Stranded cargo ship ID Integrity drifting near Great Barrier Reef

[banksmister]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/cargo-ship-id-integrity-breaks-down-off-great-barrier-reef/story-e6freoof-1226360919052

[TREVELLY]

So they go offshore so they don't have to have a pilot onboard to navigate them through the reef, yet are at greater risk to the reef as they are in waters that are rough and they can not deploy their anchors when they get engine failure.

A good thing they saved a dollar and put the reef at risk - one motor breaks down they are 20km from a reef drifting towards it at 6kph and no chance of a rescue boat getting to them to avoid grounding - sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

[banksmister]

What gets me is you can track ships round the world through this web site

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ (http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

But this ship hasn’t been tracked for 14 days

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=477456000 (http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=477456000)

[tunaticer]

Geez it is hard to please the majority!!! They don't want ships inside the reef area in case something goes wrong, now they don't want ships outside of the reef in case something goes wrong. Personally I think taking the outer course is a much safer affair than travelling several hundred miles inside of the reef in sometimes narrow channels. The fact that this ship has suffered mechanical breakdown is nothing out of the ordinary as every machine ever built will someday malfunction.
Another point to take note of is this ship is roughly 150 metres long, the Great Barrier Reef is 2300 km long, what % of the reef will suffer damage if it did hit? Avoid hitting as best you can but the reality is the damages will be minute compared to this years flood damage or one day's damages from the crown of thorns starfish. The reef continually renews itself as it grows, it does not die never to renew.

[TREVELLY]

Jack you are right you can't please everyone and yes it would be good for them to be outside the reef sufficient that if they breakdown they have time to be kept clear and not allowed to drift onto the reef before someone can help - it is pretty simple really and not hard to get right.

That too was why I qualified my statement so people wouldn't take it the wrong way.

[Richo1]

Alot more risk traveling inside the reef Trev, even with a pilot onboard. Pilotage is only compulsory for certain sections of the GBR, not its entire length, many people dont realize this.

Cheers Richo

[WalrusLike]

I hadn't really thought about the details of this type of situation before.

What apart from a seagoing tug could possible help if they were irretrievably disabled?

Can other container ships tow them? Would they? How many sea going tugs are available up and down the coast?

Can big fishing vessels help? Presumably they get towing fees if they can.

Regarding inside/outside... Much safer outside I would think. But distance outside is a nontrivial calculation. Depends on winds and currents, distance to help, outlying atolls etc... I imagine it's different for different sized vessels also.

[TREVELLY]

I could be wrong here - but I was under the impression if they were inside the reef and broke down they were in a depth where they could effectively deploy their anchor (barring a cyclone) where as being wide of the reef in deeper and unprotected much rougher water the anchor was useless hence travelling close to reef but in deep water they were if anything at increased risk.

Happy to be proved wrong.

[Richo1]

Your right with anchoring Trev, too deep outside of the reef. However total engine failure is a pretty rare event on a ship that size. The risks I am referring to are the navigational risks of taking ships of that size and greater inside the GBR. They have drafts in excess of 10m, can take up to 1.5 miles to complete a turn and up to 3 miles to come to a complete stop- combine that with human error and the risks are less outside the reef. Let's hope the tugs get there in time.
Don't know where this ship was coming from, however if coming in from the west, the savings in fuel are greater traveling inside the reef even with a pilot onboard compared to the alternative.

[trueblue]

many big ships have only one main engine

[trueblue]

I hadn't really thought about the details of this type of situation before.

What apart from a seagoing tug could possible help if they were irretrievably disabled?

Can other container ships tow them? Would they? How many sea going tugs are available up and down the coast?

Can big fishing vessels help? Presumably they get towing fees if they can.

Regarding inside/outside... Much safer outside I would think. But distance outside is a nontrivial calculation. Depends on winds and currents, distance to help, outlying atolls etc... I imagine it's different for different sized vessels also.

not possible for other ships that size to conduct a tow, they can't manouvre to connect a towline, and don't have towing bollards

[WalrusLike]

Thanks true blue.

[Smithy]

I've heard that they can drop a pot out whilst running and have enough onboard parts, workshops etc. to conduct a rebuild at sea. People can fit in the bore. Wonder what the problem is with this one.