The Charles D was plenty of tug for this job.
I’ve seen this same ship getting docked by a pair of truckable pusher tugs before.
CUA in Gdynia PL .
Several pcs below:
SOURCE: Meksykański żaglowiec Cuauhtemoc w Gdyni - Fotorelacje Gdynia - wladek.pl
Yes the Horst Wessel was built as a naval training ship after a disastorous sinking pre-WWII of the german training ship Niobe. She became a war prize and sailed back with a combined German and USCG crew and captain to become the training ship for the USCG to replace the interned Danish training ship which had trained Coasties during the war. The name Eagle was a name given to quite a few German ships prior as well, no irony in that regard. She was actively used only starting in 1942 in the Baltic and took part in Operation Hannibal the largest mass maritime evacuation operation in history, comprised mostly of refugees and military personnel from the Red army and captured by the British at the end of her run to the west. Footnote, Operation Hannibal rescued an estimated minimum of 1.1million to over 2 million as estimated by Admiral Doenitz.
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Absent the totally unexpected mechanical failure of the CPP becoming stuck in astern propulsion and backing at full power toward the bridge, the one conventional tug (with or without a line up) that they had was all that they needed to undock the sailing vessel and turn it toward the outbound channel.
If we take the position that engine, steering or CPP failure should have been assumed to be enough of a possibility to warrant further precautions, then yes, I’d have wanted the tug to have a line up, but not just a headline.
I’d have preferred a three line make up on the starboard quarter, or a tow line from the bow of the ship to the H bitts or tow winch on the stern of the tug. I wouldn’t have been satisfied with just a head line up from a conventional tug.
While it would be most likely for a twin screw tug with just a head line up to overcome a vessel with 1100hp trying to back under a bridge at full power with a fair current and wind, if I were taking extra precautions, I’d certainly want more than just a head line.
EDIT
If we were going to be taking all these excessive extra precautions, and fretting about the strength of the bitts, we could also back up all the bitts with lines to the base of the masts.
Or simply use more tugs with more lines to more bitts.
If we are going to add more layers of “risk assessment” maybe the pilots should come equipped with temporary remote kill switches for ships engines.
What’s next to eliminate all conceivable risk? Mounting big Yokohama fenders on our cars and not driving over 1mph while a lookout walks ahead with a lantern and ringing bell?
Let’s just admit that the pilot and tug did a fine job in the customary way, but that unforeseen exceptional circumstances (engine stuck in full astern) produced tragic results. EDIT
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So the assist tug was 25t bollard pull.
Should have been quite adequate.
Mr Tugsailor
You advocate putting 3 lines on and then the tug shop overcome the power of the ships engine running full astern.
I agree the brute power should be enough.
No good though when the bollards of the STS are on the deck of the tug.
I have asked before does anyone know the SWL of the bitts.
All discussions are mute until we know if the tug could have used even a fraction of its power on a line, any line without ripping the bitts off.
Now this should have been discussed in the risk assessment.
Once again, all stated with 100% hindsight
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Hindsight bias tends to make people focus more on the individuals at the sharp end. Wouldn’t it make more sense to install a “Wrong Way” alarm and an main engine kill switch at the control console? Perhaps provide the appropriate training?
Alt+F search for “alarm” in this article gives 16 hits. All 16 reference either the lack of an alarm or that the alarm didn’t clearly indicate the problem.
Standards for handling Controllable Pitch Propeller failures
Also…wrt the wind and current. The NTSB briefing was 10 kts of wind and 0.3 knots of current. A car ship beam to 10 kts of wind will drift at about 1 knot. In this case I’d guess it’d be less than 1 knot. Estimated less than 1.3 knots towards the bridge as opposed to 6 knots with the engine.
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I had a fault develop in a wrong way alarm. The alarm was a high pitched and very loud but without any visual indication. Fortunately the fault occurred on an ocean passage and not while manoeuvring as it took about half an hour to establish the course with the chief engineer and electrician removing most of the bridge console panels. Normal conversation was impossible.
We have too many alarms that sound too similar and are too difficult to find and silence.
They are a major distraction and a major hazard to safe navigation.
Alarms should clearly identified by well spoken voice announcements and easy to read text notices on a screen.
Otherwise a lot of the alarms that we have now should be eliminated, not more added. Too many alarms do more harm than good.
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I remember commercial aircraft having spoken (albeit clichéd robotic) voice alarms in the cockpit, like the famous “Pull up! Pull up! Pull up!” from the late 1970ies onwards…
It should not be rocket science for an international maritime body to develop a standardized dictionary of warnings and define the respective triggers, to be mandated throughout the industry and across vendors.
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It is something I have argued about for many years. The engine room has a central alarm system connecting many disparate manufacturers equipment with a visual display, and ability to cancel all audio alarms and even lock out. Modern bridge equipment generally has connectivity built in so it should be simple.
Chief engineers and myself included have seen a few summers and have a well developed selective hearing ability. The ability to lock out high pitched sounds such as women and children and doesn’t help when trying to pinpoint the source of such alarm.
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I agree that alarm management systems in the wheelhouse are inadequate to say the least.
That said, in my experience at least, the engine console is an exception. All alarms are grouped together, are easy to read, understand and respond to. Adding a wrong way alarm that would rarely sound would not be an issue.
Better than the alternatives.
Edit: I was thinking about new builds. Retrofitting older vessels, not sure how that would work.
I’ve had multiple cargo ships that have 8T SWL bitts…I have to imagine this thing can’t have had very strong ones.
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I don’t know if the captain or pilot did all they could with what they had, but they would have had more of a chance with the tug’s line up. Any old line to anyplace from anywhere would have been better than what they had. I heard somewhere that the tug had flanking rudders. I don’t have a lot of experience with flanking rudders, but in this case it would allow stronger backing with the ability to keep the whole mess closer to the center of the channel.
In addition, as I mentioned in a previous post, the comfort of a line up may have given the captain/pilot the extra confidence he/she needed to push the e-stop earlier.
Spo,
Yes, my mistake. That date is for a new regulation requiring the testing of the alarm for misaligned pitch commands. Additionally the regulations that you have attached indicate that it is a SOLAS requirement that in the event of CPP failure the current thrust command setting is to remain. That is the default.
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Here is a Reels that I found on FB. I never had seen that video before. It seems to have been taken from onboard a boat passing by. We can clearly observe that the hawser of the 1967 Charles D. McAllister was duly made fast on the three-masted barque starboard quarter.
I deduce that the medaled Admiral assisted by 6 subordinates had already made his own departure Plan A, as a protective tarpaulin had been installed on the starboard quarter. The idea was to hold the stern against the current setting toward the bridge, in order to prevent the bowsprit swinging against wharf No.17. Once that standing rigging epron cleared the knuckle, the tug was cast off to reach a position on the starboard shoulder to push her bow freely outbound. Nobody suspected that from then on, the three-masted barque would then steam full astern en route for an impracticable bridge … with both anchors in the pipes.
Apparently, ARM Cuauhtémoc had a RH CPP. When such a propeller is reversed, the stern swings to starboard while the bow to port, as the propeller wash is pushing against the port quarter. Being made fast portside alongside berth No.17, the quandary was therefore not the stern that would have been pushed away, but the bow. If the protective tarpaulin would have been installed on the starboard shoulder, the tug would also been made fast from that position. Upon engaging the prop gently astern and synchronising the tug pulling kindly squared astern, the barque would have walked away parallel to the quay, aided by the westerly wind. Once the bowsprit cleared the knuckle, the tug could have then pushed her bow effortlessly outbound.
When it was realized that the hi-tech CPP marvel was making free games, the double-kort nozzle tug already made fast on the starboard shoulder, would certainly have been able to swing around and pull at 25 tons the whole misadventure to safe waters.
A conventional tug captain once advised me that if in the course of a planned maneuver, I needed to change the location of the tug and fasten her twice, it’s because I needed two tugs. I took his advice. In some districts, I believe that they charged an extra for this sort of aquatic ballet. Remembering that in those days Z-drives did simply not exist and even less, Z-phones.
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If you look closely at this picture you may observe that the attending tug is not square on the beam but actually pushing forward of the beam. This must have imparted an element of sternway on to the vessel.
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Can’t hide anymore…
This here is the “oh crap” moment. The tug is struggling mightily to touch the ship and be of any use at all because she’s hauling ass astern. If they’d had a line up, they might have tried something.
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Thank you 3M
You seem to be the only one on here that can see the Elephant
How dare You !!! 