Absalon by Hebster. Click on the photo to get to Hebsters Photo stream in Flickr
From the Scandinavian Shipping Gazette I read about the Danish frigate Absalon capturing boats and pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The Absalon’s helicopter spotted the boats and a navy seal detachment boarded and found equipment and weapons. Read the full story on Shipgaz.com.
The piracy in the gulf of Aden is on the almost out of control level. It used to be enough to keep away from the coast but now the pirates have powerful speedboats with long range and are equipped with sophisticated weapons and boarding equipment. Not bad coming from a country that has had no effective government since 1992. Where are all the weapons and gear coming from? Where does one shop for ship boarding equipment and sundry items, useful to the pirate trade? Unless there is some tacit official backing, which is understandable enough I suppose for a country with no industry or infrastructure, they need money too. This could be part of a toll system ? I also read that some shipping companies are employing private “security” firms when transiting these pirate infested areas. Someone pointed out that it might not be so good to have armed guards shooting at pirates who could retaliate with rocket propelled grenades, which tend to have a negative effect on ships like chemical tankers or oil product tankers, the resultant explosion produced by an RPG could destroy the whole ship, not really that great for the cargo, or the owners, or not least the poor unfortunate crew!
The Pacific Pintail has 3 x 30mm cannons onboard, but then again she is carrying plutonium waste, not the sort of shit you want pirates to be getting hold of. But this piracy lark seems to be a growth industry, ships are captured brought to the coast of Somalia and the owners pay ransoms, which they later deny and the pirates release the ships stripped usually and the crew mostly unharmed. How does that work I wonder, brokerage for ransom paying, how does one get into that line of business. Ex CIA with contacts with unscrupulous Swiss bankers trying to launder Nazi money? Who knows, I am just amazed that these pirates have turned piracy into an international business.
Back in my deep sea days we had no guns. On the LNG ships going up and down the Malacca straits and the South China Sea we just had a few fire hoses rigged over the sides and the anchor washers full on, not extremely effective but something to do, wet the pirates before they board you. If they were fired up and aggressive beforehand a good soaking will be sure to improve their mood. We used to joke about painting large dollar signs with direction arrows towards the old mans safe. Real thigh slapping stuff.
Now I’m the old man……
Vehicle carrier “Courage”
Registered in Wilmington Delaware USA
The American flagged Vehicle Carrier Courage of American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC) seen yesterday leaving Southampton on a voyage to destination undisclosed, she was heading west in the English channel on the AIS at her last contact. A fairly rare occurrence to see the Stars & stripes flying on the mast these days in this neck of the woods, I even thought it was a Liberian until it passed a bit closer. The ship was once a Wallenius called “Aida” and the name has only been painted over. According to local information sources vehicles carried are often military vehicles and that is why it’s American. The website looks however normal enough http://www.arrcnet.com/.
Distant shot of the ship that was lying on it’s side in Antwerp taken through a lens of a binoculars. She is in dock in Antwerp being repaired after her capsizing IMC has a detailed report. http://www.imcbrokers.com/blog/2007/11/19/repubblica-di-genova-towed-to-drydock/
I was tempted to get closer but that would have meant breaking and entering, trespassing and ISPS infringement, so cowardice being the better part of valour, I decided to stay on my bridge and use binoculars.
The container vessel LT Cortesia (click on the name for more info about the ship)went aground on the Varne bank in the English Channel about 9 nautical miles from Dover Harbour yesterday. The British news was full of stories about a giant container ship aground, and that later it had been refloated, and there are plenty links on the net about the when and the where of the whole story. The big questions are the how and the why of the grounding, the Varne bank is not a concealed navigation hazard, anyone who has been up and down the English channel a few times knows about it and even if you had never been there before it is well charted and there is a great big red light on top of it that can be seen for miles around. It is possible to make all sorts of assumptions about what could have happened to cause the ship to steam onto a sand bank, like was the echo sounder on and the alarm set? was there sufficient position fixing? who had the conn and did everyone know this? was there a passage plan with parallel indexing and no go areas, did they know what the draught was in relation to the available depth of water? and so on and so on. The MAIB will in due course publish a report, until then it will be speculation all over the shop.
From the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/7167666.stm
One of the famous Grimaldi Line Ships, seen here leaving Le Havre on her way to Bilbao, then Casablanca, Dakar, Conakry, Rio de Janerio, Santos, Montevideo, Zarate, Buenos Aires, Paranagua, Santos, Rio and Dakar. Talk about a fantastic trip.
She will be back in Dakar for the second time on the 17th of January, and New Year will be celebrated between Santos and Montevideo. You can take a cruise as a passenger and enjoy a more robust and realistic cruise, seeing the working end of a port instead of the normal shoebox cruisers with thousands of passengers. A round trip can cost from €2500 up to €5000.
There is a full rundown on their homepage Grimaldi Freighter Cruises
, one of the interesting is that you can take your own car or bike, and then go for a spin around in the country you visit. It is a fairly unique type of trip. They must be fully booked all the time. This particular vessel could do with a lick of white paint in places, the disadvantage of white, the rust shows up so well.
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