What you are stating is correct, but if we are discussing these incidents for purposes of breaking the error chain you must go back further than that.
- The wire never parted, it was a “mystery shackle” provided by the client.
- It wasn’t so much the HP of the Tow Vessel that caused “fiddle stringing” as much as the mass of the Tow Vessel. It can’t fall back and give like a smaller vessel. The Aiviq is something like 11,000 GT
- Why didn’t they alleviate the tension/shock-loads by paying out or reducing power.? While I cannot know for certain they were probably very near bare steerageway, and the short string was mandated by the unconventional near-coastal shallow water route, mandated by the Client.
Everybody involved from the CG, ECO, Crowley etc. made damn near heroic efforts in very challenging conditions (50’ plus seas, 80kts plus winds at times, that is a sea state nearly double those which sunk the El-Faro) to prevent the grounding. The Aiviq recovered the Tow something like 3 times. In addition the Alert, Nanuq, Guardsman, and USCGC Alex Haley either hooked up or attempted to hook up to the Kulluk and NOBODY could wrangle it in.
Think about it, after the whole deal was done at the end of the day it was a transportation incident NOT a drilling one. NO lives were lost, NO serious injuries, NO Ecological impact, and Shell ponied up for the cost of it. It’s damn near a miracle. A month before a Barge AND Tug went aground very near the same spot.
All this information is in the public report.
The only thing that could have prevented it ultimately, as in every case was the Master of the Aiviq, and his only real option was to stay tied up to the dock. As someone who understands all too well the commercial pressure Present-day Masters are under, once again:
“There but for the Grace if God go I”
I personally feel that the honest and earnest study and discussion of these maritime incidents, and their REAL
causes is our only defense against them happening again. I for one am truly grateful for the platform of Gcaptain and ALL it’s forum members. Even if the discussion or theories don’t fit a particular incident exactly, it may for a situation someone is faced with in the future and could very well save lives or an ecosystem.