M/V Ital Florida

Once again mother nature can generate some powerful storms and waves. These waves can do a lot of damage to cargo and the vessel itself. As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words. Here (left) we have a picture of the container ship M/V Ital Florida on her maiden voyage departing port and below, the aftermath of mother nature at sea.

According to Cargolaw, the M/V Ital Florida made her maiden call at Hong Kong on April 20 2007. But the beginning of a busy career was interupted by a "Stack Attack" between June 16 & 19 2007.

This is the brand new Italian flaged container ship M/V Ital Florida, particulars include: Length: 238.9 Meters (783.7 ft). Draft: 12.03 meters (39.4 ft). Gross ITC Tonnage -36,483.00 tons

The M/V Ital Florida lost at least three fully loaden containers in severe seas between June 16 & 19 in the Arabian Sea. The ship faced wave heigths of 7-10 m height (22 to 32 Ft). The M/V Ital Florida was running with almost 16 knots. The ship's deck also suffered storm damage.

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The question that is being asked?. Was this problem the result of improper lashing securing, bad weather or both? Many times improper lashing of the containers on deck plays a major role in loss of cargo during a storm. However this 783 foot containship is evidence that when mother nature roars "Ship Happens".

Now imagine a 44 foot sailboat like the s/v Sean Seamour II or any sailboat taking waves like this?

Weather Note:

On Saturday, 14 July 2007 Typhoon Man-yi struck southern Japan injuring 34. As reported by the AP. This powerful storm is also responsible for the sinking of a 420-foot cargo ship owned by Fuzhou Haijing Shipping, which was en route from Papua New Guinea to China when the cargo began shifting as the vessel encountered 70 mph winds and 24-foot seas from the typhoon. The number of survivors among the 22-member crew rose to 13, with eight receiving medical attention and 3 found dead in the U.S. territory about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

The Coast Guard cutter Sequoia arrived on scene Friday 13 July 2007 to coordinate operations as the air and sea search continued for the remaining six crew missing members. About 100 square miles had been searched, the AP reported.

RS