Browsing: Ship disasters

Cruising Life
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Anatomy of a Disaster in Pictures

Here’s a great recap by gCaptain of the wreck of the container ship Rena that hit a reef off New Zealand and eventually broke apart in that country’s worst maritime disaster: The MV Rena was traveling at a speed of 17 knots when it grounded on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of New Zealand on October 5, 2011, during a voyage from Napier to port of Tauranga. At the time, the ship was carrying over 1,300 containers and 1,733 tonnes of heavy fuel. What resulted became the country’s worst maritime disaster which took years to clean-up. Investigators eventually found that it was…

Cruising Life
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New 16-Page NTSB Digest Details Sinking of El Faro, with Infographics and Pictures. Harsh Verdict on the Captain and Owner

The NTSB has just released a new 16-page illustrated digest showing the events and timeline that led to the sinking of El Faro, a U.S.-flagged, 790-foot-long cargo ship, and the deaths of its 33-member crew in hurricane Joaquin off the Bahamas on Oct. 1, 2015.  It was the worst U.S. maritime disaster in 30 years. The digest, complete with photos, maps, and infographics, is easy-to-read and comes on top of thousands of pages in the NTSB’s report and other documents. It has more than 60 recommendations and a review of what the government and the maritime industry can do to…

Cruising Life
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Tragic Mystery at Sea: What Caused the Destination, a 110-foot-long Fishing Boat, To Sink Suddenly Off Alaska, Killing all Six on Board

What happened to the Destination, the 110-foot-long fishing boat that sank without so much as a Mayday in the Bering Sea on Feb. 11, 2017, killing all six men on board? The captain and crew were all veteran crab fishermen, many with decades of experience in the frigid waters off Alaska, some of the most unforgiving fishing grounds on the planet. But they all suddenly disappeared in 32-degree water; none were ever found. The only indication of any problem was the boat’s EPIRB transmission that the Coast Guard heard about 6:30 in the morning. The Coast Guard then tried to…