OT: MOL Comfort - Ouch

[Louis]

I don't think this is supposed to happen.

The stern portion has sunk. I'm not sure about the bow.

Edit: It was built in 2008, so this isn't some old tramp steamer.

Following the MOL Comfort incident, MOL has decided to withdraw the ship’s six sister vessels — MOL Creation, MOL Charisma, MOL Celebration, MOL Courage, MOL Competence and MOL Commitment — from service as a preventative measure and to upgrade their hulls.

The carrier said that alough they have sufficiently fulfilled the safety standard required by classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, in compliance with the International Association of Classification Societies, MOL plans to upgrade the hull structures to be twice as strong as the required safety standard.

MOL, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and ClassNK are continuing to investigate the cause of the MOL Comfort incident, although MOL said the investigation “may take some time.”

http://cf.gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/mol-comfort-1.jpg

http://officerofthewatch.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/2013-06-18-mol-comfort-containership-sinks-after-breaking-in-two-figure-2.jpg

http://www.blackseanews.net/files/image/(16-99-99-99)/Mol-Comfort-bae%C3%A6kket-midt-o.jpg

http://c.gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG_0358.jpg

[rounder]

Wow. Hope that no bikes (or guitars) were lost.

[MattTuck]

Think of all the Chinarello's that may be on their way to Davy Jone's locker...


That's crazy.

I wonder what is in each of those containers. Reminds me of Castaway with Tom Hanks. I never felt right that all those Fedex packages were lost.

[tiretrax]

That's amazing. I hope the crew is ok. I wonder where the ships were made.

[Louis]

Wikipedia seems to suggest that it was Nagasaki Japan.

Also: "Together with her sister ships, MOL Comfort was the first container ship classified by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai to utilize ultra high-strength steel with an yield strength of 470 MPa in her hull structure."

Edit: From an Indian web site - "The Coast Guard coordinated the rescue operation and all the 26 members of the crew--- 12 Russians and 14 Filipinos-- were rescued."

[Ken Robb]

See! This is what happens when the rear view mirror is mounted on the A Pillar.

[54ny77]

Grant Peterson remains silent on the matter.

[kenw]

and the containers that donʻt sink will be hazards to navigation.

[Louis]

and the containers that donʻt sink will be hazards to navigation.

I wonder if they can slap electronic signaling devices on them, then collect them later. (Or let an Indian navy ship do some target practice.)

[blessthismess]

I wonder what is in each of those containers. Reminds me of Castaway with Tom Hanks. I never felt right that all those Fedex packages were lost.

I hope no unfortunate "castaways" were in there:(

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93659&page=1#.Uc0RIpX3HRo

[LegendRider]

The MOL Comfort was just cruising along (JCA)...

[CaptStash]

That's amazing. I hope the crew is ok. I wonder where the ships were made.

Yes, the ship was built in Nagasaki by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (as the APL Russia). Her and her sister ships are/were "Post Panamax" container ships, meaning they are too big for the present Panama Canal. There is a huge amount of engineering that goes into the design of a ship, as well as oversight from the classification society (in this case NKK). It is very rare for a ship to break in two like this.

The investigation is obviously just beginning, but the first thing that they will look at is the way the vessel was loaded. With large vessels, it is important to determine the stress placed on the vessel by the distribution of the load. too much weight on the ends, can cause the vessel to hog excessively; i.e., the ship bends excessively with the middle of the ship at less draft than the ends. Too much weight in the middle causes excessive sag; the opposite of hog. The photos seem to indicate a net hog on the vessel, but that does not necessarily mean the vessel was loaded incorrectly. There is also the possibility of an issue with the construction, such as the use of high strength steel (which maybe gets brittle? We had that issue on tankers built with a large amount of high tensile steel. Just ask Duke, we sailed together on a ship with that issue.).

The vessel was in bad weather when she broke up.

There's no practical way to put some kind of magical tracking devices on the boxes now that they're in the water. There are literally thousands of them.

Questions?

CaptStash....

[DoubleButted]

Wow, that is a mess. I recently went through my own container shipment horror story, seeing this makes me realize how much worse it could have been.

[oldpotatoe]

Yes, the ship was built in Nagasaki by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (as the APL Russia). Her and her sister ships are/were "Post Panamax" container ships, meaning they are too big for the present Panama Canal. There is a huge amount of engineering that goes into the design of a ship, as well as oversight from the classification society (in this case NKK). It is very rare for a ship to break in two like this.

The investigation is obviously just beginning, but the first thing that they will look at is the way the vessel was loaded. With large vessels, it is important to determine the stress placed on the vessel by the distribution of the load. too much weight on the ends, can cause the vessel to hog excessively; i.e., the ship bends excessively with the middle of the ship at less draft than the ends. Too much weight in the middle causes excessive sag; the opposite of hog. The photos seem to indicate a net hog on the vessel, but that does not necessarily mean the vessel was loaded incorrectly. There is also the possibility of an issue with the construction, such as the use of high strength steel (which maybe gets brittle? We had that issue on tankers built with a large amount of high tensile steel. Just ask Duke, we sailed together on a ship with that issue.).

The vessel was in bad weather when she broke up.

There's no practical way to put some kind of magical tracking devices on the boxes now that they're in the water. There are literally thousands of them.

Questions?

CaptStash....

Fascinating..when on the Midway-Maru, CV-41, part of the USN Overseas Family Separation Program, in heavy seas, the flight deck had expansion joints you could see move apart and together. We didn't worry, even IF the ship was built over 40 years ago...it was on a USS NewJersey type hull...

[4Rings6Stars]

Wow.

Any idea what the value of the entire cargo is on a ship like this? What is the insurance arrangement?

[duke]

Are you a real captain or just play one on TV?
duke

[bking]

if items in containers are headed to Walmart, nowadays a good bet, they'll be able to track'm.

[CaptStash]

Are you a real captain or just play one on TV?
duke

I have it on good authority that playing one on TV pays better.

[CaptStash]

Wow.

Any idea what the value of the entire cargo is on a ship like this? What is the insurance arrangement?

It's complicated. In a loss like this, they will declare something called "General Average" which assigns a portion of the costs to each shipper; i.e., the people who paid to put cargo on the ship. Seems whacky, but that's how it works. In reality, each box will have its own insurance policy. At the end of the day, the insurers of the boxes that are recovered will have to pay out to help cover the costs of the cargoes lost.

The hull and crew are covered under separate hull insurance, and a Protection and Indemnity policy (think of it as the liability policy).

Maritime insurance is a huge and complicated international business that is more or less governed by U.N. treaty and international law. It's not fo rthe weak of heart.

CaptStash....