These thrusters provide tremendous control in port, lessoning the need for tugs. But if one just swings wildly at higher speed, due to a crossed wire or false computer input, bad things will happen fast.
Posted on 01/13/2012 6:37:29 PM PST by Perdogg
A cruise ship with up to 4,000 people on board ran aground on the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast, on Friday night, and UK media reported that at least two people died.
The Telegraph said some passengers jumped from the steeply listing Costa Concordia and swam a short distance to the island. A photo in the Telegraph showed the brightly lit ship teetering just outside a harbor wall.
Sky News quoted coast guard officials as saying two people died.
(Excerpt) Read more at overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com ...
Do you?
The Capt. of that ship is going to be unemployed.
“Non-Smoking Ship: No”
No wonder...
I say, you could make a fortune on this leaning ship’s roulette table!
That's more people than live in my entire town! We're lucky to fit four in a motor boat on a lake here.
It looks like the Concordia is too large to fit all the way into the harbor. The only way they could unload passengers would be at the lighthouse area and there is only a small area there, nowhere near the length of the boat. -tom
where does it dock inside that little cove and why go in there in the first place
As Tom inferred, the Concordia probably anchors out and tenders cruise passengers in to the waterfront.
If everything is working these ships are incredibly maneuverable, with thrusters that can basically spin it in place, etc.
Which is why I think something went wrong power-wise.
The Island of Giglio is not on the ships itinerary. It looks like they were going elsewhere and just ran aground.
If you look at that beautiful little harbor it is not capable of handling a big cruise ship like the Concordia.- Tom
Damn, that piece of land is not on the map we Googled. Get that first mate in here now!
Since the Island of Giglio is not on the itinerary, it looks like a major screwup.
I can imagine the chaos on that tiny peaceful Island when thousands of tourists come ashore at night needing assistance.-tom
I worked on Jewel of the Seas, a RCCL cruise ship, for ten months. (IIRC, 850 crew, about 950 feet long, about 95K tons) It was the habit and practice of the captain to BACK into port...because the penalties the cruise line have to pay for overstaying in port are formidable. 15 minutes late might be a $25K fine. So when it’s time to leave, they want to scoot.
When we came into Bermuda, I think the town was St. George, or Georgetown, the ship drove forward into the area between two jetties and turned end-for-end 180 degrees around. There was no more than 30 feet clearance between the jetties and either the bow or the stern of the boat. (On a boat like that, 30 feet is like 30 inches) The way this was done was two-fold. The ship used azipods for propulsion, which look like upside down desk fans...and of course it had bow thrusters. My suspicion is that they had a computer navigation program that could rotate the ship in place; with no forward or reverse motion. Additionally, there was a crew member on the bow and one on the stern, with handheld laser distance guns that either fed into the nav computer or, gave readings through an electronic or radio connection. I think the latter. It was pretty damn cool how they did it, and I used to joke with the captain how the hell he did it. Of course, I only landed in Bermuda maybe 17 times so I got to see it a lot!
The skipper is looking for a new job on a ranch in Wyoming.
Let's see. Right red return. Was that the color of the light house or the light? I forget. Mario, get me another grappa.
These thrusters provide tremendous control in port, lessoning the need for tugs. But if one just swings wildly at higher speed, due to a crossed wire or false computer input, bad things will happen fast.
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