) have barges with crames that can handle 5000 tonnes! Not saying they will be there, but these days most things are possible
how many metres is she down?

 

Maybe the main engines stopped due to lack of sea suction (air lock), have had it happen - the auto system is there to prevent the engines cooking so maybe due to the rough weather and the position of the sea suctions there was a problem there and an auto shut down occured?

Once again relating to recent new builds I've worked on - they had one sea chest on either side - there were no such things as high and low sea suctions -
How is the BD configured?
Could the loss of the stbd engines have contributed tothe capsize from the vessel losing the use of the power from the engines - also - which thrusters where they supplying power to?
Sorry just more questions...

 

From http://www.shetlandtoday.co.uk/shetlandtimes/content_details.asp?ContentID=22127
- "The chief mate started to pump ballasts from port towards starboard in order to straighten up the listing. At 16:55 hours the tension on the winch on board Bourbon Dolphin was 290 tonne. The chain was running between the two towing pins on the starboard side of the aft deck. The outer port towing pins were raised as a safety precaution."


Ok so the vessel was listing to port - wire between the two tow pins on stbd side – What was the cause of the PORT list?

Or are there errors in reporting