SHIP HITS TRICOLOR AGAIN

Sky News ^ | Last Updated: 21:27 UK, Wednesday January 01, 2003 | Sky News

[colette_g]

Tricolor is lying on its side

SHIP HITS TRICOLOR AGAIN

A ship carrying 70,000 tonnes of highly flammable gas oil has crashed into the submerged car transporter which sank in the English Channel.

French coastguards are trying to rescue the crew of The Vicky - which is stuck on top of the the submerged Tricolor.

The Tricolor was carrying 2,862 BMWs, Volvos and Saabs worth an estimated £30m when it sank off the French port of Dunkirk two weeks ago after colliding with the container ship Kariba in thick fog.

The submerged wreck of the Tricolor, which was left lying on its side, was then hit by the Nicola, a 3,000-tonne ship registered in the Dutch Antilles.

Dover Coastguard said it was not yet known if there was any imminent danger of the highly flammable oil on board The Vicky igniting, or whether the ship was sinking.

The spokesman said: "If the Vicky is holed then the French are going to have get the crew off quickly and then deal with any pollution issue later."

[Humidston]

Hubby used to be in the business... His comment: "How could a 3,000 ton ship hold 70,000 tons of fuel??? And gas oil is NOT highly flammable - it's more like home heating oil."

[OldFriend]

You see.....if only Dubya signed onto Kyoto none of this would be happening.

[1rudeboy]

The legal fees for all the claims and counter-claims will be in the millions. Too bad I can't have a piece of the action.

[1rudeboy]

What nationality are the ships' pilots?

What difference does it make? Indulge us.

[eastforker]

It was the nicola not the vicky that was a 3000 ton vessel.

[Veggie Todd]

Shouldn't this be a "hold muh beer" alert?

[Humidston]

I stand corrected - Read it wrong.

[Bobby777]

Wonder what a BMW 7 series and a Volvo S60 will bring on Ebay after this? ... (with a little bit of saltwater corrosion ...) ... aye carumba ... what a mess ... might could salvage the drive train and chassis ... of some of them ... with the ship on it's side I think it might take more than Dr. Dent to fix the sheetmetal ...

[Dog Gone]

Thanks.

[Vinnie]

Too bad I can't have a piece of the action

Call John Edwards. He can set you up.

[Reeses]

blame on the United States

If they used GPS navigation they could sue us since we designed, built, launched, and paid for all the satellites up there. We also tweak their signals on purpose to weaken their accuracy and can do this to varying degrees for specific sections of the globe. When war breaks out in Iraq civilian GPS units will be unusable over there. Some blood sucking Gore voting lawyer will find a way to sue us.

[StriperSniper]

Even in heavy fog ships shouldn't collide in the first place if they have a radar watch.

The way the wreck is laying, radar would not "see" it. It's like running at night out of NY Harbor, radar picks up boats, bouys, bridges, but not telephone poles or railroad ties floating in the water (just one of them at over 10 knots could ruin your whole night ;-). Even fish and lobster pot bouys have little radar reflectors on them to keep them from getting hit and ripped up.

[syriacus]

syriacus: What nationality are the ships' pilots?

1rudeboy: What difference does it make? Indulge us.

Maybe local pilots should be in charge at this time. With the bad weather and disabled ship, and all.

Bay's pilots are a guiding force Chesapeake captains help ships navigate; 59 of the elite mariners
Originally published December 30, 2002

The 717-foot oil tanker Kite glows golden at the anchorage just south of the Bay Bridge off Annapolis. It had arrived laden with heavy fuel oil from St. Croix heading to Hess Oil's dock in Curtis Bay.

Like every ship coming from international waters, the Kite, by law, will be piloted not by its Greek captain but by a Chesapeake Bay pilot, in this case Davidsonville resident Capt. Duke Adams, who knows the bay like the back of his hand.

The Association of Maryland Pilots, based in Baltimore, has been taking ships up the shoaly waters of the bay for 150 years, making it the oldest such group in the country, according to the association. It has 59 members. [excerpt]

[syriacus]

How close to the Chunnel was the collision?

[colette_g]

ROTFLMAO :-)

[colette_g]

You would have thought they might have been a bit more careful after the first incident :-)

[colette_g]

I couldn't think of a funny enough "Hold muh...." title. Any takers ?

[colette_g]

Not sure, it was sailing from Belgium but that doesn't give much help on the nationality of the pilot :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2620641.stm

"The 243 metre-long, 43,000 tonne tanker was sailing from Antwerp in Belgium to New York when it struck the Tricolor. "

[Dark Seraph]

GPS was the first thing that came to my mind as to what they could blame us for.

[my right]

Is this the worst series of navigations cock-ups in recent memory or what? The French don't know how to mark the site of a wreck? Even in heavy fog ships shouldn't collide in the first place if they have a radar watch.

Not to mention GPS.