Ship drifting towards gas platform

Evening Standard ^ | 1/11/07 | Staff

[Pontiac]

A 4,500 tonne ship is adrift in the North Sea and heading for a gas platform.

The vessel, named Vindo, broke down in very poor weather nine miles from the Murdoch gas platform.

Coastguards said the ship, with nine crew on board and laden with 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser, was drifting towards the rig.

Rescuers said it was a "race against time" to save lives.

Michael Mulford, of RAF Kinloss, told Sky News there were nine people on the ship and 30 people still on the platform.

He said: "We are planning to winch them off the ship two at a time but the timing will be critical."

He said it was possible the crew could fix the ship's engine in time but added: "You don't want to leave them on if they're heading for a gas platform."

Mr Mulford said: "This is the original white knuckle ride."

[Pontiac]

The Ship Must be out of range of a tug.

[My2Cents]

She's gonna blow!

[Ramius]

Yikes. That could get crummy in a hurry.

[Wraith]

Anyone on board that comes from Afghanistan?

[WakeUpAndVote]

Quick! Quick! Raise the gas prices!

[gridlock]

I know fertilizer with diesel leads to ANFO boom-boom. What happens when you saturate fertilizer with natural gas?

[Ben Mugged]

A sub with a conventional torpedo can solve this quandry.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Quick! Quick! Raise the gas prices!

LOL, you are right on target.

[Constitution Day]

...the ship, with nine crew on board and laden with 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser, was drifting towards the rig.

Holy. Moly.

[geopyg]

If I was a betting man I would place money on the ship not hitting the platform as it drifts in from nine miles out.

[Wings-n-Wind]

She's gonna blow!

Lemme see.... Hmmmmmm....
A natural gas drilling rig with an open source...
All that fertilizer.....
The ship's fuel oil....

THHHIIIISSSSS...... will be a real crowd-pleaser...

[<1/1,000,000th%]

A ship full of fertilizer?

Like what was used to bomb the WTC and Oklahoma City?

[Junior]

This sounds like a damned Superman movie setup. A ship carrying fertilzer is drifting toward a gas platform?

[LukeL]

Why don't these massive ships have life boats?

What would the cost be to have some small life boats with cheap motors on them?

[JZelle]

Like one of those asteroid near misses?

[Robert A Cook PE]

Free "open-range" target practice?

[School of Rational Thought]

Exocet anyone?

[Jimmy Valentine]

I wonder what national registry it is.

[Dysart]

Or this- Speed 2
Plot Outline: A computer hacker breaks into the computer system of the Seaborn Legend cruise liner and sets it speeding on a collision course into a gigantic oil tanker. (more) (view trailer)

Can't believe I actually watched that movie.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Mr Mulford said: "This is the original white knuckle ride."

A statement of multi-level stupidity.