Kulluk grounding

Maritime News
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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;115405]What I am wondering is how much control over the vessels did the Unified Command have prior to the grounding? Didn’t the incident command take command long before the Kulluk actually ran aground" If that’s the case seems like the Coast Guard responsible for the grounding not Shell or ECO.

Specifically was the decision to tow the Kulluk into port rather then seek a lee made by one or more of captains on scene or by a committee in a hotel in Anchorage?[/QUOTE]

there was no unified command prior to the grounding. Only the ALEX HALEY was standing by to render assistance if needed and the rescue helicopters from Kodiak. The master of the AIVIQ was the lone “person in charge” of the tow but after it was lost I suspect that it was who ever was able to get a line in the rig. The Captain of the Port for the Zone the vessels were in though does have overriding ultimate authority he can exercise however I do not he ever used that even when the ALERT had to let go of the KULLUK at the bitter end. It was very obvious to everyone (including many here watching the entire debacle in realtime via AIS) that the rig could not be held off the beach. There just was not enough tons of BP in the single tug to do the job in those winds and seas. Shame on Shell, shame on ECO, but highest praise for Crowley and the crews of the ALERT and GUARDSMAN! They almost pulled it off!

I think the pinheads trying to decide where the rig should go to shelter were Shell’s Crown Circus Extraordinaire playing in the Rumpus Room at the hotel in Kodiak!

8820464622_e0b0c8b10e_c.jpg800×536

I just love posting that one…

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[QUOTE=c.captain;115406]there was no unified command prior to the grounding. Only the ALEX HALEY was standing by to render assistance if needed and the rescue helicopters from Kodiak. The master of the AIVIQ was the lone “person in charge” of the tow but after it was lost I suspect that it was who ever was able to get a line in the rig. The Captain of the Port for the Zone the vessels were in though does have overriding ultimate authority he can exercise however I do not he ever used that even when the ALERT had to let go of the KULLUK at the bitter end. It was very obvious to everyone (including many here watching the entire debacle in realtime via AIS) that the rig could not be held off the beach. There just was not enough tons of BP in the single tug to do the job in those winds and seas. Shame on Shell, shame on ECO, but highest praise for Crowley and the crews of the ALERT and GUARDSMAN! They almost pulled it off!

I think the pinheads trying to decide where the rig should go to shelter were Shell’s Crown Circus Extraordinaire playing in the Rumpus Room at the hotel in Kodiak![/QUOTE]

The Unified Command team was created on the 28th, how much authority did they have at that point?

As far as not seeking a lee, it may have been based on factors we are unaware of sitting here at home. I agree with you on the Alert, hope someone gets the crew’s story and publishes it. I

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I forgot to put insert sarcastic tone at the end.

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Alaska Dispatch has a couple of interesting articles:One is here

When Custard came to work the morning of Dec. 28, 2012, he learned the Aiviq had lost engine power, although a generator had been activated to help the vessel avoid drifting. By then, the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley had arrived on scene, though Custard was worried about the cutter’s capabilities. After years with the Coast Guard, he had seen rescue missions foiled when lines from cutters became tangled with the fishing vessels they were trying to rescue.

Here is another: Tick tock: Kulluk’s countdown to disaster unveiled

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I can guarantee you the blue suiters did not dtep in until it was fait accompli. The lawyers never would hsve never letbthem do that and b it is lawyers and bean counters that run thr organization now. Why dobu think the admirals they hire sre do inept as operators. Great administrators though.

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[QUOTE=BMCSRetired;115411]I can guarantee you the blue suiters did not dtep in until it was fait accompli. The lawyers never would hsve never letbthem do that and b it is lawyers and bean counters that run thr organization now. Why dobu think the admirals they hire sre do inept as operators. Great administrators though.[/QUOTE]

Good point.

Lots we don’t know, I don’ t really know enough to speculate.

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I see the C-Adventurer in Dutch fir the last month?

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[QUOTE=rshrew;115556]I see the C-Adventurer in Dutch fir the last month?[/QUOTE]

What ECO vessel is that? Must be on contract to the gummint?

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[QUOTE=“Kennebec Captain;115405”]

What I am wondering is how much control over the vessels did the Unified Command have prior to the grounding? Didn’t the incident command take command long before the Kulluk actually ran aground? If that’s the case seems like the Coast Guard responsible for the grounding not Shell or ECO.

Specifically was the decision to tow the Kulluk into port rather then seek a lee made by one or more of captains on scene or by a committee in a hotel in Anchorage?

As far as news goes the report is expected in August according to the Alaska Journal.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link and update

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[QUOTE=alabamasugarbear;115639]Thanks for the link and update[/QUOTE]
There is better info at the threadKULLUK grounding hearings as reported in the Achorage Daily News which I didn’t know about when I posted.

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The Aiviq, whose crew resurrected all four failed engines at sea, and the Alert, a Crowley Marine Services tugboat sent to help, earlier that day drew up close to the drifting, unmanned Kulluk. They connected to broken tow lines in extreme conditions and at last were making way, Skoglund said.

So what changed? asked Cmdr. Joshua McTaggart, the Coast Guard’s lead investigator of the grounding.

“I’d have to go back and check my accuracy with the log, but I believe we were instructed to change course and that made a considerable difference in our headway,” Skoglund answered.

By then, a unified command team that included the Coast Guard, Royal Dutch Shell, and Aiviq owner Edison Chouest Offshore was giving orders from an emergency command center set up in the Anchorage Marriott Downtown.The boats and drilling rig had been headed to the closest safe refuge from the storm, but were instructed to go to “the vicinity of Kodiak” instead, Skoglund said .

If you look at this thread:MV Aiviq Breaks Down in Alaska While Towing Shell’s Arctic Drilling Rig we assumed they were going to head for a lee This was c.captain:

based on present course, it appears that they’re running to get behind Sitkalidak Island and if they can maintain the 3.5kts they’re now making will arrive sometime in the late afternoon. A close shave indeed.

But instead they ran east, I was puzzled by this but assumed it was based on factors unknown by us but known by those on scene but it was in fact a decision made by someone in the Anchorage Marriott.

Here was the forecast at the time:

400 PM AKST MON DEC 31 2012

Tonight: SE wind 55 kt. Seas 33 ft. Rain.

Tue: SE wind 50 kt becoming S 40 kt in the afternoon. Seas 33 ft subsiding to 26 ft. Rain.

Tue Night: S wind 35 kt diminishing to 25 kt after midnight. Seas 26 ft subsiding to 18 ft.

Wed: SE wind 40 kt. Seas 14 ft.

I’d like to see hear the person who made the decision not to seek a lee but to instead encounter 30+ foot seas defend their choice.

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[QUOTE=“Kennebec Captain;115675”]
There is better info at the threadKULLUK grounding hearings as reported in the Achorage Daily News which I didn’t know about when I posted.[/QUOTE]

I’m waiting to see when it becomes public and see just how much was covered up…video edited ect. Wonder where all the hard drives that were delivered to the vessel in an attempt to hide evidence went… why were they stationary in quarantine anchored in safe harbor for a week or 2 before coasties came on ect…ect… none of that seems to have been questioned. .only if the crew (most of which have quit the company now) could have told their story. being ordered out in deck in those conditions without life jackets and then scolded when questioned.ect.ect… too many chiefs not enough Indians. So much cover up its pitiful. And working conditions of crew being put in dangerous situations that could have been avoided. . Wish people knew the truth and they would be in shock…".G-man" himself probably don’t know half the truth.

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[QUOTE=“Kennebec Captain;115683”]

If you look at this thread:MV Aiviq Breaks Down in Alaska While Towing Shell’s Arctic Drilling Rig we assumed they were going to head for a lee This was c.captain:

But instead they ran east, I was puzzled by this but assumed it was based on factors unknown by us but known by those on scene but it was in fact a decision made by someone in the Anchorage Marriott.

Here was the forecast at the time:

I’d like to see hear the person who made the decision not to seek a lee but to instead encounter 30+ foot seas defend their choice.[/QUOTE]

As I recall… they claim they didn’t know about the weather untill it was too late… some of these old salty dogs on gcaptian posted links early on from noaa which was for 3days before she (aiviq) set sail of the conditions conditions they faced. Now if they have their own meteorologist (shell, chouest) they are either nin-com-poops, or puppets…hmmm

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From the ADN

When Skoglund took over command of the Aiviq in mid-December, he reviewed Shell’s plan to tow it from Dutch Harbor to the Seattle area for major off-season maintenance. He raised concerns about the near shore route and said he pushed for a more direct, southerly course in deeper water, the Great Circle route.

That route would have allowed a tow line up to two-thirds of a mile long, Skoglund said. A long line sinks deep into the sea, and the weight of the line helps absorb the force of rough weather. Plus, being further off shore gives a ship “sea room,” a distance that can prevent a grounding, he testified.

The job was not Dutch Harbor to Puget Sound you pick the route, the job was Dutch to Puget Sound using a coastwise route. It was Shell’s rig and crew, if that they require a run coastwise then that’s what you plan and set up for.

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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;115715]The job was not Dutch Harbor to Puget Sound you pick the route, the job was Dutch to Puget Sound using a coastwise route. It was Shell’s rig and crew, if that they require a run coastwise then that’s what you plan and set up for.[/QUOTE]

If going straight across was not an option for the master, then going north up Shelikoff Strait was. There is absolutely no reason to run right to the south of Kodiak in winter (or summer) for that matter. The true great circle from Unimak Pass to Cape Flattery and going to the north of Kodiak are not that far apart. Shelikoff can be hell to be sure, but it does provide some shelter and many places to pull into to wait for weather which obviously is something Shell wasn’t even contemplating doing. This is where the lack of Alaska experience shows all over these people. Seasoned Alaska mariners know that you cannot run in everything God throws at you up there in the winter and you stop and wait for the worst of it to pass before proceeding. The entire route taken was one huge challenge to the wintertime far North Pacific and ECO/Shell LOST THAT DARE BECAUSE OF SENSELESS HUBRIS!

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[QUOTE=c.captain;115719]If going straight across was not an option for the master, then going north up Shelikoff Strait was. There is absolutely no reason to run right to the south of Kodiak in winter (or summer) for that matter. The true great circle from Unimak Pass to Cape Flattery and going to the north of Kodiak are not that far apart. Shelikoff can be hell to be sure, but it does provide some shelter and many places to pull into to wait for weather which obviously is something Shell wasn’t even contemplating doing. This is where the lack of Alaska experience shows all over these people. Seasoned Alaska mariners know that you cannot run in everything God throws at you up there in the winter and you stop and wait for the worst of it to pass before proceeding. The entire route taken was one huge challenge to the wintertime far North Pacific and ECO/Shell LOST THAT DARE BECAUSE OF SENSELESS HUBRIS![/QUOTE]

That tow could make about 100 miles a day, weather forecasts are good 48-72 hours. Why wouldn’t you evaluate the next 200 miles of the route every day? About 48 hours from Kodiak they could decide to use Shelikoff or not or hole up, do donuts or whatever.

I agree 100% about avoiding heavy weather. Encountering heavy weather often uncovers hidden flaws, places vessel and crew at higher risk and makes it more difficult for the crew to cope when things go wrong.

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[QUOTE=alabamasugarbear;115706]I’m waiting to see when it becomes public and see just how much was covered up…video edited ect. Wonder where all the hard drives that were delivered to the vessel in an attempt to hide evidence went… why were they stationary in quarantine anchored in safe harbor for a week or 2 before coasties came on ect…ect… none of that seems to have been questioned. .only if the crew (most of which have quit the company now) could have told their story. being ordered out in deck in those conditions without life jackets and then scolded when questioned.ect.ect… too many chiefs not enough Indians. So much cover up its pitiful. And working conditions of crew being put in dangerous situations that could have been avoided. . Wish people knew the truth and they would be in shock…".G-man" himself probably don’t know half the truth.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like you have either talked to someone that was there or you were onboard. It would be great if you could explain how you came you with these statements. Now, I am not doubting what you said happened only wondering where you got this information from.

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[QUOTE=Tugs;115773]Sounds like you have either talked to someone that was there or you were onboard. It would be great if you could explain how you came you with these statements. Now, I am not doubting what you said happened only wondering where you got this information from.[/QUOTE]

I say that we are all insiders here at one time or another and I believe that in order for the accurate information to actually come to public light, that it is imperative that our anonymity be sacrosanct and our statements not to be questioned by others. Patent BS is always obvious and we are all experienced enough mariners to smell a stinky in the can when one is tossed in.

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[QUOTE=“Tugs;115773”]

Sounds like you have either talked to someone that was there or you were onboard. It would be great if you could explain how you came you with these statements. Now, I am not doubting what you said happened only wondering where you got this information from.[/QUOTE]

Yes know someone close that was aboard.

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[QUOTE=“alabamasugarbear;115779”]

Yes know someone close that was aboard.[/QUOTE]

And have seen video evidence myself. I will leave it at that bc we know how big and powerful some of these players are and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize the career of my information source. Lets just say everyone has video players / cameras on their smart phones now days and many, many guys aboard took advantage of that. Beyond what was told to me.