Weather? HA! The Work Goes On!

Work is under way today to refloat the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. by pumping water out of the laker’s ballast tanks.

The 1,000-foot-long laker’s engine room flooded Monday after a submerged object punctured the McCarthy’s hull as the ship was backing into a slip at Superior’s Hallett No. 8 Dock about 11:30 a.m. The McCarthy’s crew closed the engine room’s watertight doors and evacuated the room as the ship’s stern settled to the bottom in 20 feet of water.

“Calculations support that the vessel will float regardless of the flooded engine room if de-ballasting occurs,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. “To do so, the vessel will utilize shore power to operate internal and external pumps. Engineers involved in the salvage believe it will take two to three days to complete the de-ballasting.”

Work to empty the ship’s ballast tanks began Tuesday evening. The tanks hold lake water to help stabilize the ship when it is empty or lightly loaded.

Once the ship is refloated, divers will be able to determine the extent of the damage to the McCarthy’s hall. After the ship’s hull is patched, the water in the engine room will be pumped to trucks for proper treatment and disposal.

The water fills the engine room to a depth of 20 feet, covering the ship’s four 3,500-horsepower General Motors Electro Motive Division diesel engines. Response personnel estimate that approximately 450 gallons of miscellaneous oils have been removed from the flooded engine room, the Coast Guard said. There are an additional 2,500 to 3,000 gallons of oil and fuel in adjacent tanks, engines and generators, but there is no threat of those liquids escaping, the Coast Guard said.

Once the engine room is pumped dry, officials will be able to determine if the ship can be repaired where it is or whether it will have to enter dry dock.

Workers may rebuild the ship’s engines where it sits now, said Rhonda S. Johnson, spokeswoman for GATX, the parent company of the McCarthy’s owner, the American Steamship Co.

The McCarthy is 1,000 feet long, 105 feet wide and has a dead weight capacity of 62,100 gross tons at a draft of 27.5 feet. The ship transports western coal from Superior to Detroit Edison’s St. Clair and Monroe, Mich., power plants. Built as the Belle River by the Bay Shipbuilding Corp. at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., the ship entered service in 1977. It was renamed the McCarthy in 1990 to honor the former chairman of the Detroit Edison Company.

UPDATE ON THE ICE PRINCE

Here are two recent videos regarding the Ice Prince a cargo ship loaded with more than 300 tonnes of oil which sank in the Channel 26 miles south-east of Portland Bill, spilling its load of timber.

Environmentalists are concerned that coastline and marine life could be harmed if storms breach the hull of the Ice Prince. There were also worries that if its cargo of wood washes up in southern England there could be a repeat of the chaotic scenes a year ago when scavengers descended on the Devon coast after the MSC Napoli shed about 50 containers.

UK. Receiver of Wreck warns against stealing MV Ice Prince cargo

Wednesday, 16 January 2008

At a meeting this morning convened by the Secretary's of State Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP) Hugh Shaw, various options were discussed on minimising the impact of the loss of cargo or oil from the sunken `Ice Prince.

Representatives from the Environment Group, Police, local authorities and the owners and salvors also attended the meeting.

A guard vessel, the Klyne tug, "Anglian Earl" will remain on scene until Trinity House have completed their survey of the wreck site. This is to ensure that the wreck does not pose any hazard to navigation.

The salvors are currently working on a plan to decide how best to recover the oil and pollutants that are currently contained within tanks on the vessel to minimise the risk of environmental impact.

There have been reports of a light sheen of oil on the surface at the wreck site, but this is being broken up by wave energy and natural sea movement.

The timber cargo that broke free from the vessel when she sank is estimated to be 2,000 tons of untreated sawn timber of differing sizes. Already some of the packages have broken up into individual pieces.

Discussions are taking place with the owners to appoint a contractor to be responsible for the collection of the cargo.

The MCA anticipate the cargo of timber will reach land between the Dorset/Hampshire border and East Sussex.

Police forces along the south coast are working closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Receiver of Wreck.

Police Forces have been authorised by the Receiver of Wreck to act on her behalf. People failing to comply with their directions would be committing an offence for which they may, on conviction, be fined up to £2,500 - and may be arrested.

Under Sections 236 and 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995: an offence would be committed: where a vessel is wrecked ... any person (who) conceals or keeps possession of any such cargo or refuses to deliver any such cargo or article to the receiver...'

It is also an offence of failing to report the wreck to the receiver.

Under current control measures that are in place any birds or wildlife found dead should be reported immediately to the RSPCA on their emergency number 03001234 999 who will respond appropriately.

WEATHER STORY

NWS Chicago (Lot) has posted its Skywarn Spotter training schedule...

Severe Weather Spotter Talk Schedule
Below is a listing of upcoming severe weather spotter talks...
Click here to see the Spotter Training FAQ page

February, 2008 - Upcoming
Day	City, State	Time	Location
11	Naperville, IL (DuPage County)	7:00pm CST	City Hall, Council Chambers, 400 S. Eagle.
	Contact Information: 630-742-3782
13	Evergreen Park, IL (Cook County)	7:00pm CST	Fire Dept., 9000 S. Kedzie Ave.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
20	Kankakee, IL (Kankakee County)	7:00pm CST	Kankakee Community College, Auditorium
	Contact Information: 815-802-7174
25	Minooka, IL (Grundy County)	6:30pm CST	Fire Station 1, 413 W. Mondamin St.
	Contact Information: 815-941-3200
26	Sandwich, IL (DeKalb County)	7:00pm CST	TBA
27	Plainfield, IL (Will County)	7:00pm CST	Police Dept., 14300 S. Coil Plus Dr.
	Contact Information: 815-740-8351
March, 2008 - Upcoming
Day	City, State	Time	Location
03	Evanston, IL (Cook County)	2:00pm CST	Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
03	Evanston, IL (Cook County)	6:00pm CST	Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
06	Dixon, IL (Lee County)	7:00pm CST	Public Safety Building, 220 S. Hennepin Ave.
	Contact Information: 815-284-3365
10	Ottawa, IL (La Salle County)	7:00pm CST	Ottawa High School, Room 420, 211 E. Main St.
	Contact Information: 815-433-5622
11	Oglesby, IL (La Salle County)	7:00pm CST	Illinois Valley Community College, Room 316
	Contact Information: 815-433-5622
12	Melrose Park, IL (Cook County)	7:00pm CST	Senior Center, 900 N. 25th Ave.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
13	Warrenville, IL (DuPage County)	7:00pm CST	City Hall, 28W701 Stafford Place
	Contact Information: 630-682-7925
15	Wheaton, IL (DuPage County)	8:00am CST	Wheaton College, Coray Gym ***There is a fee. Must Register in Advance***
	Contact Information: 630-682-7925
17	Aurora, IL (Kane County)	10:00am CST	City Council Chambers, 44 East Downer Pl.
	Contact Information: 630-801-6512
17	Aurora, IL (Kane County)	7:00pm CST	City Council Chambers, 44 E. Downer Pl
	Contact Information: 630-801-6512
18	Lockport, IL (Will County)	7:00pm CST	Lockport Central High School, Auditorium, 1222 S. Jefferson St.
	Contact Information: 815-740-8351
19	Joliet, IL (Will County)	10:00am CST	County Building, 2nd Floor Board Room, 302 N. Chicago St.
	Contact Information: 815-740-8351
19	Wilmington, IL (Will County)	7:00pm CST	City Hall, 1165 S. Water St.
	Contact Information: 815-740-8351
20	Pontiac, IL (Livingston County)	7:00pm CST	Public Safety Building, 413 N. Mill St.
	Contact Information: 815-844-7171
22	Rockford, IL (Winnebago County)	8:30am CST	Chicago-Rockford Int'l Airport, Public Safety Building
	Contact Information: 815-987-5990
24	Clarendon Hills, IL (DuPage County)	7:30pm CST	Church of Holy Nativity, 55th and Richmond.
	Contact Information: DuPage Radio Club www.w9dup.org
26	Lyons, IL (Cook County)	7:00pm CST	Lyons EOC, 7801 Ogden Ave.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
27	Crystal Lake, IL (McHenry County)	7:00pm CST	McHenry Community College, Auditorium
	Contact Information: 815-338-6400
31	Tinley Park, IL (Cook County)	7:00pm CST	Admin Building, Kallsen Conference Room, 16250 S. Oak Park Ave.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
April, 2008 - Upcoming
Day	City, State	Time	Location
02	Matteson, IL (Cook County)	10:00am CST	Matteson Village Hall, 4900 Village Commons
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
03	Crown Point, IN (Lake County)	7:00pm CST	Civic Center, 101 East St.
	Contact Information: 219-755-3549
09	Arlington Heights, IL (Cook County)	9:30am CST	Public Works Dept., L.A. Hansen Building, 222 N. Ridge Rd.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180
09	Arlington Heights, IL (Cook County)	1:30pm CST	Public Works Dept., L.A. Hansen Building, 222 N. Ridge Rd.
	Contact Information: 312-603-8180

RS

Mother and Her Fury!

Been a bad few days in the Black Sea Region. Weather has been at an extreme.

My good friend PC Liu of Freaque Waves also has a commentary on the storms.

First, parts of England were almost washed away by 100 year storm surges. Now as reported by CargoLaw, Five ships sunk in Kerch Straight storm - 23 people missing Russian tanker M/V Vologneft-139 tore apart and sank in heavy weather spilling 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Black Sea on Nov. 11.

Four other cargo ships including three carrying sulphur also sank as winds of up to 108 kilometres (67 miles) an hour battered the Kerch Strait separating the Black Sea from the Sea of Azov. Forty vessels were evacuated from Kavkaz, a busy Russian commercial port some 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of Moscow, officials said.

(Photo above - People look at a ships thrown on the rocks by fierce storm in the Kerch strait linking the Black and Azov seas in this image made from television broadcast Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007. Massive waves split a Russian oil tanker in two during a fierce storm, spilling at least 2,000 metric tons (560,000 gallons) of fuel into a strait leading to the Black Sea. The 8-meter-high (18-feet) waves also sank two Russian freighters nearby, in the Strait of Kerch, a narrow strait linking the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast. The two ships together carried about 6,500 metric tons (7,150 tons) of sulfur, said Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. (AP Photo/Rossiya TV Channel)

A map locating the Kerch Strait -- between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov

Ten others were forced to stay in the port because of the storm. Some 300 kilometres further west, high winds sank another cargo ship with 17 sailors on board. Two were rescued and 15 crew reported missing. M/V Kovel, carrying sulphur, sank after hitting another Russian cargo ship, M/V Volnogorsk, which also sunk in the five-metre high waves and raging winds. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. Nov. 11 2007).

Kabardinka, 19 miles southeast of Russia's Black Sea port of Novorosiisk, in this television grab November 11, 2007. REUTERS/RVN Television" border="0">

A vessel is seen after it ran aground near the settlement Kabardinka, 19 miles southeast of Russia's Black Sea port of Novorosiisk, in this television grab November 11, 2007. REUTERS/RVN Television.

Ukrainian Ministry of Emergency, via Associated Press

A crew member from the stranded Russian cargo vessel Vera Voloshina is evacuated by line Sunday by the Ukrainian rescue service on the coast near Sudak, Ukraine.

Waves broke over the stranded Russian cargo vessel Vera Voloshina on the coast near Sudak, Ukraine. As Russian investigators continued to assess the disaster, they said they had determined so far that five or more cargo ships sank in the storm, and at least five others ran aground. Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Emergency, via Bloomberg News

When it comes to environmental damage, the quantity of oil spilled can sometimes be less important than the location of the accident, and the one on Sunday was relatively close to the coastline. Photo: Pavel Shevtsov/Reuters

A fierce storm in the Black Sea sank at least five ships on Sunday, killing at least three sailors and causing a massive oil spill that could lead to severe environmental damage. At top, ships struggled in rough water on Sunday near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Russia. Photo: Yuri Bereznyuk/European Pressphoto Agency

MOSCOW. Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Russian oil tanker split in half in a fierce storm in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling at least 2,000 tons of fuel oil, Interfax reported.

"It is a large-scale environmental disaster which will take a long time to deal with. But in a year, and even in a more distant future the impact of the damage will be felt," Interfax quoted Vladimir Slivyak, head of the ECO-Zashchita, a public environmental protection watchdog, as saying.

The storm, with wind blowing at over 18 meters per second, has torn a barge, the Demetra, loaded with 3,000 tons of fuel oil, from its anchor and is carrying it away, Interfax reported on Sunday afternoon, citing an emergency headquarters spokesman from Port Kavkaz.

The storm has also sunk two Turkish freighters and another cargo ship which was carrying over 2,000 tons of sulfur, local emergency department sources said

Latest Situation Update:

Russia Krasnodarskiy Krayjkk Black Sea / Near Port Kavkaz

Situation

More than 30,000 birds have been killed by the thousands of tons of oil that leaked after a heavy storm broke a tanker apart near the Black Sea, the governor of the disaster-hit region said Monday, according to Russian news agencies. Countless other birds, weighed down by thick coatings of the fuel oil, hopped weakly along the shore or sat helplessly in the sand. Workers with pitchforks and shovels started the backbreaking labor of gathering up vast clumps of oil mixed with sand and seaweed. The spill from a tanker that split apart Sunday in the strait connecting the Black and Azov Seas is seen as potentially the worst environmental disaster in the region in recent years. It prompted criticism that many Russian tankers aren't seaworthy. "Some 30,000 birds have died and it's not possible to count how many fish. The damages are so great that it's hard to assess. It can be equated with an ecological catastrophe," said Alexander Tkachev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, according to the Interfax news agency. Another regional official, Sergei Zaitsev, was quoted as saying that much of the oil still on the water's surface could congeal in the wintry temperatures, forming globs that drop to the seabed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov to fly to the region to assess the disaster and clean-up efforts. As many as 10 ships sank or ran aground in the storm, including the freighter Nakhichevan, which broke up and spilled a load of sulfur, officials said. The bodies of three sailors from the Nakhichevan washed up on shore Monday and rescuers were looking for five missing crewmen, said Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Sergei Kozhemyaka. Two other freighters carrying sulfur also sank. Russian environmental officials said the sulfur spilled from the freighters did not appear to pose any environmental danger. Jim Farr, a chemist with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, compared the spill to dumping a load of sand in the water and smothering a reef, or covering a patch of grass with a blanket. However, he said that it was difficult to know the long-term effects without better knowledge of the area's depth and currents.

The Volganeft-139 tanker was carrying about 4,800 metric tons (1.3 million gallons) of fuel oil when the storm sundered it. About half its load has leaked out already, officials estimated. The craft's 13 crew members were rescued. Alexei Knizhnikov, head of the World Wildlife Federation's Russian oil and gas program, said the Volganeft-139 was constructed for river use and was unfit to endure severe weather at sea. "In the Kerch Strait, river vessels and sea vessels change cargoes, as sea vessels cannot enter the Don and Volga rivers because of small water draft. But vessels constructed for rivers cannot stand strong sea storms," he said. Anatoly Yanhuck, a regional coast guard officer, said workers would begin pumping oil from the tanker once the weather improves, then tow the ship to port. Investigators would be looking at the actions of the ship's captain, but he said the weather appeared to have been worse than forecast.

Vesti 24 television on Sunday reported the sinking of a Russian freighter carrying metal near the port of Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Two members of its 16-man crew drowned and one was missing, it said. Maxim Stepanenko, a regional prosecutor, told Vesti 24 that captains had been warned Saturday about the stormy conditions. He said the Volganeft-139 — designed during Soviet times to transport oil on rivers — was not built to withstand a fierce storm.

RS

Lessons Learned?

Seems like ConocoPhillips is not going to take the same chance that PEMEX took with the Usumacinta.

RigZone is reporting that ConocoPhillips is preparing to evacuate five installations located in its North Sea Ekofisk oil fields if weather conditions deteriorate.

Looks like there is a gale ready to blow.


Weather Forecast Forces North Sea Oil Worker Evacuation

Dow Jones News Wire

By Lananh Nguyen

Last Update: 5:33 AM ET Nov 7, 2007

Major oil companies operating in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea are bracing themselves for gale force weather in the coming days, with some preparing to evacuate staff.

BP PLC (BP.LN) confirmed it is evacuating 200 staff from the Valhall oil and gas field as a precautionary response to forecasts of severe weather. "We have started sending people to shore because severe weather is expected Friday morning. It is a precaution to demobilize people on Valhall field," Olav Fjellsa said. Production from 80,000 barrels of oil a day Valhall would be shut down until the severe weather has passed, Fjellsa added.

ConocoPhillips (COP) said it is also preparing to evacuate five installations located in its North Sea Ekofisk oil fields if weather conditions deteriorate. "We have not moved anyone yet, but are prepared to move personnel from five installations, if necessary," said the spokesman for ConocoNorge Stig Kvendseth. Kvendseth wouldn't comment on production from the fields but said that personnel would be moved from all five installations if the weather conditions worsened.

The Ekofisk area is made up of several smaller oil fields which taken together accounted for some 467,000 barrels a day of oil production in November traders said. Average daily oil production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf amounted to approximately 2.18 million barrels during September this year, preliminary statistics from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate show. Meanwhile, Anglo Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) said it hasn't evacuated any workers from its North Sea oil fields and doesn't plan to ahead of forecasts for poor weather conditions in the coming days.

Spokesman Rainer Winzenreid said production from its North Sea oil fields is continuing as normal. A spokesman for StatoilHydro (STL.OS) also said it currently has no plans to remove personnel from its oil platforms in the North Sea but it's closely monitoring weather conditions.

"We actually don't have anyone loading at the moment but do have vessels scheduled for tomorrow morning," said Richard Hurding marine team leader at the port of Sullom Voe Northern crude oil loading terminal located in the U.K. Hurding added that if windspeeds rose above 35 knots then loadings wouldn't take place and ships would be kept out of port. "I think it obviously has bullish implications," said a trader of North Sea crude. "People are being tight-lipped about volumes to be shut, et cetera, but I wouldn't sell ahead of it." The U.K. Meteorological Office issued gale warnings on its Web site Tuesday covering the entire North Sea area.

It also predicted a period of very windy weather over northeastern parts of the U.K. Thursday and Friday.


The Ekofisk Song



Maritime Note


INTERTANKO sent out a press release today announcing that the Terminal Vetting Database will now be hosted on www.Q88.com. To view the press release, please click the link below.

INTERTANKO Press Release

The Terminal Vessel Database (TVD) allows you to lookup near real-time information about terminal and berth conditions at tanker ports around the world. Your vessels can also submit their own reports into the system. Currently, the TVD contains over 8,500 reports.

Terminal Vetting Database

Oh Yeah! Another Oops on the ole Radar! This time the 920-foot container ship Cosco Busan, kind of hit a bridge... not just a bridge, but the Bay Bridge!


RS