NAUTICAL LOG

There seem to be problems and mistakes being made by the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regarding the issuing of 'M' Notices. Here at NAUTICAL LOG we have just received an e-mail correcting MSN 1734 (M+F) issued November 06, 2009 . This notification of an error is some three weeks after the Notice was issued - better late than never. In the past there have been multiple transmissions of data and broken links to download sites. We have suggested to the Agency that they review their 'M' Notice system and procedure, so hopefully these mistakes will not occur again. After all they are the United Kingdom Government Agency that represents both the Flag State and Port State with powers of Inspection and Detention of vessels entering United Kingdom Territorial Waters. Good Watch.

A report came across our NAUTICAL LOG desk this morning regarding icebergs. The Australian Antarctic Division sighted icebergs heading northwards from Antarctica towards the South Island of New Zealand. About 100+ icebergs, some over 600 feet across, are passing Auckland Island, elevation 556 feet, at South Latitude 50 degrees 46 minutes and East Longitude 166 degrees 05 minutes. A 'Notice to Mariners' has been issued. While shipping is infrequent in this immediate area since the icebergs are moving northwards they could affect New Zealand coastal shipping and transit vessels. Good Watch.

In the famous poem the Walrus and the Carpenter walked along the beach chatting about many things - not least amongst them oysters!! So it is with NAUTICAL LOG we see our visitors questions about many things thanks to our 'Sitemeter' record of visitors. At present the most popular questions are about the MS "Oasis of the Seas" lifeboats. Some answers to questions asked; 1. The free 'Passage Planning Guide' is available just by sending an e-mail to boucp@hotmail.com and it will be sent to you immediately, with the exceptions of requests from the following countries - Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia. 2. MS "Oasis of the Seas" has a total of 18 lifeboats, they are 9 on each side of the ship. RCI states they hold 372 persons each of which 16 are the lifeboat crew and the remaining 356 are passengers. So with all the 18 lifeboats filled they can evacuate a total of 6408 passengers. 3. No RCI has not made a statement or report, that we know of, ...

With the arrival in Port Everglades, FL, which will be her home port for now, the MS "Oasis of the Seas" has generated lots of attention from the media and public. Of course with Port and Ship Security firmly in place there is not any chance of visiting the ship for a tour. Thus the owners RCI have complete control over what is reported and only its wonders and superlatives are being talked about. Though with the media continually repeating that the vessel is 'five times larger' than the "Titanic" (one hesitates to even write that word) does not really inspire confidence. Following the NAUTICAL LOG post of a "tweet" by "Twitter" from a Senior Company Executive on damage to the lifeboats during the transatlantic crossing, not a word has been said or reported in the media. This is not a good idea and RCI should put out an explanation of just how the damage occurred, to what extent and how it is being repaired. Our Post was picked up ...

Today we had our 5000th. visitor that's a further 500 since October 26, 2009. Now compared to other sites this is not a huge quantity but look at the quality !! Many have been with regard to the reported lifeboat damage that was incurred by the MS "Oasis of the Seas" on her transit from Turku, Finland to Port Everglades, FL. Over a dozen of them were from Finland including the shipyard that built the lifeboats. We watched her arrival this morning, she waited off the entrance to allow MS "Maasdam" to pass into her berth first. The contrast stunned all of us, in comparison to the Holland America Line ship one really saw how enormous MS "Oasis of the Seas" actually is. Good Watch.

We have added in a Video service which is placed just below our Blog List. Here you can watch an excellent selection of videos from RCI about their latest cruise ship MS "Oasis of the Seas". Her transit to Port Everglades, FL. is just about completed and she is due to enter that Port at 0800 tomorrow Friday 11/13/2009 to berth at Berth 18, which is now Cruise Terminal 18 built for MS "Oasis of the Seas", at 0900. The videos are well worth a look and the Bridge tour and Safety Center tour are excellent and informative. The amount of thought that has gone into this vessel is considerable. As NAUTICAL LOG is only qualified to judge the navigational and safety aspects but from those the entire vessel seems to be truly outstanding or as RCI likes to say - WOW. Good Watch.

Here at NAUTICAL LOG we do not 'Twitter' or 'Facebook' and we do not intend to start doing so!! As a result however it is only today that we were able to independently confirm that MS "Oasis of the Seas" sustained damage to two of her lifeboats. As can be seen from photographs of MS "Oasis of the Seas" the lifeboats are exposed over the side ready for immediate launching. Usually lifeboats are set inboard on the Embarkation Deck and must be released from securing lashings known as 'gripes', swung outboard, evacuees embarked and then lowered to the waterline. The MS "Oasis of the Seas" has a different system, largely experimental for a passenger ship. This damage apparently occurred on November 06, 2009 during her crossing from Europe. It is claimed by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) that '60 foot seas' were experienced during a storm in the region of Bay of Biscay. The international weather reports estimated the se...

The following -M- Notices have been issued by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency; MGN 399 (M) MIN 352 (M) MIN 358 (M+F) MIN 361 (M+F) MIN 363 (M+F) MIN 364 (M) MSN 1734 (M+F) These are available in PDF format from www.mcga.gov.uk/ . If there are any problems contact the -M- Notice Administrator at 023 8032 9391 Good Watch.

Here at NAUTICAL LOG we have been asked what is " chute and scoot" . Well here is the answer to the maritime version of " chute and scoot", pretty neat actually. These are from Australia and the link http://www.liferaftsystems.com.au/ should find them. The basic idea is that trained personnel, as few as two persons, can deploy the system and then persons on board slide down the chute into the rafts. These can then be paddled or towed clear of the vessel. Evacuation time is minimum if the persons on board cooperate. This may be similar to the system for crew evacuation in MS "Oasis of the Seas". Hopefully with all the video coverage from RCCL/RCI about their newest ship we shall have some coverage about the crew Safety Training. To date there has been only a brief video about the Lifeboat design and construction by the Start-Up Master CAPT. William S. Wright. For those of you who would like to see a system in operation there are several on "You...

Mariners get to many different Ports and in many different places in those Ports. Here at NAUTICAL LOG we would ask that you keep your eyes open for the young girl seen above. This an age progression picture based on those produced by the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Madeline McCann has been missing from Praia da Luz, Portugal since May 03, 2007 when she was 4 years of age. A video is also available in English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Madeline is shown both natural and tanned as it is possible she is in North Africa, she is of Anglo-Irish ethnicity. The video can be viewed at http://www.ceop.police.uk/ it is being supported by Police Agencies around the world including Interpol, Europol, Australia, United States, Canada, and United Arab Emirates. If you have any information please contact your Police Service, Embassy or Consulate. Good Watch.

Today at NAUTICAL LOG we start a new service to alert mariners to points of interest. As we read or hear information that we think is useful we shall Post a 'Nautical Log Information Note' (NLIN). We back-dated to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency -M-Notice Post and corrected the website address because of link problems to download the PDF. So then here is NLIN #2. When handling ballast, i f you operate in U.S. Waters and your vessel has ballast tanks, you will need to install and operate a USCG approved ballast water management system. Contact your USCG District and/or marine chandler for complete requirements and equipment available. Good Watch