It's been a rough winter in the Pacific..

deepdraft1

deepdraft1

Master, Ocean Steam or Motor Vessels, unlimited
15-Year Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
580
Two ultra large container ships have suffered major weather related cargo loss in the North Pacific this winter.. Back in December the MV ONE APUS had 1,816 containers lost overboard and very recently, the MV MAERSK ESSEN lost 750 containers overboard.. After seeing the photos, I'm glad I'm retired..
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It still amazes me. Each one of those blocks is tractor trailer and there are 2000+ on one boat.

What's below deck other than the engine room?
 
That might explain the massive shortage of automobile tires and sudden 30% increase in cost. We sell tires to customers occasionally and the first week of January inventory disappeared. Vendor said inbound from Malaysia, Tawain, China and the Philippines was 'delayed'. Yikes, hopefully all of the crew are okay, other than needing some new undies.
 
Ignorant...how does this happen?
 
cb7893 said:
It still amazes me. Each one of those blocks is tractor trailer and there are 2000+ on one boat.

What's below deck other than the engine room?
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It's closer to 20,000. Engine room, tanks, and not much else besides cargo
 
Deck cadets who are on container ships during sea year are expected to go below deck (6-10 stories) and check on containers. The temperature of each refrigerated container has to be checked regularly to make sure there are no malfunctions. One of my biggest worries as a mom during sea year was high seas shifting containers and squishing my kid.
 
kpmom2013 said:
Deck cadets who are on container ships during sea year are expected to go below deck (6-10 stories) and check on containers. The temperature of each refrigerated container has to be checked regularly to make sure there are no malfunctions. One of my biggest worries as a mom during sea year was high seas shifting containers and squishing my kid.
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My Cattle and Hog feeding clients appreciate his efforts.
 
justdoit19 said:
Ignorant...how does this happen?
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They were probably caught in a rapidly intensifying low pressure weather system.. My guess is there was probably some synchronous/parametric rolling that was going on in these two instances.. This parametric rolling phenomenon isn't uncommon on these very large containership.. It's generally encountered in head and quartering swell conditions.. Swell trains that are equal to the length of the vessel add to the roll amplitude, shorten the roll period and to an extent, cause some loss of the vessel's stability.. Parametric rolling comes on fast, so you have to be able to recognize quickly what's happening with the vessels behavior in order to break the cycle. That's normally done by making a substantial course change.

The MAERSK ESSEN has a capacity of 13,000 TEUs [20ft equivalent unit/container] and the ONE APUS can carry 14,000 TEUs..
 
I spent many years running Jones Act tankers in the N. Pacific. I don't know much about container ships...but I bet it's a better ride on a loaded 150KWT tanker (although a very slow ride-sometimes backwards-hove too). I do not miss the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska winters.

Heres what it sometimes looks like:
 
rickdunnjr said:
I do not miss the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska winters.
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I don't either brother..

Early in my career I sailed 2nd and 3rd Mate on Keystone and Trinidad tankers going up to Valdez.. Not a whole lot of fun in the winter time.. I remember one winter sailing loaded from Valdez for Cherry Point when rough seas peeled a breakwater right off the deck just forward of the manifold piping.. In early December a few years later I made my first trip as Master sailing on a containership from Seattle to Dutch Harbor and then on to the Far East. As soon as I got outside and clear of Cape Flattery it seemed as if the whole Pacific Ocean was coming at me..😬

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The Atlantic can be tough too. The OP and @rickdunnjr's video reminded me of our ship’s northeasterly course to Rota, Spain in January long ago. We hit a doozie of a storm off Africa. The charted course had us pretty much in the trough the whole time. Our flat bottom 40K ton ship took some huge rolls in combination with heavy pitching. If you kept your head still while looking at the horizon one second you'd be looking at the ocean a second later you'd be looking skyward. There was an LST in our Amphibious Readiness Group and they looked like they were getting really worked over. I’d bet the ship had nothing but “green” Marines and Sailors on it.

There was a lot of damage on the ship from the storm. Some of the landing craft in the well deck broke loose and wreaked havoc with all the other boats and equipment. Much bulkhead timber used as bumpers below decks had to be replaced in Rota. Our ship’s Huey had a full 150-gallon auxiliary fuel bladder mounted on the starboard side tied down on the flight deck. The heavy rolls and g forces caused the skid strut to puncture the airframe just below the bladder. The CO was not happy. There were broken dishes, TVs and any that wasn’t properly battened down got broken or dislodged. It was physically exhausted trying to walk or climb ladders. The ship continually made announcements that the flight deck was secured (you had a death wish if you were out there) and to minimize movement about the ship. Some of my sailors wore their flight deck float coats inside the ship and some even wore them in the rack. Hardly anyone ate as there was no way to keep trays or anything on the tables. Chairs slid everywhere then got stacked and tied down.

On bridge watches you tried to wedge yourself between something so you wouldn’t get thrown around or you held the overhead guy wire tightly. The young helmsman had a particularly tough time maintaining a steady course because of the conditions. In a change from the normal rudder amidships order, I gave the command as conning officer to “use rudder as necessary to maintain course”. He appreciated that and was probably having a little fun at the helm. I never used that command again. We got to Rota with many a story, repaired what was needed, and later watched Major “Bob” perform his five man lift at the Officer’s Club. As beautiful as those pictures of Navy ships are at sunset, the forces of nature at sea are an awesome and humbling experience.
 
I was a young 3M on the mid watch off Cape Hattaras in heavy WX-three house ship. Seas were probably about 30-40 ft. Small loaded tanker (28KDWT). The Capt. said ...the door to the square has broken open...take an AB and go secure the door. I had about 2 yrs experience! We put on jackets, and went onto the main deck and started dogging the door, AB yelled "watch out mate" as he grabbed the underside of the catwalk and pulled him self out of the way of the 3-4 feet of green water crossing the main deck. I was washed over to the port side and pinned against the railing. Close call. Wet and excited - we secured the door and returned to the bridge. The Old Man watched what occurred and didnt say anything (he knew he had made a mistake sending us out there-20 tons of water in the square would not threaten the ship). He should have know better to send us down there. This Near miss could have been the end. Fast forward 15 years. I'm the CM on a large tanker in the Mediterranean, were taking on green water over the quarter (freeboard 40 ft midships). A half 55 gallon drum breaks loose on the main deck during the 08-12. The 3M says, I can go down there and secure that...no stay here. It might damage a COW machine or something...but you're not going on deck. Lesson learned there hard way. Lessons are only learned when acted upon.
 
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rickdunnjr said:
I was a young 3M on the mid watch off Cape Hattaras in heavy WX-three house ship. Seas were probably about 30-40 ft. Small loaded tanker (28KDWT). The Capt. said ...the door to the square has broken open...take an AB and go secure the door. I had about 2 yrs experience! We put on jackets, and went onto the main deck and started dogging the door, AB yelled "watch out mate" as he grabbed the underside of the catwalk and pulled him self out of the way of the 3-4 feet of green water crossing the main deck. I was washed over to the port side and pinned against the railing. Close call. Wet and excited - we secured the door and returned to the bridge. The Old Man watched what occurred and didnt say anything (he knew he had made a mistake sending us out there-20 tons of water in the square would not threaten the ship). He should have know better to send us down there. This Near miss could have been the end. Fast forward 15 years. I'm the CM on a large tanker in the Mediterranean, were taking on green water over the quarter (freeboard 40 ft midships). A half 55 gallon drum breaks loose on the main deck during the 08-12. The 3M says, I can go down there and secure that...no stay here. It might damage a COW machine or something...but you're not going on deck. Lesson learned there hard way. Lessons are only learned when acted upon.
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Or as the Navy would say, “Safety regulations are written in sailors’ blood.”
Life at sea is no cakewalk.
 
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