When the crew of the Maltese-flag oil/chemical tanker Skaw Provider, 4,300dwt, raised the anchor from 15m off Portland, Dorset, they were startled to find an unexploded and badly corroded Royal Navy torpedo caught on one of the flukes.
Members of the Royal Navy’s Portsmouth-based Southern Diving Unit 2 were dispatched to the ship on Oct 14 where they immediately evacuated the majority of the crew. Six, including the Master, stayed on board ready to fight any fires that could break out.
Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Campbell, in charge of the diving unit, said: “EOD Operators treat these items as ‘live’ and hazardous until it can be disproved otherwise. Working parts inside the torpedo could be seen from where the anchor fluke had ruptured it.
“The tanker was carrying approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil. The cargo was pumped into the aftermost possible tanks to reduce the effects of any explosion, and fire hoses were charged and ready to deploy if needed.
“We directed the ship to use her other anchor to steady her, before lowering the fouled anchor, and the torpedo, to several metres below the waterline.
“Once the torpedo was released, the team then took it to a safe area, lowered it to the seabed and destroyed it.”
AS GREATER ‘EFFICIENCY NEEDS FEWER PEOPLE’
ON AUG 30, the Port of Tyne celebrated 20 years of cruise ship travel.
ON THE afternoon of Aug 30, a fishing vessel reported to the Coastguard that she had lost power near Peterhead,
THE Atlantic Container Line (ACL) won a contract from Boeing Defence UK to transport seven Chinook helicopters across the Atlantic
THE NEW Invergordon Shannon class lifeboat which enters service next spring will feature the names of thousands of people in
The Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) officially resumed operations and welcomed back its first commercial vessel following Hurricane Dorian.
THE EXTENSION of the barge service at the port of Morrow, in Oregon, is one of only three projects on
In a four-day operation off the coast of Oregon, three separate vessels of the US Coast Guard towed a 50ft
THE US Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the sinking of three vessels in the Illinois River near Hardin,
WORK has started on the expansion of Seattle’s Terminal 5 so it can handle container ships of up to 18,000
THE JAPANESE shipbuilder Japan Marine United has delivered what it described as “a next-generation energy-saving bulk carrier” to Nissen Kaiun,
THE Japanese shipping line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), have taken delivery of the coal carrier Corona Citrus, 88,000dwt, built
A new search has been demanded to recover the second Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the wreck of the South
THE SWISS-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has taken delivery of one of the world’s largest container ships, the MSC Gulsun,
THE Singapore-based container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has taken delivery of the 14,000 teu capacity ONE Cygnus, 138,611dwt,
American News The expansion of the US Navy’s amphibious capability continues with the announcement that General Dynamics NASSCO has received
BRITISH News THE FOURTH and last of the new Tide class tankers, RFA Tideforce, was offi cially accepted into service
US News USS CINCINNATI is the latest member of the expanding littoral combat ship fl eet to be delivered to
indian News
The troubled Scorpene class submarine program hit another snag in June.
US News
The US Navy has unveiled its plans for the purchase of a new frigate known as FFG(X).
PROPOSED FERRY EXCHANGE ‘AND A TALE OF TWO STEAMERS...’
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