The U.S. Coast Guard reports today the 95-foot tug Nalani unexpectedly sank yesterday afternoon in waters approximately 2,200 feet deep (670 meters) two and half miles west of Barbers Point Harbor, Oahu. The eleven mariners on board were all rescued by the towing vessel [I]Tiger 7[/I] and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) patrol boat.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the sinking is unknown and under investigation.
The vessel was carrying an estimated 75,000 gallons of diesel fuel and an oil sheen was observed by Coast Guard responders following the incident.
[I]Nalani[/I] was built in 1981 and is owned by Houston-based Kirby Corporation according to Tugboatinformation.com. We have reached out to Kirby for comment.
when I was in Hawaii back in October, I am pretty sure it was the NALANI which was tied up at the MARISCO shipyard at Barbers Point Harbor. It was being prepared to tow the ex ramp barges of the now defunct interisland ferries down to Chile which were also moored at the yard. I do not believe the tug was still owned by Kirby however but by the new owners of the barges. It is possible that they might not be Americans.
Many questions to ask this morning. I would call MARISCO to see if they can give you any info.
[QUOTE=c.captain;152581]when I was in Hawaii back in October, I am pretty sure it was the NALANI which was tied up at the MARISCO shipyard at Barbers Point Harbor. It was being prepared to tow the ex ramp barges of the now defunct interisland ferries down to Chile which were also moored at the yard. I do not believe the tug was still owned by Kirby however but by the new owners of the barges. It is possible that they might not be Americans.
Many questions to ask this morning. I would call MARISCO to see if they can give you any info.[/QUOTE]
I was in Honolulu back in October, too. Shouda come by and seen us at pier 33. Small world
doing a bit of research this morning, it appears that Kirby sold the boat to a company called Vogel Equipment. I do not know if they owned it at the time it sank yesterday?
[QUOTE=tugsailor;152599]Its not listed in NMFS Vessels of the US. That suggests that it has been sold foreign.[/QUOTE]
well now it is sold to the underwriters…
gotta wonder what happened so suddenly that the tug could not make it back to harbor if it was only two miles away. Of course, I do want to know if the barges were strung out behind it? If it had 75k gal of fuel aboard it had to be bunkered for their voyage to Chile. To sink so fast that pumps can’t keep up with the flow is suspicious but I suppose if a seachest blew out it would overwhelm any bilge pumps but only two miles?
this will be very interesting if the State will allow the tug to remain sunken with all that fuel aboard? At 2000’ no way in hell divers can get down to the wreck so that means an ROV to connect hoses to vents or hot tap tanks. More likely lifting the hull with bags to where it can be towed into shallower water first then divers to do the work. Someone is going to make very good money off this one and I bet all the pollution liability is exhausted within days leaving the bill to the oil spill trust fund to cover. I see more than $50M by the time all this is over and done. I bet Global DIving and Salvage is all hot and bothered this morning!
[QUOTE=c.captain;152604]well now it is sold to the underwriters…
gotta wonder what happened so suddenly that the tug could not make it back to harbor if it was only two miles away. Of course, I do want to know if the barges were strung out behind it? If it had 75k gal of fuel aboard it had to be bunkered for their voyage to Chile. To sink so fast that pumps can’t keep up with the flow is suspicious but I suppose if a seachest blew out it would overwhelm any bilge pumps but only two miles?
this will be very interesting if the State will allow the tug to remain sunken with all that fuel aboard? At 2000’ no way in hell divers can get down to the wreck so that means an ROV to connect hoses to vents or hot tap tanks. More likely lifting the hull with bags to where it can be towed into shallower water first then divers to do the work. Someone is going to make very good money off this one and I bet all the pollution liability is exhausted within days leaving the bill to the oil spill trust fund to cover. I see more than $50M by the time all this is over and done. I bet Global DIving and Salvage is all hot and bothered this morning![/QUOTE]
Assume Underwriters agree coverage. . . . . I imagine that the Trip in Tow survey and any recommendation(s) will be scrutinized. . . . Smit has the capabilities to remove any hydrocarbons and have a history of success. . . . Lots of other competitors are making calls, too. . .
75,000 of ULSD trapped at 2000 feet. Recovery is impractical, take the pollution liability money and buy some land for a park as mitigation. Its non-persistent oil, just let nature take care of the clean up.
Is this another not so old boat that K-Sea / Kirby ran into the ground with no maintenance and then dumped on numbskull buyers?
[QUOTE=tugsailor;152607]75,000 of ULSD trapped at 2000 feet. Recovery is impractical, take the pollution liability and buy some land for a park as mitigation, and just let nature take its course.[/QUOTE]
Quit being reasonable. You are obviously not cut out for a job with the EPA OR the Coast Guard. . . .
[QUOTE=rshrew;152637]Rumor I heard they were on sea trials it’s an old candies tug smith maritime bought years ago. I think it was the nick candies.[/QUOTE]
That is the boat! Strange they’d be on trials though…I remember them going out to do seatrials back in October. One thing everybody was saying in the shipyard what a POS the tug was. There is obviously a reason it hadn’t sailed for Chile yet and that it went down so quickly. I bet a seachest or main seawater crossover burst and no one was able to get to a valve or possibly the valvewheels were frozen solid. Who the hell knows?
That thing was very heavy in the stern when it pulled out of there with its barge last week. They had either taken fuel or moved fuel aft one day when I wasn’t paying attention, either way, it was damn low one afternoon, and it stayed that way when they pulled out last week. They returned some days later in the same configuration. There are 2 hatches/manholes all the way aft on the deck that struck me as poorly located. No reason they couldn’t have been raised a foot or more. Hatches like that have been the end of many small trawlers, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to hear those were part of the problem.
Wow 8,000. What a tremendous achievement. Are you sad inside that this number truly proves you have no life? Don’t reply. Go outside, get some sun light.
[QUOTE=seadonkey;152660]Wow 8,000. What a tremendous achievement. Are you sad inside that this number truly proves you have no life? Don’t reply. Go outside, get some sun light.[/QUOTE]
my goal is 10000 before 2016! It kills you I know and I just love it!
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