The (Unarmed) Defense of the Biscaglia

Bob Couttie has the details on the hijacking of the Biscaglia
Fourth Time Unlucky for Shipboard Security Team

"Reports remain confused however we believe that the embarked 3 man APMSS security team, comprising former British military servicemen, were able to mount sustained, non-lethal, resistance, denying the attacker’s access to the ship long enough for the ship’s operating crew to seek safety below decks and to summon assistance from coalition warships."

Sounds like this was a textbook response to an attack and yet the pirates were able to seize the vessel

I can anticipate what the armchair gunners response to this incident is going to be - the British guards should have been armed. A couple of weeks ago I would have agreed. Now I am not so sure.

A lot of people dismiss the argument that it is unwise to arm merchant ships and mariners, the argument being that doing so will simply raise the level of violence.

I think it would be wise to give some though as to whether or not we want to increase the volume, velocity and weight of flying projectiles around my ship and crew in hopes of mitigating the pirate problem.

K.C.

Piracy Assessment for Armchair Gunners

Why not just blow them out of the water?

Its hard for some to grasp why this problem is so difficult. Writer Daniel Sekulich takes on the armchair gunners at:

Modern Day Pirate Tales with - Assessing recent pirate incidents off the Horn of Africa

Well reasoned and written.
K.C.

Guarded Tanker Biscaglia Taken

This will be interesting:

Somali pirates hijacked a chemical tanker with dozens of Indian crew members on board Friday, and three British security guards were rescued by helicopter after jumping into the sea, officials said.

It's from the AP - Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape

K.C.

Update: KATHARINE HOURELD Associated Press Writer reports:

Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, which employs the three guards who leapt off the Biscaglia on Friday, says on its Web site that it was formed in July 2008 and all its staff are ex-Royal Marines. They do not carry weapons.

Holiday Meal at Sea

At home. Not on the menu at sea - Photo by K.C.


If you want a sense of what it is like for a well educated, smart man riding on a coastwise tanker, the site is HAWSEPIPER: The Longest Climb. Evidently someone got close enough to Paul to smell the turducken on his breath.

Don't read it if the image of shit in your cornflakes or reading that Paul thinks his shipmates are warming their thumbs offends you.

By the way, it is my view that the epitome of fine dining is a cold baked bean sandwich or a meal that includes bread that comes in a can. It got to be better then turd ucken.

A few articles on Piracy

If your looking for piracy info here is a start:

gcaptain has a number of articles on piracy

As does EagleSpeak

Also

From Salon: Blackwater vs. Blackbeard off the coast of Africa

From Slate:
What do Pirates Want from us.

and:
Did Pirates Really Say "Arrrr"?

Also from Slate

Explainer's Pirate Roundup

From the Site War is Boring: GOOD TV: Somali Pirates 101">GOOD TV:

and World Politics Review: No Quick Solutions to Somali Pirate Crisis

also from the same site:
Bad Idea of the Day: Invade Somalia to Defeat Pirates

From Lawyers Guns and Money - Piracy

At The Guardian Robert Farley: Somali piracy is everyone's problem

My articles can be found here

Whale Wars and Seamanship - Lack of Leadership

Caught the latest episode of Whale Wars last night. Who is running that ship?

The inexperience of the crew was glaringly obvious when they lost track of the RIB boat. Communication protocol should have been established and implemented prior to operations, that's a no brainier.

More interesting to me were the actions of Capt Paul Watson. He was in his cabin the entire time the RIB boat was lost. The reason given for his absences was that he had stayed up many hours fielding phone calls from the press.

Watson apparently believes that PR work is his main role. He delegates responsibility for operations to the mates, who lack the experience and skill needed. That's wrong. The captain is responsible for the safety of the ship and crew.

That ship, operating in those waters, requires good seamanship. Paul Watson is not a seaman but a public relations man. It would be more prudent to hire an experienced captain to operate the ship. Mr. Watson could then devote his full attention to his role as spokesman for his organization.

K.C.

New Blog for Justice for Hebei Spirt Crew

At BIMCO - Hebei Spirit - Blogging for justice and calls for Korea boycott -Which links to the new blog seeking justice for the Captain and Chief Mate here: The Shipping Industry Seeks level Playing Field for Hebei Spirt.

Bob Couttie Marine Accident Casebook has been on this case from the start:

Mr. Couttie writes:

Your car’s parked in the lot outside a roadside diner, well off the road, when a another vehicle pulling a trailer passes. As it passes the trailer breaks free and ploughs into your car, rupturing the petrol tank and spilling fuel. So the police arrest you because you should have assumed that the trailer would break free of the vehicle and parked somewhere else. That’s the sort of utter daftness today’s seafarers face daily and which 53 year old Captain JS Chawla of the Hebei Spirit faces today,

K.C.

Pirates promise to catch ship "next time"

"we heard over the MMF/SSB Radio a call directed at our ship saying; “Bateau Canadian,Bateau Canadian, you were lucky this time sir, but not the next time,we promise you this."

The article is Captain Derek Kruger Experience while passing Somalia Coast - at Seafarerblog.com

Pirates hijack a VLCC

According to LLoyd List the U.S. Navy is reporting that a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) has been hijacked in the Red Sea S.E. of Kenya. That is not the Red Sea

This is going to be a wake-up call. There has been some discussion of the link between terrorism and piracy - here is a good article: Terrorism and Piracy: The Dual Threat to Maritime Shipping it from Global Terrorism Analysis

K.C.

UPDATE: Eagle 1 has this story covered at Somali Pirates Grab a Large Saudi Tanker

Whale Wars and Seamanship

Is the Sea Shepherd's vessel Steve Irwin seaworthy?

Not with that crew.

I watched the entire RIB boat fiasco. The crew did realize they needed more control over the bow of the RIB boat but after the first try they never attempted a launch without taking all the way off the ship.

After the RIB boat flipped it was a man overboard situation. The captain or the watch officer should have put the wheel hard to stbd to swing the stern away from the RIB boat. Next Capt Watson choose to put the engines astern and try to back toward the broached RIB boat. It's hard to believe that backing is faster then making a round turn.

The first planned response was to launch a second RIB boat but for some reason it was decided that was a bad idea.

Then it was decided to rescue from the ship. The Steve Erwin is a twin screw vessel but they didn't seem be able to maneuver the ship within heaving line distance of the RIB boat and ended up resorting to use of a line throwing gun.

If the Sea Shepherd's Steve Erwin was a commercial vessel it would be considered unseaworthy with that crew. If Paul Watson was to hire a real captain and mate those presently in that position could stay aboard and take the role of chief and assistant political officers respectively.

Whale Wars gets a sea plus - a Daily New review

K.C.

Knife, flashlight and keys, What's in your pocket?

gcaptain on favorite tools here and Bitter End has Boat Tools so here is what I carry.

I always have these three things in my pocket- keys, a small knife and a rechargeable flashlight.

Here's a photo - I don't have my keys here, the key is a car key.

Flashlight, knife and keys

The knife

When I was a seaman, Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Wilson told me never come out on deck without a knife. That was over thirty years ago. As I advanced in rank the knife has gotten smaller and smaller. I like this one because it is flat and you don't notice it in your pocket.

Gerber Knife, sells for about $12

The Flashlight

This light is perfect for the wheelhouse. It's rechargeable and like the knife, is flat. There is a better picture here. Outside on a dark night or in the holds the beam gets swallowed up by darkness so you'll want to grab something bigger for that. Still, it's better then nothing.

Sanyo Cadnica Lite - rechargeable seems to be only available in Japan sells for under $15

What's in your pocket?

K.C.

Sea Shepherd flips a RIB boat

Here is a how-NOT-to video from "Whale Wars"

At 34 seconds into the video below the RIB boat can be seen turning perpendicular to the ship's course then flipping over. I can't tell if the hoisting wire parted or not.

I don't see any sign of a sea painter.



A sea painter is a line that leads from the bow of the boat to the a point on the ship well forward of the boat.

A sea painter is a line led from the bow of the boat fwd to the ship - Drawing by K.C.

Gibson's Seamanship and Navigation warns to keep the slack out of the sea painter and says about the boat: "if she tows from the whip or the falls she may then broach to."

I caught a few minutes of the show. I wonder how much experience or training the crew has. I going to try to see the whole thing next week.

K.C.
PS gcaptain forum has some interesting discussion

The Evolution of Shipboard Engineers

From The Art of Dredging Captain Marc Van de Velde tells a story with humor and some good advice.

Read: On the social integration of engineers onboard ships through the ages.

Maritime Engineers have evolved from:

"Engineers were a new breed of human beings, closely related to cavemen."

To:

"Nowadays, engineers are highly specialized. You cannot take them out, or the whole ship goes to smithereens within a day."

K.C.

Cosco Busan coverage - One year later

It has been a year since the Cosco Busun struck the Oakland Bay Bridge. There has been some coverage on line regarding the Cosco Busan. The crew is still be held as material witnesses. - Forbes Article here.

A pilot commissioners' board in San Francisco found that pilot error was a factor in the incident - From Mercury News

The mistakes included allowing the ship to sail in heavy fog, failing to resolve concerns with the ship's radar system and an electronic chart system, and proceeding at an unsafe speed.

Another error, the report said, was failing to take into account communication difficulties with the Chinese crew, who had limited English-speaking abilities.

Robin Storm has a good summary of the incident from the SFGate here.

There have been congressional hearings, and several investigations. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard into the cause of the accident is due in January.

gcaptain has three interesting regarding the Cosco Busan, two by pilot Capt John Denham and one by Capt. John Konrad.


Deconstructing The Cosco Busan Incident - More On Accidents And Why - by John Denham

John Denham points out the importance of BRM:

"if the BRM is not functional the vessel is not seaworthy”

The Cosco Busan - A Failure in xx"x Resource Management - by Captain John Konrad

John points out both the pilot and the capt made errors but in addition points to the individual who authorized changing the entire crew of the vessel.

John Cota made two crucial errors; a willingness to proceed (even rush) under adverse conditions and refusal to fully utilize resources available to him, namely electronic charting systems. Captain Sun also made two critical mistakes; acceptance of the position and willingness to proceed on the day of the incident. The high level of proficiency and low incident rate of our nations pilots helps to explain Cota’s decision and Captain Sun’s trust of his decision to proceed that morning but does not explain either’s willingness to proceed knowing one important fact; the entire vessel crew was replaced just two weeks prior.

Feedback - A failure in XXX Resource Management - by John Denham

A vessel found undermanned, crewed with unqualified persons or lacking operational proficiency is unseaworthy and local authority, as a matter of public policy, should be responsible to detain it.

It will be interesting to see the NTSB and US Coast Guard report in particular the role of fatigue with regards to the ship's crew


K.C.

Shipboard Manning and Workload

In the Wheel house arriving in Singapore

Fellow mariner blogging at Deep Water Writing asks

"Why can't the very regulators who mandate safe manning levels for vessel operators increase the amount of crew to share the workload on board?"

The manning/workload equation has two sides. Along with manning the workload side should be looked at as well.

Take cargo operations aboard container ships for example. Why does a crew member, the chief mate have to be responsible to see that the containers are properly stowed, or the refers are plugged in? Why can't this responsibility be shifted shore side? In the aviation side you don't see the co-pilot supervising the stowage of baggage or any of the air-crew fueling the aircraft.

Or consider a ship approaching port, the captain is at the conn, the mate on watch has his hands full navigating, monitoring traffic and handling communications. Port control calls on VHF and requests the ETA, ship's name, position, length, beam, gross tonnage, net tonnage, IMO number, last port, next port, amount of cargo on board and so on.

Responding to this request requires the full attention of the mate for several moments while at the same time the bridge team is experiencing its highest workload. Is this the best use of time and attention of the bridge team as the ship approaches the coast?

The ship would be safer if the mate's time and attention was being used to monitor the vessels position and traffic. An additional mate could be called out but why? Why is it necessary to relay this information by voice radio? Couldn't this information be exchanged in some other way? Can you imagine this taking place in an aircraft cockpit as the plane was descending towards the runway? Of course not, passengers expect air-crews to focus exclusively on flying the aircraft.

The time and attention of the ship's crew is a limited resource. While a close look should be made of crew size we should also ask what work can be shifted ashore and how demands placed on ship's crew can be minimized.