© International Marine Consultancy

© International Marine Consultancy

More info on the Cdt. Fourcault can be found here.

This is footage taken from a helicopter back in 2005. In a bizarre coincidence, the 591-ft cruise ship MV Voyager was damaged by a huge wave (46 ft) in the Mediterranean just two weeks after her sister ship MV Explorer was hit by a similar wave off the coast of Alaska. Both ships were originally built for Royal Olympic cruises and had operated as cruise ships for seven years without a serious mishap. When Royal Olympic filed for bankruptcy protection back in March of 2004 the ships were sold to new owners. Voyager is currently sailing as Grand Voyager for Spanish tour operator Iberojet and Explorer is sailing as a university sponsored “Semester at Sea” vessel.

Voyager, with more than 700 passengers on board, was on a voyage from Tunis to Barcelona when it was caught in a storm early this morning and hit by the huge wave while approximately 60 miles from Menorca. The wave reportedly struck the bridge area and damaged electronic equipment and caused engine failure for a period of time. A nearby LPG tanker rushed to the scene and stood by while the crew attempted to restart the engines. A French, Spanish and British navy vessels were also dispatched along with aircraft to track the ship’s position.

The crew was eventually able to restart both engines and the ship is reportedly heading for Cagliari, Sardinia for further damage assessment and repairs. No major injuries have been reported although several passengers received bruises and scrapes from being thrown about during the period when the ship was without power.

The two incidents on sister ships, weeks apart, raises questions about how and where the ships are being operated by their new owners. The fact that both ships sailed without incident for seven years under Royal Olympic management, and now suddenly each is damaged by storms brings into question the itineraries the ship’s are operating on. They were designed to operate on routes through the relatively calm eastern Mediterranean and Caribbean. The Explorer was clearly out of her element when damaged off the coast of Alaska but it is unclear why Voyager was unable to avoid the storm she encountered this morning.

sources: Cruise-Chat.com, Wikinews

There are many different ship sizes. In order to make life a bit easier I have composed a list of vessel size groups.

Handy and Handymax: Traditionally the workhorses of the dry bulk market, the Handy and more recent Handymax types remain popular ships with less than 60,000 dwt. A handymax is typically 150-200 meters (492-656 feet) in length, though certain bulk terminal restrictions such as those in Japan mean that many handymax ships are just under 190 meters in overall length. Modern handymax designs are typically 52,000-58,000 DWT in size, have five cargo holds and four cranes of 30 metric ton lifting capacity.

Handymax ‘Maple Creek’ - 53,474 DWT © Siba Ships S.p.A.

Aframax: Crude and product tankers between 80,000 and 120,000 dwt. This is the largest size defined by the Average Freight Rrate Assessment (AFRA) tanker rate system.

Panamax: Represents the largest acceptable size to transit the Panama Canal, which can be applied to both freighters and tankers; Size is determined principally by the dimensions of the canal’s lock chambers, each of which is 33.53 metres (110 ft) wide by 320.0 metres (1050 ft) long, and 25.9 metres (85 ft) deep. The usable length of each lock chamber is 304.8 metres (1000 ft). The available water depth in the lock chambers varies, but the shallowest depth is at the south sill of the Pedro Miguel Locks, and is 12.55 metres (41.2 ft) at a Miraflores Lake level of 16.61 metres (54 feet 6 in). The height of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa is the limiting factor on a vessel’s overall height.

Panamax ‘APL Malaysia - 293.99 x 32.20 x 21.80m

Seawaymax: The term Seawaymax refers to vessels which are the maximum size that can fit through the canal locks of the St Lawrence Seaway. Seawaymax vessels are 740 feet in length, 78 feet wide, (maximum 226 m length, 24 m beam) and have a draft of 26 feet (7.92 m). A number of Lake freighters larger than this size cruise the Great Lakes and cannot pass through to the Atlantic Ocean. The size of the locks limits the size of the ships which can pass and so limits the size of the cargoes they can carry. The record tonnage for one vessel on the Seaway is 28,502 tons of iron ore while the record through the larger locks of the Great Lakes Waterway is 72,351 tons. Most new lake vessels, however, are constructed to the Seawaymax limit to enhance versatility by allowing the possibility of off-Lakes use.

Suezmax: This standard, which represents the limitations of the Suez Canal, has evolved. Before 1967, the Suez Canal could only accommodate tanker ships with a maximum of 80,000 dwt. The canal was closed between 1967 and 1975 because of the Israel - Arab conflict. Prior to 1967, a Suezmax was a maximum of 80,000 dwt. Upon reopening in 1975, after many modifications to the locks and canal itself, the maximum was increased to 200,000 dwt.

Suezmax Tanker ‘Cap Guillaume’ © Euronav

Capesize: Refers to a rather ill-defined standard which have the common characteristic of being incapable of using the Panama or Suez canals, not necessarily because of their tonnage, but because of their size. These ships serve deepwater terminals handling raw materials, such as iron ore and coal. As a result, “Capesize” vessels transit via Cape Horn (South America) or the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa). Their size ranges between 80,000 and 175,000 dwt. Due to their size there are only a comparatively small number of ports around the world with the infrastructure to accommodate such vessel size.

VLCC: Very Large Crude Carriers, 150,000 to 320,00 dwt in size. They offer a good flexibility for using terminals since many can accommodate their draft. They are used in ports that have depth limitations, mainly around the Mediterranean, West Africa and the North Sea. They can be ballasted through the Suez Canal.

Very Large Crude Carrier ‘Irene SL’ - 319,247 DWT © Auke Visser

ULCC: Ultra Large Crude Carriers, 320,000 to 550,000 dwt in size. Used for carrying crude oil on long haul routes from the Persian Gulf to Europe, America and East Asia, via the Cape of Good Hope or the Strait of Malacca. The enormous size of these vessels require custom built terminals.

Ultra Large Crude Carrier ‘Knock Nevis’ - 564,650 DWT © Auke Visser

With harbour tugs being in high demand and poor availability on the second hand market International Marine Consultancy is proud to present to you a new build (2006) harbour tug of the much acclaimed Robert Allan design.

Fast facts:
LOA: 22,50 meters
Width: 8,80 meters
Depth: 3,66 meters
Draught: 2,64 meters
Main engines: 2x Caterpillar 3512 B diesel engines / 1575 BHP / 1800 rpm
BHP: 3150 BHP
Bollard pull: 40T
Location: Mediterranean

Contact us for further details.

TUGS was a British children’s television series of thirteen episodes in 1988 by the producers of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton.

Tugs is all about two anthromorphized tug fleets, the Star Fleet and the Z Stacks, who are always competing against each other around the fictional Bigg City Port during the 1920s. The Star Fleet are honourable and hard-working, but the Z-Stacks are underhanded and devious.

The series was noted for the high quality of its animation, which used detailed live-action models (much like sister series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends).

Thirteen episodes were made. The series was never repeated. Despite this, it still has a fanbase, which is currently campaigning to have the complete series of all 13 episodes released on DVD.

This week IMC added five new vessels to the online database:

1. 14m MultiCat - 2 x 270hp
2. Single Screw Coastal Tug
3. Self Propelled Construction/Dive Support Vessel
4. Self Elevating - Self Propelled Platform
5. Multi-purpose workboat

We are interested in receiving information on any vessels, surplus to your requirements and available for sale or charter.

It has not been a good week for Grimaldi. Days after their container ship Repubblica di Genova capsized in the port of Antwerp another Grimaldi container/ro-ro vessel, the Repubblica di Venezia, collided with the bulk carrier New Venturer on the Nort Sea channel (opening up the side of the vessel like a tin can).

© International Marine Consultancy

© International Marine Consultancy