Mighty Servant III sunk

[more coffee]

http://www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_mightyserve3.html

[Ghost 2501]

its done the round in the threads before, however it was only a matter of time before cargolaw got hold of it.

its one of those expencive oh B:censored:r moments for the capatain.

[Soar Master]

That is too bad that the Mighty Servant III sank. It is a pretty cool ship. Maybe they can salvage it and reuse it again someday.

[Ghost 2501]

62m, it should be, though what damage had been done, cost of repair v value of ship, that will decide the fate

[smart_racer]

Dockwise's website last update on the Servent 3 was Dec.12/06, the vessel has been sitting on the mudline since Dec.06/06, not great storage conditions.

[Ghost 2501]

but still salvagable

[more coffee]

ive been working some stupid hours latly and well havent been hitting the forums as much.
sorry for the repost :p

[smart_racer]

Salvagable for scrap or re-fit for operation?

[more coffee]

my guess is the insurance company may decide.
got to thinking a little about that ,i wonder if the insurance company wavied coverage during the loading and unloading given the nature,of how its done.it would be in the contract and agreed upon before anything was signed of course. insurance companies protect there bottom line at all cost.
and then it maybe 50/50 where the insurance company pays half and the company pays half.

i guessing shes destined for the nearest ship breaker.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

62m, it should be, though what damage had been done, cost of repair v value of ship, that will decide the fate

What I found interesting, is that sunken in 62 meters of water, the crane is still visible above ocean surface. :o The second to the last shot on cargo law shows how much of the crane sticks up. (the one without all the bubbles.)
There are more images and possibly some video of the sink, but none of them have been released to the public.

[smart_racer]

I am sure it is company internal investigation, alot of questions for the crew, and inquiries, before the public receives information

[james carey]

Mighty Servant 11 wasn't economical to repair after she capsized , was towed away and scrapped.

[Shaun Hendricks]

Capsizing may make the difference there and there was hull damage as well to the MS2. The MS3 went down pretty 'gentle' and settled on her hull bottom.

They could refloat this ship but the longer the time they 'do not' do so says (to me anyway) that they are going to scrap her. If I owned the ship, I would've had a decision on it within 24 hours and if to raise and refit, I'd have had a crew on her filling her back up with air and lifting her within 5 days of being down. They could have her afloat in a week as there is apparently nothing structurally wrong with the ship. That is a serious investment in capital down on the ocean floor there and to just let her sit there is a big mistake. The investigation would probably go more quickly with the ship afloat as well...

I don't get it, but I guess I'm not a maritime insurance expert or salvage expert... so I'll just sit back in my armchair and watch the entire debacle continue... hand me the Pringles.... <munch><munch> :D

[Ghost 2501]

i have a feeling that a valve or pipe has broken in the hull, resulting in the ships continual ballasting. yes they may have flicked the switch to hold the ballast position however with the pipe busted water would continue to flow in and the ship carry on down

[james carey]

Hmm..... Possibly something broke , though these vessels have back up systems on the back ups . I'm for human error !! Pringles Please ! :D

[Ghost 2501]

i think technical failure

[der kapitan]

i think technical failure

From as tight-lipped as they seem to be regarding the sinking, the general public may never know the cause.

On one hand, someone mentioned backup systems, and on the other, human error.

Now, human error can be compensated for with a mechanical backup, and if we can assume that not every crewmember is an idiot, somebody must have noticed that they were in trouble. At that point, the backup system would have been activated, but obviously it didn't work---.

Ghost, you're probably right.

[Shaun Hendricks]

Almost all accidents are a combination of a series of events that lead up to the actual accident. I wouldn't even venture to say that the accident was all human or all mechanical error. I would guess it is a combination of the two. Even mechanical failures can (and usually do) have human origin. Take this 'accident flow' as a for instance:

1. Human watches machine make bolts all day. Monotonous, but human catches most flawed bolts, not all.

2. Flawed bolt makes it through the QC phase with invisible hairline weakness, normally okay as most bolts aren't installed alone.

3. Flawed bolt is installed on 8 bolt flange of water pipe in a ships engine room.

4. Installation looks good and is signed off on by inspectors, ship launched all normal.

5. Ship operates normally for years, but subtle harmonic in engine room causes water pipe to vibrate and eventually bolt weakens and cracks but doesn't give way.

6. Annual inspection reveals nothing, bolt is still there but all stresses are now on adjacent bolts and flange seals.

7. Harmonic begins to work on adjacent bolts and flange itself. Seal fails and high pressure water finishes the job the harmonic started, all bolts fail in sequence around the flange as they were weakened.

8. Burst pipe floods engine room. Watertight door to engine room was blocked open by a crew member trying to ease the heat of the room. Other compartments below have done the same because the HVAC is on the fritz again.

9. Ship sinks because enough of the wrong compartments flood and it capsizes.

No "one" mistake or problem was enough to sink the ship but a series of 'oopses' or plain stupidity caused the problem. In the end, the accident will be human error as humans had the chance to stop it from starting, the machine only did what it was made to do.

Thus 96% of all accidents are traceable to human error, but mechanical failure plays a role in many of those accidents.

[Ghost 2501]

it was a flaw the size of a grain of sand that brought down United Airlines 232 at sioux city, killing around 120, that flaw was in the fan blade in the rear engine, and had been there since the engine was installed at the mac doug plant and had slowly been getting worse until the fan flew apart.

now for ther system on the MS3 to work, there has to be an open to air vent, (very much like the expantion pipe on your central heating system, as the water expands it may vent into the feeder tank preventing an explosion) - this pipe allows air to escape as water comes in, keeping an equal pressure, u-boats work like this. to vent the system, water is pumped out or flushed out. This pipe and subsequent joints may not be easily accessible by inspections, so due to salt corrosion, weld embrittlement is not beyond the realms of feasability.

it may be that the internals of the ship are dry, just the hull cavity and ballast system is full of water, and possibly the engine room. it depends where the pipe broke (if that is what happenned)

[smart_racer]

Anybody heard a update on the Servant 3, or is it still living on the bottom? Dockwise's website has no new infor, but The Heerma Group bought Dockwise Dec.23/06, I wonder if the Servant 3 was included with the sell?

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

I will e-mail a contact at Dockwise and see if he has any public information.

This was posted at Shipspotting.com
According to a Norwegian newspaper, Dockwise has now finally been sold. The buyer is 3i, which is a global private equity fund.

The paper writes that the price is to be adjusted at a later stage, based on whether "Mighty Servant 3" can be saved or not.

Best regards
Mats
Oslo

[smart_racer]

Interesting...thanks- Umi

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

This just in from the Netherlands...


Salvage contract has been signed and work is underway. After refloating,
a detailed survey will be done, which will be decisive re. the future of
the vessel.


:)

[Ghost 2501]

i think that it will be something simple that has failed, probably a busted flood valve or ruptured pipe,

[smart_racer]

It would be interesting to monitor the salvage operations and find the cause proplem, also will the Servant 3 be made operational-$$$...or scrap

[Kmot]

There is a new problem off the coast of the UK. The MSC Napoli.

[smart_racer]

Kmot...Do you know any details... beached, sunk.
hit, fire?

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

There is a new problem off the coast of the UK. The MSC Napoli.

Kmot...Do you know any details... beached, sunk.
hit, fire?




The shipspotting guys are on top of it... ;)

http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2365&forum=2

[Shaun Hendricks]

Storm damage... beached intentionally to prevent sinking. However, cargo containers are falling off and washing ashore. 15 BMW motor cycles were stolen off the beach last night.

[Punkie]

It was beached off Branscombe in Devon, The locals are continuing the tradition of wrecking. Anyone want a BMW motorbike? just a bit damp!http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-01-20T143303Z_01_L20304530_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-SHIP-NICKEL.xml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6287457.stm

[Kmot]

There are going to be a lot of hot rodded and custom Beemers rolling around before long! :D

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,782894,00.jpg

[jeepers1940]

According to the NBC Nightly News tonight, people taking items from the beach can keep them, as long as they report what they removed. No info was offered concerning what authority or agency they report this to. The report was brief and - typically - not overly informative.
Bill

[boatman]

Heres a link to more info

http://www.cargolaw.com/2007nightmare_msc.napoli.html

[Ghost 2501]

jeepers, HM customs and the HMCG are giving out salvage forms.

[Massey]

Does anyone have any new info on MS III?? It has been a while since I have heard about an update and that was only that the bunker oil was removed and the ship was being preped for raising.

Massey

[bigford]

Mighty Servant 3 refloated
Salvors have managed to raise the 27,720-dwt Mighty Servant 3 (built 1984)which sank off the coast of West Africa last December. Smit Salvage will now spend the next few days securing the vessel before the ship is ready to be moved to a repair facility. A Dockwise spokesman told TradeWinds that the most likely destination for the ship was Cape Town in South Africa. There she is likely to undergo a full survey to establish what work needs to be done to return the ship to service. Salvors are said to have used the ship’s own ballast tanks and a floating crane to slowly bring the ship to the surface.
The Mighty Servant 3 developed a list and sank after offloading the drilling platform GSF Aleutian Key on 6 December 2006. All 21 Dutch and Filipino crew were rescued unharmed from the ship which sank to the sea bottom in about 62 meters of water. The incident took place about one mile off the North Angolan coast and very close to the entrance of the Port of Luanda.
By Dale Wainwright in Singapore

[smart_racer]

Sounds like another well done job by Smit....they know their stuff!

[meechingman]

Yes, a job well done, but probably easier(!) than some, if they were able to use MS3's own tanks for the reflotation. Surpried to hear that Dockwise are thinking of repairing her. Talking to the boss of one of Smit's rivals a short while ago (I'm not in the business - he just happens to live very near me) he thought the scrapyard would be her destination, given the amount of time she's spent under water.

[Ghost 2501]

probably will cost less to repair and refit than to replace, depends how much damage has been done and what / where has been flooded