Ocean 8

BogMonster · 10 May 2008, 17:12

Here are some photos of something most people probably wouldn't see first hand.

I went to have a look at a burnt out trawler yesterday, the Ocean 8, caught fire last Sunday and burned for a few days, thankfully the crew all got off OK as it was attached to a reefer ship transhipping its catch (they just dropped the anchor, jumped ship and cut her loose to sit at anchor) but it shows how devastating a fire on a ship can be once it takes hold, doesn't look to be anything left on the bridge except a metal shell and I guess the rest of the ship will be much the same as they said there was synthetic rope melting and running off into the water from the decks the other day!

As there was nobody on board the firefighters would not enter the ship (a couple of guys were killed here some years ago when they went on board a burning ship to fight a fire and were trapped so now they don't do it unless there are lives at stake) so they were just hosing water on it from a distance to try and keep it under control.

The military tug Giessenstroom was going to bring it in yesterday as the fire was supposed to be out, but they must have found another fire on board as there was a Securite message broadcast just as I got home advising all ships to avoid it by a minimum of 1nm but as far as I know it hasn't blown up yet - if it sinks where it is it will be a PITA as it is right in the middle of the main anchorage in Berkeley Sound.

Stoo · 11 May 2008, 12:21

If you weren't so "out there", this thing could be towed out the nav channels and sunk to become a dive site. Up here, they're sinking old ships all over the place as "artificial reefs"/dive sites. We sunk an old tramp steamer here in Tobermory a few years ago and visiting divers love it. (Personally, I prefer "real" wrecks... and I think yours would qualify!)

http://www.tobermorymaritime.com/N2sink.wmv

Google video has some videos of the site now.... Search "Niagara II"

Cool pics...thanks!

jyasaki · 12 May 2008, 18:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoo

If you weren't so "out there", this thing could be towed out the nav channels and sunk to become a dive site. Up here, they're sinking old ships all over the place as "artificial reefs"/dive sites.

They're gearing up to do that here. Most of the work is convincing the people giving the nod that it really is beneficial.

There's a lot of cleanup associated with the artificial reef ships: tanks scrubbed clean, all electrical stuff that's oil cooled removed, any asbestos removed, etc. It can take a couple million USD (yeah, not as impressive as it used to be) just to get a junker in condition clean enough to sink, and more to make it "diver friendly".

jky

codprawn · 12 May 2008, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

They're gearing up to do that here. Most of the work is convincing the people giving the nod that it really is beneficial.

There's a lot of cleanup associated with the artificial reef ships: tanks scrubbed clean, all electrical stuff that's oil cooled removed, any asbestos removed, etc. It can take a couple million USD (yeah, not as impressive as it used to be) just to get a junker in condition clean enough to sink, and more to make it "diver friendly".

jky

I wonder what harm asbestos will do underwater - maybe you will end up with aqualung cancer???

The ships sunk in Truk lagoon are still spewing out oil - the wildlife is thriving all the same!!!

I hate to see any ship like this - they are almost living things..........

Stoo · 15 May 2008, 03:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

It can take a couple million USD (yeah, not as impressive as it used to be) just to get a junker in condition clean enough to sink, and more to make it "diver friendly".

"Our" boat was purchased for $100K (scrap value) with funds raised through donations and a number of the local businesses. Then it was towed up by my budy with his tug, and tied up across the harbour from me for a year while volunteers scrubed her up and "idiot-proofed" it for diving. It was a pretty ugly little boat, but makes a cool dive site. I generally head out after dark and have the place to myself. There's lots of fish at night, and the penetration seems more "penetration-y" at night since the escape holes aren't as visable at night.

Since most of the area here is National Park, it had to be sunk outside the Park boundary. Three sites were selected and then a few of us assessed each area and made recommendations. We all agreed on the final one so that was easy!

Cod, in the lakes, the clean-up is especially critical as it's a closed ecosystem and the water is very cold so oil doesn't evaporate. This boat was also sunk close to shore, and the shore is National Park... the powers at be tend to frown on slicks on their rocks! Asbestos insulation tends to break down in water and float away... potentially ending up on their shoreline...

codprawn · 15 May 2008, 04:20

I forgot it was a lake but it's a pretty big one - Truk is pretty enclosed but it ain't cold that's for sure!!!

Wave action has a lot to do with oil breakup - in the Shetland Islands the oil tanker Braer sank releasing it's entire 85,000 tons of oil. That was 2x as much as the Exxon Valdez. Fortunately there was very little damage as the seas were so rought the oil dispersed and never even formed a slick.

BogMonster · 15 May 2008, 12:40

People start bouncing up and down about diesel spills here but the truth is that wave action usually disappears it within days as long as it is a bit offshore.

jyasaki · 20 May 2008, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I wonder what harm asbestos will do underwater - maybe you will end up with aqualung cancer???

US requires environmental impact reports for everything.

Dropping a rock into the water? How is that going to affect the current sand ecosystem?

Asbestos risk is probably being considered as a post-dive risk more than anything else. Fibers picked up while diving and freed once the water evaporates.

The oil thing is simply pollution mitigation. Yes Truk is doing well; that doesn't mean that the oil is benign. It still fouls seabirds and marine mammals, among other critters.

Stephen; Diesel (and gas) will evaporate, whereas oil won't. It'll thicken a bit depending on the type of oil, but it still ends up somewhere (usually on the prettiest beach around.)

jky

BogMonster · 20 May 2008, 17:43

Well she sank yesterday right in the middle of the main deepwater anchorage with about 120mt of diesel on board so I guess we are going to find out. As it happens I was out on one of our company launches yesterday on a rescue mission to recover a lost Yokohama fender (they cost a few thousand quid each so the customer was keen to get it back! rowed in to shore on the inflatable and tied a line on then towed it back out to the reefer ship) and there was bloody fuel everywhere, about a mile long slick I would guess and a few hundred yards across. Hopefully the wind will turn and carry it out to sea though I don't know how long it will carry on leaking out for... apparently there are oil drums and Gawd knows what else floating around though we didn't see anything much where we were. As the water is 30m deep and I reckon the top of the vessel's mast would be at least 20m high I hope she is lying on her side or there will be somebody else with a hole in their bottom sooner rather than later!