M/S Explorer evacuated - Antarctica

Story is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7108835.stm
--

JohnT

On Nov 23, 7:11 am, "JohnT" wrote:
Story is athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7108835.stm

Good thing the rescue ship shore excursion wasn't fully booked ...

"number6" wrote in message
...
On Nov 23, 7:11 am, "JohnT" wrote:
Story is athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7108835.stm

Good thing the rescue ship shore excursion wasn't fully booked ...

CNN reported a fist size hole. I don't understand why the pumps couldn't
keep up with the water from a hole that size. What kind of damage control
capability would a vessel like this have? I guess they weren't prepared to
go overboard and install a canvas patch.

On 11/23/2007 9:08 PM Newby plucked Senior Frog's Magic Twanger and said:
"number6" wrote in message
...

On Nov 23, 7:11 am, "JohnT" wrote:

Story is athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7108835.stm

Good thing the rescue ship shore excursion wasn't fully booked ...


CNN reported a fist size hole. I don't understand why the pumps couldn't
keep up with the water from a hole that size. What kind of damage control
capability would a vessel like this have? I guess they weren't prepared to
go overboard and install a canvas patch.



We're talking Antarctic water temperature here. Hypothermia would
cause the crew member(s) to have a fatal heart attack before the job
could be accomplished. This breach happened below the water line. Why
couldn't the pumps keep up? Pressure on the outside of the vessel is
greater then pressure on the inside. This makes the force of water
entering the ship greater and faster then the water being pumped out.

--
________
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Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

In article , BrianK
wrote:

We're talking Antarctic water temperature here. Hypothermia would
cause the crew member(s) to have a fatal heart attack before the job
could be accomplished. This breach happened below the water line. Why
couldn't the pumps keep up? Pressure on the outside of the vessel is
greater then pressure on the inside. This makes the force of water
entering the ship greater and faster then the water being pumped out.

The hole should not have caused so much damage. The Explorer was
designed for the arctic and the hull was reinforced against collisions
with ice.

The ship has sunk.

--
Charles

Charles wrote:

In article , BrianK
wrote:

We're talking Antarctic water temperature here. Hypothermia would
cause the crew member(s) to have a fatal heart attack before the job
could be accomplished. This breach happened below the water line. Why
couldn't the pumps keep up? Pressure on the outside of the vessel is
greater then pressure on the inside. This makes the force of water
entering the ship greater and faster then the water being pumped out.

The hole should not have caused so much damage. The Explorer was
designed for the arctic and the hull was reinforced against collisions
with ice.

The ship has sunk.

In regular people's boats, it is recommended that people have plugs of
various sizes to hammer into leaks caused by puncturing the hull. Also
people use 'collision mats' which are applied to the outside of the
hull and kept in place by the water pressure to reduce the flow.

I also do not understand why a reinforced hull was damaged so
severely. But a steel ship always has to protect against rust, so
maybe the hull had not been maintained and had gotten weakened by rust
in concealed areas.

In article , Rosalie B.
wrote:

I also do not understand why a reinforced hull was damaged so
severely. But a steel ship always has to protect against rust, so
maybe the hull had not been maintained and had gotten weakened by rust
in concealed areas.

That is a possibility. Since the ship has sunk and because of the
location of the sinking I doubt the hull will raised or dived to for an
investigation. It might be possible to go back and check maintenance
records and whatnot from recent drydocks. They may have taken x-rays.

--
Charles

In article , Rosalie B.
wrote:

In regular people's boats, it is recommended that people have plugs of
various sizes to hammer into leaks caused by puncturing the hull. Also
people use 'collision mats' which are applied to the outside of the
hull and kept in place by the water pressure to reduce the flow.

Also to add to what I just posted after you, they could have been human
error in responding to the damage. I am sure investigators will
interview the crew. Happily all the passengers and crew survived and I
have not heard of injuries.

Here is a good picture of her before she went down. I saw it this
morning on the front page of the Washington Post. This link is from a
site that does not require registration.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...hip24nov24,1,8
09748.story?coll=la-news-a_section

--
Charles

Picture of Explorer sinking.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/363...4324721_rs.jpg


"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Rosalie B.
wrote:

I also do not understand why a reinforced hull was damaged so
severely. But a steel ship always has to protect against rust, so
maybe the hull had not been maintained and had gotten weakened by rust
in concealed areas.

That is a possibility. Since the ship has sunk and because of the
location of the sinking I doubt the hull will raised or dived to for an
investigation. It might be possible to go back and check maintenance
records and whatnot from recent drydocks. They may have taken x-rays.

--
Charles

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , BrianK
wrote:

We're talking Antarctic water temperature here. Hypothermia would
cause the crew member(s) to have a fatal heart attack before the job
could be accomplished. This breach happened below the water line. Why
couldn't the pumps keep up? Pressure on the outside of the vessel is
greater then pressure on the inside. This makes the force of water
entering the ship greater and faster then the water being pumped out.

The hole should not have caused so much damage. The Explorer was
designed for the arctic and the hull was reinforced against collisions
with ice.

The ship has sunk.


According to the NY Times article, the ship did not have a double hull, only
a double bottom.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/wo...th&oref=slogin

The Explorer is registered in Liberia. Built in Finland in 1969, it was
designed to operate in Antarctic and Arctic waters, according to a spokesman
for G.A.P., Dan Brown. It was small, to move swiftly through dangerous
waters, and had a double bottom, a second layer of steel. But the vessel did
not have a double hull, a complete second steel sheath, the kind developed
after the Titanic sank.

--Jean