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....