Sea Anchor

Life Raft Discrepancies Found by USCG

The USCG MSO Providence has publicized the findings of its life raft examination, which revealed several deficiencies in the life rafts. The USCG inspectors examined 19 life rafts from fishing vessels and pleasure boats serviced by Jim Givens Survival Company and Givens Ocean Survival Systems Co. of Newport and Portsmouth, R.I. All 19 of the life rafts were deficient. The results revealed 16 rafts had missing equipment. Three of the rafts were taken out of service and two were outright condemned. Five of the rafts had problems with the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) cylinders, and altogether, 17 rafts had items which were expired at the time of the last servicing. One raft had dry rot and tears in the fabric that had been glued back together. Problems with the CO2 cylinders, required to inflate the rafts, included two cylinders that had not been tested in seven years, and one that weighed half its required weight. Some of the items missing from the various life rafts included sea anchors, radar reflectors, flares, medical supplies, flashlights, food, water, drinking cups, can openers, whistles, bailers, jackknifes, repair kits, heaving lines, instructions and hand pump parts (which rendered the pump inoperative). Expired items included EPIRBs and other batteries, flares, medical supplies, food and water. On one raft, all but three of the required 72 water bags were missing, broken or expired

USCG to Require Anchors, Emergency Retrieval Systems

The USCG has issued an interim rule requiring anchors and emergency retrieval systems on tank barges and the vessels towing them in coastal and Great Lakes service. In a significant change from the October 1997 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), the rule requires all single-hulled tank barges operating on the U.S. territorial sea, the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and parts of Puget Sound, be equipped with an operable anchor system.

Detyens Completes First Drydocking For Celebrity

Celebrity Cruise Lines has completed its first ever drydocking with Detyens Shipyards, Inc (DSI). ZENITH docked at the Charleston, South Carolina facility from October 24, 2005 thru November 3, 2005. The scope of work included: regular drydocking maintenance along with sea valve renewals, blade seals and polishing, anchor chains, bow and stern thruster seals, overhauling of the bow thruster, the dismantling and overhauling of the stabilizers, the application of the silicon base AF coatings

Coast Guard Plans to Save Ft. Laud. Reefs

CBS reported that the Coast Guard has been working on a plan to protect Fort Lauderdale reefs from potentially damaging freighters that lose their way and get stuck on those sensitive reefs. In the wake of the latest freighter grounding off the coast of Fort Lauderdale last month, the Coast Guard wants to change the anchorage rules to protect the reefs. Right now, the rules state vessels waiting to enter Port Everglades can drop anchor in two off-shore areas where three delicate reefs

FAU and Lockheed to Develop Autonomous Mooring Buoy System

Florida Atlantic University(FAU) and Lockheed Martin have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and produce a rapidly-deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system for military and scientific uses. The new autonomous mooring buoy system -- which incorporates an anchor, a combination anchor/air brake and a flotation buoy -- will allow sensors mounted on a floating buoy to be more successfully deployed on a station

ATSB Issues Report on Pasha Bulker Grounding

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) issued the report of its investigation of the grounding of the Pasha Bulker at on June 8, 2007. The investigation found that the master did not appropriately ballast the vessel and did not weigh anchor until it dragged in severe weather. The master had incorrectly assumed that authorities ashore would instruct ships to put out to sea when conditions were bad. After the ship got underway

Anchor Caused ’04 Delaware River Oil Spill

The U.S. Coast Guard announced the cause of the November 2004 oil spill in the Delaware River, saying a submerged 18,000-pound anchor of unknown origin caused the gash in the hulking Greek tanker, the Athos I. The other objects that had been suspected in the accident - a pump casing, a large concrete block, an 11-ton propeller - have been cleared of all charges. It was a costly accident, both financially and environmentally

Aker Yards to Build Two AHTS

Aker Yards has entered into a contract with an International Shipping Company, for building of two Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels of Aker Yards AH 12 design. The two vessels are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2010 and Q2 2011. The hull for the vessels will be built at Aker Yards in Romania and outfitted at Aker Yards in Norway. Roy Reite, who is in charge of Aker Yards' Offshore & Specialized Vessels business area, says:

Trinity Yachts Delivers 94-ft. Whale Song

The 94-ft. (28.6 m) explorer yacht Whale Song is designed specifically for the owner to safely travel the world in his quest for observing whales in their natural environment. The yacht is built extremely strong with a superstructure aft layout for maximum comfort at sea. The hull is steel construction to ABS ice class scantlings and contains spacious and comfortable amenities for accommodating the owner and seven guests on extended voyages

Wind Farm Workers Evacuated from Barge

At 8:26 a.m., the morning of Jan. 30, Liverpool Coastguard were contacted by workers on the work barge UR101 reporting that the barge anchor cables were breaking in heavy seas. The barge had 42 workers onboard and the barge was secured by four anchors, at various times during the night three anchor cables broke leaving the barge secured by only one anchor. A decision was made to evacuate the barge in worsening weather conditions throughout the night