NAUTICAL LOG

UPDATE : March 01, 2012. Well done FV Trevignon you 'cured' the tow nicely and MS Costa Allegra is safely in Port.  Now for that big money Award. As NAUTICAL LOG stated in our Post SALVAGE RIGHTS about Lloyds Open Form (LOF) what we suspected when the tugs arrived has now happened.  Costa Line is not using the tugs because of the LOF agreement with the French fishing vessel Trevignon.   The Seychelles government is not happy because they think that by using the tugs the MS Costa Allegra would arrive at Mahé faster.  Clearly the Home Affairs Minister Joel Morgan is not familiar with LOF or is interested in getting tugs from Seychelles into action.  However this is not a matter for the Seychelles Government to get involved in as it is a case of salvage between Costa Cruises and the FV Trevignon which is a 300 ft French tuna seiner using her powerful engines capable of towing huge seine nets, she is moving the MS Costa Allegra at 6 knots. As we...

Once again lies and childish behaviour, how anyone can support and contribute to the SSCS seagoing Cult is beyond the understanding of NAUTICAL LOG but then we are just a simple retired seafarer.  In his latest break-of-wind Press Release "Windy Wats-his-name" now says the whole refuelling story at Auckland Island was just a ruse to lead the Japanese Security vessels away while the MS Bob Barker raced ( his words ) towards the JWF off the coast of Antarctica. The MS Bob Barker is under the 'command' of one Peter Hammarstedt who has no recorded certificated qualifications to command whatsoever and certainly not in the sensitive waters of the Southern Ocean.  Hammarstedt is a Swedish National, therefore  NAUTICAL LOG would suggest that the Swedish Maritime Administration investigate this person for acting under false pretenses and bringing an international crew to the Southern Ocean.  This pretend 'captain' of Swedish nationality is sailing under The Ne...

French fishing vessel Trevignon towing the MS Costa Allegra towards the Seychelles. Salvage - that lovely word, it can be tricky to get the money but usually worth the wait.  NAUTICAL LOG has been lucky enough to get a small share of the overall amount awarded on two occasions during our sea career and most welcome they were too. At present the French fishing vessel Trevignon has the MS Costa Allegra under tow, once that towline was passed and accepted the standard maritime salvage rights were established for the FV Trevignon.   What happens when the tugs arrive  tomorrow is another story and no doubt the maritime lawyers of everyone involved are working overtime to get a contract in place.  The French fishing vessel does not have to hand over the towline to the tugs, however the tugs may have their additional towlines accepted by the MS Costa Allegra on a contract basis.  This can get complex and no doubt the French Captain is...

MS Costa Allegra UPDATE:   Tuesday February 28, 2012 The MS Costa Allegra  is being taken in tow and will move towards Mahe in the Seychelle Islands some 155 nautical miles away.  There are facilities to land and take care of the passengers in Mahé.  Air patrols are being conducted by the Indian Navy and French Government. Mama mia not again! -  one can just imagine the call coming into the Costa Cruise offices routed to the Designated Person Ashore (DPA).  Now in addition to the debacle of the MS Costa Concordia they have the MS Costa Allegra with a fire on board.  This fire was controlled before it spread to other areas of the vessel and passengers are being kept together in the Public Rooms NOT their cabins - so at least that lesson has been learned. The initial word is that she had a fire in the engine room, it turns out to be a generator fire which knocked out all power to the vessel.  Once the emergency generators kic...

Motu Maha, Auckland Island, NZ Carnley Harbour, Auckland Island, NZ The latest breaking of wind from " Operation Divine Wind " is an at sea refuelling between two ships manned by amateur crews under questionable command abilities.  The SSCS seagoing Cult has announced that the MS Bob Barker and MS Steve Irwin will meet up at Auckland Island, NZ to transfer fuel at sea.  Replenishment at sea between two vessels is a complex operation requiring knowledge and a fairly high degree of seamanship to execute safely without causing a spill and pollution.  From what we have seen over the years in " Whale Wars "® not much seamanship has been in evidence from the SSCS seagoing Cult crews.   Their fearless leader makes some amazing decisions even more so than his windbag statements - this could be a combination of the two and a recipe for disaster. The MS Bob Barker recently resupplied at Wellington, NZ and is now going to transfer fuel to the MS Steve Irwi...

The Elbe Pilot Station vessel and its Pilot cutter This morning we learned through the maritime Blog GCaptain of the death of an Elbe Pilotage Service, Germany Pilot as the result of a fall.  There is often tension between Pilots, Masters and Officers of vessels and they are sometimes regarded as " prima donnas ".  However in our heart of hearts we know that they are fine seamen with extraordinary knowledge of their Ports.  They step aboard vessels often completely strange and unknown to them to bring them safely into the berth assigned at their Port.  Surprisingly there are very few accidents and even fewer deaths as a result of a dangerous profession. CAPT. Rudi Pape sadly was one who died while under medical care as a result of his fall.  NAUTICAL LOG would like to express our sincere condolences to his family and his fellow Pilots of the Elbe Pilotage Service.  We remember their skill on the many occasions over the years w...

1.  This has been a busy week and NAUTICAL LOG has been rather quiet - sighs of relief all round!!  There have however been some events which are worth reporting on unlike the SSCS which is no longer worth reporting on as they are unable to accomplish anything in the Southern Ocean in defence of whales. 2.  The Italian divers searching, as weather allows, the wreck of the MS Costa Concordia found eight (8) more bodies this week which included the remains of the female child missing since the incident.  Fuel continues to be pumped off the vessel and a survey shows her caught at the bow and stern only.  There is a possibility the ship could crack between these points and or slip off into the deeper water near the cliff edge. 3.  There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire and Britannia Ruled the Waves with her powerful navy.  Those days are long gone and now it seems the Royal Navy cannot even build her own ships anymore....

NAUTICAL LOG made a change to the Blog appearance today.  We are still trying to find a more nautical looking template but so far Blogspot® has not really produced one that quite fits the NAUTICAL LOG concept of itself. Good Watch In spite of our contacting the International Court of Justice and various National Maritime Authorities there has been not the least attempt to rescue our fellow seafarers held hostage by pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia.  It seems at present any Authority and or Government is unable to make decisions on how to proceed in their responsibilities.  Does one have to resort to street riots as is happening in Greece?  Not much point in that because it achieves nothing whatsoever.  The problem, as NAUTICAL LOG heard today, is that the European Union failed to build in an exit strategy for Member Nations when the Common Market was first formed decades ago.   As that organisation became the European U...

1.  This morning we had a visitor, for the first time ever, from the Northern Mariana Islands, Saipan 202.88.83 welcome to NAUTICAL LOG .  It has been quite a few years since we were in your area back in the early 1960's if memory serves in a British cargo ship of Andrew Wear's Bank Line. 2.  Oops!! this looks like a mini Costa Concordia accident.  One could note that this is the same company that was trying to operate a ferry between Port Everglades, FL and Grand Bahama last Christmas.  Not too much success at that either. 3.  The Miami International Boat Show is this weekend at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, FL.  Well worth a visit if you are in town, and an added bonus is the fantastic weather. 4.  The video from the Bridge of the MS Costa Concordia has been released and is available on YouTube® - where else?  It is nine minutes long and shows a capable group of Officers receiving reports f...

Jet Ski battered by fire hoses BS swimming back to Jet Ski after falling off After weeks of sullen silence the SSCS seagoing Cult has send out a Press Release.  Once again the Chief Windbag " Wats-his-name " has risked someone else's life to do his dirty work for him. The report states that Beck Straussner of Maui, Hawai'i who is apparently the Second Mate of the MS Steve Irwin set off  on a Jet Ski to attack the MS Yushin Maru #2.    Yes! fellow seapersons seriously a Jet Ski, can you imagine the insane person who would develop such tactics, certainly not someone fit to command a vessel operating in the Southern Ocean. The Report further states that Second Mate BS took a hit from a MS Yushin Maru #2 defence system water hose ( looks like an ordinary fire hose to NL ) and ended up in the freezing Antarctic water.  He was able to swim back to the jet ski and travel nine miles to the MS Steve Irwin . Now can any of us who have...

On our journey of maritime activism the NAUTICAL LOG Blog has received its 65,00th visitor.  The reader was from Lexington, Kentucky.  As we look each day at the list of our visitors provided by SiteMeter® we see they are from all over the World.  Of course this only encourages NAUTICAL LOG to continue writing and keep up the pressure on the infamous International and National  Maritime Authorities for the release of our 300 fellow seafarers held hostage off the coast of Puntland, Somalia some for over two (2) years.  They continue to face mutilation or death at any moment.  It is very hard to understand why there is so little interest for them but then it is the same attitude displayed regarding Syria.  In the socialist and entitlement atmosphere developed by the European and other governments of dubious capability in the last decades the caring concern of people has just about been erased. Good Watch

Muster Drill on the Lifeboat Embarkation Deck.  N.B. Above the heads of the passengers to the right of the window can be seen one of the green International Safety Information Signs used in all ships. In the NAUTICAL LOG Press Folder this morning there was some very encouraging information.  What is being described as a "new policy" but actually is not, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has voluntarily adopted a policy on Muster Drills.  The policy adopted has been in place for many years as a recommendation to meet the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirement of conducting a Boat Muster Drill within 24 hours of leaving a Port.  In many passenger vessels this made little sense due to the nature of the passage often less than 24 hours to the next Port.  When NAUTICAL LOG was sailing as Safety Officer we usually held the drill just before departure, in fact many passengers were still wearing lifejackets as they waved their...

News comes today from Rome in our Press Release folder and local newspaper that a Law Firm would file suits against Miami based Carnival Corporation the parent company of Costa Cruises.  Costa Crociere, SpA., is named as the cruise line whose MS Costa Concordia was put ashore to prevent sinking after hitting a reef on the Italian coast.  17 persons died as a result and 15 are still missing.  The lawyer is John Arthur Eaves, Jr. and he has said his 70 clients from United States, Italy, Germany, Britain, Russia and Switzerland want to sue Carnival. Mr. Eaves said he would lobby European politicians and international maritime authorities to tighten regulations and increase safety laws.  Also he is pressing for better training of crew members and to develop and implement new safety-oriented technology. As a former Cruise Line Safety Officer NAUTICAL LOG is in full agreement with Mr. Eaves with one proviso that we seafarers are presently awash in regulations and add...

The following M-Notices are available at www.dft.gov.uk/mca   If assistance is required call 023 8032 9391 MGN 435 (F ) Declaration of Maximum Continuous Engine Power (MCEP) MGN 442 (M) Alternative Training Standards for Crew Taking Part in Helicopter Operations on Large Commercial Yachts MSN 1735 (M+F) Type Approval of Marine Equipment (UK Nominated Bodies) Amendment 5 Correction Good Watch There are some 300 of our fellow seafarers who do not have to worry about any of the above.  They are held hostage by pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia.  At any moment they could suffer mutilation or death at the hands of their captors.  It is away past time for these seafarers to have been rescued.

Once again the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has let down those it is responsible for, the seafarers and passengers   in vessels at sea .  The purpose of the IMO is to regulate vessels sailing and to see that they are well maintained - ok! fairly well kept (lets be practical here) and manned in accordance with IMO and Flag State National Standards (if they actually exist).  The IMO are not doing their job at any level large or small as can be seen from the MS Costa Concordia "sail-by" with grounding and now the loss of the MS Rabaul Queen. This latest accident is the sinking of the MS Rabaul Queen on passage around the coast of Papua New Guinea with once again numerous loss of lives.  This is a pattern of these local ferries whether it be in Africa, Asia or the Pacific Islands, overloaded vessels 350 instead of 300 as designated in the case of Rabaul, poor maintenance to old craft and who knows what if any qualifications in crew m...