Damage to the bow of the Pacific Star after a storm in 2007 resulting in a cancelled cruise

The video of unsecured furniture flying about on the P&O cruise ship, Pacific Sun, is all over the internet.  A Carnival spokesperson (Carnival owns P&O) is quoted as saying, “The incident was fully investigated and lessons learnt have been heeded, including the securing of tables and other furnishings aboard.”   As Captain D. Peter Boucher commented on our previous post, “the lessons were learned hundreds of years ago by seafarers,” as indeed they were.   There is, however, more to this story  than initially meets the eye.

It appears that this was not just a case of cruise line learning a very basic lesson in seamanship, but rather a repeat performance of a lesson wholly unlearned.   The Pacific Sun was caught in a storm off Vanuatu at the end of July in 2008.  Carnival spokesman David Johns said, “A series of waves buffeted the ship, having an impact for people onboard… This was an exceptionally rare occurrence.”

Apparently not so rare.  Almost exactly a year before, the Pacific Star, a sister-ship to the Pacific Sun, was caught in a storm also just off Vanuatu and was sufficiently damaged that the cruise had to be cancelled.   Fortunately, no passengers were seriously injured on the Star. Unfortunately for passengers of the Pacific Sun, apparently nothing was learned from the damage to the Star.

Storm ends Pacific Star cruise

One might understand, if not necessarily excuse,  how objects which are required to move about, chairs, for example, might not be properly secured.  It was reported on the Pacific Sun, however, that some of “the worst injuries were caused when gambling machines crashed over on top of people.“   It is difficult to imagine any justification why large gaming machines in a casino would not be properly secured for sea, particularly on a winter cruise in waters where a sister-ship suffered cruise ending damage in a storm only the year before.

Passengers hurt as storm rocks New Zealand cruise ship

But why is this story and video coming to the surface now?  One of the women in the video being battered by flying furniture is now suing the cruise line.  The company claims that the “drama happened during very unusual weather.” That would be the same sort of unusual weather as damaged the Pacific Star in the same waters only a year before?

Woman to sue P&O after cruise ship storm drama

The sea doesn’t always cooperate.  Last March, we posted about  a large wave that smashed into a cruise ship in the Mediterranean killing two passengers.   Less tragically,  the cruise ship Pacific Sun got caught in bad weather off the coast of New Zealand in 2008.   No deaths were reported but 42 of the 2403 passengers and crew onboard were injured.  Recently closed circuit videos of the scene onboard made their way to the net and have been widely distributed.  If you haven’t stumbled across it yet, it is both fascinating and terrifying.

ALARMING footage has emerged showing passengers and furniture being thrown

Undersea Search Is On for Famous Revolutionary War Ship

The 2010 Port of San Diego Festival of Sail kicks off today with a parade of tall ships on San Diego Bay at 11 a.m.   The festival runs runs through September 6th  and features more than 20 tall ships and other vessels from around the world, including the Californian, a replica of the original America’s Cup racing yacht America, the gaff topsail schooner Bill of Rights, the Kaisei, a brigantine from Antigua. For a more complete list of participating ships click here.  It sounds like a great festival, and unlike the East Coast, the weather is forecast to be beautiful.

Festival sails into San Diego Bay

Timeshare Carriers"

What would Lord Nelson have thought of this?  There were various news reports out recently that the British and the French may share aircraft carriers.

UK, France closer to carrier sharing deal

Britain and France are moving closer to a deal to share aircraft carriers, a British newspaper reported Tuesday — a move that could save the one-time rivals money in an age of austerity. The possibility of pooling carriers has been suggested before, but The Times of London claimed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron were due to outline the proposal during a planned November summit.

The idea has been kicking around since at least 2008.   Nevertheless, the news reports were met with protests and an immediate denial by the UK Ministry of Defence.

It is an intriguing idea, not the least because it would involve two traditional nautical enemies.   In some respects it would be a manifestation of  ”Augustine’s Laws,” which were formulated by Norman Augustine, a former chairman of Martin Marietta, a major US defense contractor. “His Law XVI was “In the year 2054, the entire defense budget will purchase just one aircraft. This aircraft will have to be shared by the Air Force and Navy 3 1/2 days each per week, except for leap year, when it will be made available to the Marine Corps for the extra day.”  The serious truth behind this law is that since the end of World War II the cost per weapon for airplanes, tanks, and ships has risen much faster than the defense budget has, so every single category of weapon has declined in numbers.” (from James Fallows, Uncle Sam Buys an Airplane)

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing on the news.

Historic Ship Brings Unwelcome Stowaways to Isle Royale National Park

On the morning of July 27th, park divers inspected the hull of the Niagara while it was docked at the headquarters dock on Mott Island. They discovered several colonies of zebra mussels attached to the hull of the ship aft of midship on the keel and rudder assembly (pintel). Evidence suggested that the mussels had been attached to the vessel for a considerable length of time, which meant that the volunteer divers missed them. The park divers cleaned about 80% of the zebra mussels off the hull before deciding that further cleaning of the ship in a clean harbor might seed the harbor and further spread this fast moving invasive species.

The ship left the harbor the next morning with a new level of appreciation for what is necessary to ensure that a ship is 100% clean of aquatic invasive species. The Niagara then sailed to Duluth, Minnesota, to attend the annual Tall Ships Duluth Festival, where it is hoped that the crew of theNiagara will educate the crews of other tall ships and vessels about the issues related to aquatic invasive species such as the zebra mussel.

Zebra mussels are a species that are thought to have originated in the Baltic Sea and are believed to have been transported to the waters of North America in ballast water discharged from commercial shipping vessels. Zebra mussels can attach themselves to nearly any surface, including wood, fiberglass, aluminum, steel, rocks, and pipes, and can be transported to a number of other bodies of water, remaining alive for up to a week out of the water. These fingernail-sized mussels can quickly out-compete native species, change water chemistry and turbidity, change oxygen content, and have significant impact on native fish species.

Great news!  The oldest just barely surviving composite clipper ship in the world, the City of Adelaide appears  likely to be moved to Australia to its namesake city, Adelaide.  The ship, which is currently at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland, has been threatened by scrapping as the museum lacked the fund to care for the ship.    The announcement, made by Scottish Culture Minister, Fiona Hyslop, was a disappointment to a competing group which wanted the old clipper to be moved to Sunderland – where she was built in 1864.

Historic clipper City of Adelaide to be sent to Australia

A bid to keep the 145-year-old City of Adelaide in the UK, by sending the ship to Sunderland – where she was built – was rejected.

Speaking in Irvine – the current home of the ship – Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said she would be returning to the city after which she was named.

She said: “We can now have a link between Scotland and Australia which allows both nations to share the vessel’s historical, cultural and social significance through tourism, interpretation and education.

“I was impressed and inspired by the enormous commitment shown by the Australian and Sunderland groups for the vessel.

“I am aware that everyone who worked on the unsuccessful bid will be disappointed. However, because of the need for the vessel to be removed from its current location, a viable alternative to deconstruction had to be identified in order to save the ship.”

City of Adelaide Preservation Trust chairman Creagh O’Connor said he was “thrilled and delighted” after a decade-long campaign. The trust aims to preserve the vessel on a land-based maritime precinct at Port Adelaide in time for the 175th anniversary of settlement next year.

Campaigners from Sunderland vowed to fight on. Peter Maddison – who briefly “occupied” the clipper last year – was told his group’s bid “did not contain sufficient detail in practical terms”.

He said: “There will be a lot of broken hearts in Sunderland today. But after all, the ship lies there still. It will be months before anything can happen and the Australians have now got to demonstrate they can do this.

“I wish them well and congratulate them on their success but we will fight on.”

The clipper had faced being deconstructed if relocation plans could not be agreed.

Photo: Will van Dorp

One of the ways that stowaways can get aboard liner ships these days is to hide in cargo containers.  Atlantic Container Lines will be using containers for a related if rather different purpose.  The shipping line will soon take delivery of five containers converted to temporary prison cells to hold stowaways found aboard their ships.

ACL to utilise ‘prison boxes’ for stowaways

Each of its five multi-purpose ships deployed on the Atlantic will be equipped with one 40 ft container divided into four cabins where any stowaways will be housed until they can be handed over to the authorities.

ACL chief executive Andrew Abbott, who first drew attention to frequent security breaches at European ports earlier this year, said that ACL is working with the European Community Shipowners’ Association to persuade the European Commission that action must be taken to curb the problem of stowaways.

Earlier this week we posted about Tall Ships Chicago 2010.   Among the roughly 20 tall ships participating is the 118-foot topsail schooner Unicorn whose crew includes six Chicago-area girls from the “Sisters Under Sail” program.

“Adventure of a Lifetime” is About More Than Sails, Knots

The ship’s owner had four girls of her own that she raised on the boat and realized how giving other girls an opportunity to sail on their own was a way to teach life lessons.

“We saw our own daughters growing up aboard ships crewing in their summer months, and when they were ready to go off to college I saw that they were armed with so much more confidence than I ever had when I was their age, and we knew we had something really special that we could offer just for girls,” said Dawn Santamaria.

Roughly 400 girls have gone through the program, taking away more than just a knowledge of knots and sails.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for pointing out the festival.