FEBRUARY 16, 2016—The Offshore Logistics Division of Boston Harbor Cruises has a “starring role” in the new History Channel series, Billion Dollar Wreck, which follows treasure hunter Martin Bayerle’s exploration of the
FEBRUARY 9, 2016 — After an operation that started just after 2.00 a.m. this morning, the 399.6 m containership CSCL Indian Ocean arrived in Hamburg at 06.15 a.m., local time. The ship
FEBRUARY 5, 2016 – In an update issued today, Central Command for Marine Emergencies Germany (Havariekommando) said that the earliest chance to free the giant box ship CSCL Indian Ocean will not
FEBRUARY 5, 2016—The 19,000 TEU containership CSCL Indian Ocean this morning remained grounded in the Elbe River off the island of Lühesand on the approach to Hamburg. The 399.6 m x 58.6
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 — France appears to have avoided what could have been an environmental disaster. A Smit Salvage team has succeeded in getting a line aboard the drifting car carrier Modern
The main wreckage of the TOTE cargo ship that went missing during Hurricane Joaquin was found by a search team on board the U.S. Navy tug USNS Apache on October 31, located at a depth of about 15,000 feet in the vicinity of the last known position near the Crooked Islands in the Bahamas.However, the bridge deck had become separated and the search for it — and the VDR — has continued since then.
NOVEMBER 1, 2015—The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board reports that a search team on board the U.S. Navy tug USNS Apache has found the wreckage of a ship that they believe to be
The second stage of the search will now start, attempting to find the vessel using side scan sonar.
The USNS Apache arrived at the last known position of the El Faro on October 23, and began searching for the vessel with a Towed Pinger Locator (TPL).
The search area consists of a 10 nautical mile by 15 nautical mile area, in which the USNS Apache towed the TPL on five search lines across the search area in order to detect the acoustic signal associated with the El Faro’s pinger.
The USNS Apache concluded the first phase of the pinger locator search on October 26, 2015, with negative results.
The NTSB says that the TPL’s ability to detect the El Faro’s pinger may be affected by the orientation of the vessel as it lays on the sea floor or the current condition and functionality of the pinger.
The second phase of the search began yesterday, using the Orion side-scan sonar system. The second phase of the search will be conducted over the same search area. This phase will consist of 13 search tracks and will take about 14 days to complete. The side scan sonar system will be used to locate the El Faro, and if found, create an image of the vessel.
If the ship is found on the sea floor, its Voyage Data Recorder or “black box” can be retrieved to help investigators determine the El Faro’s final moments. It is suspected that the ship sank in Hurricane Joaquin on October 1 and is lying on the sea bottom in 15,000 feet of water near the Crooked Islands in the Bahamas. All 33 onboard are presumed lost.
The tug is deploying to a search area northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas island chain, which is the last known location of the vessel.
The initial search area is 100 square miles, and water depth is estimated to be 15,000 feet across the expected search area. Transit to this search area is expected to take four-to-five days due to weather.
Apache is equipped with several pieces of underwater search equipment, including a voyage data recorder locator, side-scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle.
The Navy’s mission will be to first locate the ship and then, if possible, to retrieve the voyage data recorder (VDR) – commonly known as a black box.
The U.S. Navy operates some of the world’s most advanced underwater search and salvage systems. Though this equipment is typically used to search for and recover downed military ships and aircraft, the Navy has a long history in assisting other federal agencies in underwater search and salvage operations, including the search and recovery of TWA 800 and the space shuttle Challenger. In 2013, the Navy assisted the government of Australia in its search for missing Malaysian Airliner MH 370.
USN Apache is a fleet ocean tug operated by the Military Sealift Command. The ship provides towing, diving and standby submarine rescue services for the Navy.
The ship is 226 feet long and has a crew of approximately 22 civilian mariners and uniformed Navy personnel.
The crew will be joined by a team from the Navy’s Supervisor of Diving and Salvage.
Also on board is the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge, Tom Roth-Roffy, and representatives from the USCG, TOTE and ABS, all parties to the NTSB investigation (see new story).
Following the grounding, the ferry, the 126.31 m Amadeo I operated by Navimag, was parbuckled and refloated by Resolve Marine, in an operation that was the subject of a case study presented at this year’s Marine Log Marine Salvage Conference by Sam Kendall-Marsden, Syndicate Director, Charles Taylor and Co. Limited and Todd Schauer, Director of Operations, Resolve Fire & Salvage (Americas), Inc.
Subsequent to the salvage, however, insurers declared the vessel a Total Constructive Loss.
The Chilean Maritime Authority (DIRECTEMAR), which is a department of the Chilean Navy, granted permission for the vessel to be sunk under its supervision in 2,700 m of water, northwest of Puerto Natales and over 70 km off Diego de Almagro Island.
Photo from DIRECTEMAR shows Amadeo I prior to parbuckling operation
The sinking was the final chapter in a story that began in 1976 when the vessel was delivered by Norwegian shipbuilder Trosvik Versted as the Seaspeed Dana. Since then, the vessel had sailed under a variety of owners, flags and names.
According to the Chilean Navy, DIRECTEMAR decided that the vessel should be sunk as hull damage was so extensive as not to allow for safe passage during towing to a port for scrapping. Dismantling the ferry in situ was also ruled out because of the risk of serious environmental impact from what would have been a long operation in a location subject to extreme weather conditions.
The Chilean Navy says that prior planning to ensure compliance with strict precautions for the protection of the marine environment meant that the sinking went “smoothly and according to plan.”