A Bad Day at Sea - ship vs pier

[DCSWO]

I didn't notice a posting on this mishap yet. Looks like they lost communications between the bridge and the engines, tried to slow by dropping both anchors. The sand eventually stopped them. The water flow around the bow is likely them using bow thruster(s) to attempt to push away from the terminal. When the camera moves to the stern, you can see the prop wash from the engines as they try to back away and get "ungrounded".

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/4a3abe0c-8f1d-3e00-ad51-b84661a75d0f/ss_watch:-giant-cruise-ship.html

 

[FigmentSpark]

Wow! We they able to get out to sea after that?

 

[Dug720]

Wow!!! That ranks up there with the X ship that took out a pier in Alaska.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

There are gonna be some folks looking for jobs soon.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Well that’ll wake the neighbors.

 

[RedSox68]

They're lucky they didn't take the building out! I bet that woke up the passengers for sure.

 

[minniemouse1]

that ship was moving WAYYYY to fast coming into port.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I saw this. Oh boy, not good. Dropping the anchors to slow down- hmmm... Doesn't sound like a best plan. Some is going to have some explaining to do.

 

[RedSox68]

There are gonna be some folks looking for jobs soon.

Yeah -- they were "asleep at the wheel" so to speak

 

[Capt_BJ]

I saw this. Oh boy, not good. Dropping the anchors to slow down- hmmm... Doesn't sound like a best plan. Some is going to have some explaining to do.

actually that IS the best plan and why the anchors are manned in this situation .... they are sort of the 'emergency brake' .... unfortunately as ships got bigger the size of anchors did not increase proportionally and their effectiveness, especially at this speed, is limited ....

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Heads up! Comin’ in hot.

 

[dtrain]

Is it weird that I keep watching it over and over?

 

[scgustafson]

actually that IS the best plan and why the anchors are manned in this situation .... they are sort of the 'emergency brake' .... unfortunately as ships got bigger the size of anchors did not increase proportionally and their effectiveness, especially at this speed, is limited ....

It is not the anchor itself that is doing the work in this situation, or in an anchoring situation to hold the ship's relative position, but it is the weight of the anchor chain. At anchorage, a length of chain equal to 5 to 7 times the depth of the water is paid out to hold the ship in place, the anchor itself is merely a weight to cause the anchor to start to run for the bottom. It is not used as a hook into the sea bed. However, in this case where the anchor and its chain are being used as an emergency brake, far more than 5 to 7 times the depth of the water would need to be let out to provide enough drag to stop a ship of this size at this speed, which is really hard to do in the limited amount of time before the allusion (when a single moving object hits something stationary, a collision requires two or more moving objects striking each other).

 

[DCSWO]

It is not the anchor itself that is doing the work in this situation, or in an anchoring situation to hold the ship's relative position, but it is the weight of the anchor chain. At anchorage, a length of chain equal to 5 to 7 times the depth of the water is paid out to hold the ship in place, the anchor itself is merely a weight to cause the anchor to start to run for the bottom. It is not used as a hook into the sea bed. However, in this case where the anchor and its chain are being used as an emergency brake, far more than 5 to 7 times the depth of the water would need to be let out to provide enough drag to stop a ship of this size at this speed, which is really hard to do in the limited amount of time before the allusion (when a single moving object hits something stationary, a collision requires two or more moving objects striking each other).

For a normal anchorage you are correct but in this case, you are counting on the anchor(s) to just create some drag - hopefully flukes down. In this situation, if you just dropped the anchor and continually let the chain pay out, you aren't creating any drag until you pay out all the chain - then it would start dragging on the bottom. The key here is to drop it (or them), pay out a shot or so, set the brake, and hope it helps. I agree with Capt_BJ. It's not much, but it's better than nothing in this case.

 

[Capt_BJ]

thanks for the vote of confidence

I'd hope that the years I sat in the Captain's chair were the result of knowing SOMETHING about ship driving!!!

Anchoring has one set of parameters and using the anchors as a brake is more like using them in a 'handling' situation called dredging the anchor. In this case an anchor is sometimes thought of as a poor man's tug .... https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/dredging-anchors/

IME an item on the checklist for entering or leaving port is: both anchors ready for letting go

if you have a 100,000 ton ship going 6 knots, dropping the anchors is kinda like hitting your car brakes hard while going 30 but only 10 feet from 'the problem' and you are driving on ice .....

(tidbit ..... not having the required anchors (functional) can be a reason to be denied entry to port or getting underway from port) Helps understand why cruise ships often carry a spare ..... this is the bow of QM2 ... the black thing in front of the black hatch is an anchor ...

 

[ladyofthetramp]

actually that IS the best plan and why the anchors are manned in this situation .... they are sort of the 'emergency brake' .... unfortunately as ships got bigger the size of anchors did not increase proportionally and their effectiveness, especially at this speed, is limited ....

Thanks Capt_BJ! I was hoping you would weigh in with your expertise.

 

[Capt_BJ]

given that something was clearly 'going wrong' and causing them to come it way to fast - or as we like to say in ship driving schools 'too much momentum'

one could argue that they handled the situation well - or at least not as bad as it could be ....

we don't see this

this ship was gong no where until temporary repairs where made and inspected ....

this is what happens if catch a corner of a pier .... if you can hit the pier 'flat' the force can spread out. You may get dents but hopefully not holes

like Disney's recent booboo in Nassau where they backed into a dock structure ... but hit flat

 

[RedSox68]

Ouch to Disney's ship! That's an unusual occurrence for them.

Is that picture of the torn ship the one in the video, or an example of what could have happened had they hit it wrong? That's some pretty serious damage.

 

[Snowwhyt]

No problem. That will buff right out.

Say, on the Disney ship ding from Nassau, anyone get in trouble for that?

Who was captain or was it a pilot from the port?

like Disney's recent booboo in Nassau where they backed into a dock structure ... but hit flat

 

[bumbershoot]

All I can think of is the scene in a Jurassic Park movie with the mom and baby t-rexes onboard...