As I have had no luck seemingly on the two ships lifeboats, no air and Nightriding problems to date hereby is an easier one perhaps. For me possibly the most unusual job away from the engineroom and on a ship in my entire career to date. It's Saturday night, 8 pm, ships just docked 2 hours late after a rough trip from Cherbourg to South Coast UK and enclosed is the view greeting you when the STB. Stern door is opened and the first 4 trucks driven off the ship. Skipper and management work out that a failure to sail at 10 am next day will cost the firm £125,000.00 Now it's down to you, you are the Chief and as such it's your responsibility to solve this problem, no one else can help you on this one. So come on you aspiring marine engineers, how would you do it? How was it done? It took me about three and a half hours to get the fellow on the right back on his feet and off the ship, he grosses in at 44 tons in weight. Clues? I have a very large tool box to try and cater for every eventuality plus One assistant only.

I have no idea what I'm looking at, never sailed on a ferry. However, I have a fair idea it would involve the Tackle Regulations and the Labour Code. I'd say the trucking company has a pretty good case to sue for damage caused by negligence.

Air Bags?

Good suggestion but not on this occasion?

Hi Melvyn,

I have just realised all your pictures are upside down, could you please edit them to rotate them by 180 Degrees?

BP

Hi B. P. First time I have posted photos and only posted one of each, it's on its side and as one trailer was laded with French wine the whole area was a sea of broken glass about 9 inches deep and that is why airbags were not deployed. Got the necessary kit in your toolbox perhaps?

Was the priority to clear out the wreckage, at any cost, to enable the rest of the cargo to be discharged and the next one loaded or to minimise the damage to the "Beam Enders"?

If the first, I can see that you could drag them out by closing the bow ramp and attaching cables from the top of the ramp to the trucks and dragging them forward by lowering the ramp. Alternatively, using the mooring ropes and windlass, rigging a snatch block to the end of the Ramp and dragging the Lorries straight out. Maybe lay thin greased wooden battens on the Deck to form a track to reduce friction. Might take several repeat operations but you could eventually drag them as far as the ramp and then maybe get a shore side crane, or tow truck on them. Wouldn't do the trucks much good, although I suppose it would be covered by "General Average".

In order to minimise damage to the Lorries you would have to right them first, if you didn't use air or water bags, there is a choice between chain blocks, using the mooring winches via a fair lead, possibly a snatch-block rigged to a Hold pillar or other strong point, to pull them over to the upright position. Also a possibility of attaching ropes/ slings to a hoisting ramp to a higher deck to lift the lorries back onto their wheels, but if this put an eccentric load on the ramp it could twist it, but it might be an acceptable price to pay.


Anyone else got some ideas?

BP

Cutting torch

J K, you can't use a cutting torch on a wine shipment over here, it's illegal and every wine worshiper would be after your blood. Only non drinkers would use a torch.

B.P., Very well thought out answer and not far off to what I actually did, the task was to cause no more damage to the cargo of precious wine and certainly no damage to the ship. In addition to that the ship had to sail early next day back to Cherbourg. Loads of trucks waiting to be loaded, schedules to be met etc. You are on your own completely on this one, all eyes are on you. You are very close on this one and have clearly given the matter a lot of thought. So can I push my luck further, what about the two ships lifeboat fuel problems, no air start, Nightriding and the running of the colours and Us metallic packing? You were close on the colour blue re the colours one. Stop me claiming my Top of the Range kidney pad Stompers Medal, to date as its six victories in one hit I feel a hexagonal milled medal would be in order. This would of course have to be machined on a universal dividing head, remember? Each machined face would have to be engraved depicting my victory, the chains used to try and secure the lorries would possibly more suited around my neck to carry the medal as they were certainly of no use on the ship. Or will I have to make it a octagonal medal?

Put some strategically placed dock tires on the bulk head, ballast the ship over a bit for a decent list and let gravity do it's business.
And if gravity won't do the work see if a few sacrificed -big- comealongs will give gravity some persuasion. haha

Like BP said to minimize damage righting them first would seem the better choice.

If there is a sea of broken Glass round the Trucks maybe the first thing to do would be clean up to create a safe working area, then discharge all the contents of the trucks, before righting the trucks. Trouble with using the windlasses/ winches is that most of their pulling power is lost in friction once you have run the ropes through a couple of blocks, so you probably had to use one of the more creative methods suggested earlier.

Revolver's idea of creating a list, to get gravity on your side, instead of fighting it, is a good idea, but obviously you have to check out the stability thoroughly, and make sure you have no slack tanks, to make sure you don't flop right over.

With regard to the Colours the only other Blue I can think of is Blue Steel, (not to be confused with Blue Streak).

BP

Wow, the ultimate sacrifice, sink the ship to save the wine eh? We all know the virtues of the vino collapso brand but I fear that would not go down well with the ship owners. Between you you are slowly getting there, talk of snatch blocks by B.P. And of tyres to cushion the upright motion by Revolver is a major step in the right direction. As of the running of the colours, back to the early learning days perhaps as you don't seem to do it much at all nowadays. It refers to revitalising a piece of kit in your toolbox to prolong its life and make it do the necessary job better? This bit of kit comes in several variants, each specially made for its own application?

Melvyn, your experiences at Sea appear to be different to the rest of us, in 44 years at Sea I have never had a personal toolbox, all the tools have been in the E. R. workshop and shared.

Nowadays, as Chief on a PSV I usually do two six hour watches a day, almost entirely spent answering emails and struggling with the Purchasing system, Planned Maintenance system, dry dock planning etc, driving a computer for 11 hours a day.

BP

"Running the colours" refers to tempering steel, in this case, a cold chisel, where the chisel is quenched when dark blue runs off the polished edge.