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.”
The first in a new class of four large roll-on,rolloff car and truck carriers for Wallenius Wilhelmsen, of Norway, has
A team of marine archaeologists believe they may have found the wreck of Captain James Cook’s famous vessel Endeavour which
Photographs of lifeboats dating from the turn of the 20th Century are the centrepiece of a new RNLI exhibition that
The vehicle carrier Makassar Highway, 17,735gt, of the Japanese company K Line, ran aground off the Swedish coast on the
A 55,848dwt bulk carrier had to be towed into New York harbour after she became disabled while more than 100
A major expedition takes place next summer to explore the wreck of the White Star Line passenger liner Titanic, 46,328grt,
Shipping and ports from the states of Virginia south to Georgia were seriously affected in mid-September by Hurricane Florence, which
The Port of Houston, in Texas, took delivery of three new neopanamax ship-to-shore cranes on Aug 6 and five rubber-tyred
The first offshore cleaning system was to be installed last month in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch located halfway between
The carnival Cruises subsidiary, P&O Cruises Australia, are to replace the cruise ship Pacific Jewel, 70,310gt, with the Star Princess,
The Australian shipbuilders Austal has rolled-out a new catamaran ferry for the Danish company Molslinjen at its Henderson shipyard in
China is the world’s leading international shipping nation, according to a new report presented at a Hamburg trade fair on
The proposed joint demonstration project by four Japanese organisations relating to the safety of vessels’ auto berthing and un-berthing has
A new record for crossing the Northern Sea Route was set up in July by the icebreaking LNG carrier Christophe
American News The Zumult class destroyer USS Michael Monsoor was in dockyard hands at Bath in Maine for the removal
British News The assault ship HMS Albion, at time of writing, had just completed a five day visit to Tokyo
British News The latest survey vessel to join the Royal Navy was commissioned into service at her homeport of Devonport
British News The first four of Britain’s next generation F-35 Lightning supersonic fighter jets touched down in the United Kingdom
Russian News
Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will be refitted to prolong the warship’s operational life.
At this time, when all cross-border ferry operators ex UK must be extremely apprehensive as leaving the EU approaches, Seatruck
Ferry services between Ullapool and Stornoway were disrupted when Caledonian MacBrayne’s Loch Seaforth lost power just over an hour into
In response to growing market demand, Stena Line has upped freight capacity on the popular Belfast – Liverpool route.
Brittany Ferries has celebrated the second milestone in the build of its next ship Honfleur with the keeling laying - the
During World War II, most of France’s traditional sailing vessels were destroyed and after the war, the emphasis was on
On the north east coast of England, it was Sunderland’s proud claim that more ships had been built here than
At the end of May, a Tall Ships fleet met at Liverpool.
The organisers of the charter barges working from Ipswich are worried by plans to build a road bridge across the
Two German schooners based at Hamburg are regularly making voyages under sail with general cargoes across the Atlantic.
Over the years, I have been a great admirer of the vital work which Mercy Ships carries out in the
Coming from the NE of Scotland myself, I have been impressed by how, in recent years, Montrose Port Authority (MPA)
I am always in favour of any steps taken to improve safety of life at sea and I feel that
The Southampton headquartered ship repairer and marine engineering services provider, SMS, has launched the classic 1930’s superyacht Alicia from its
With her wide open-air spaces, CRN’s new superyacht Latona offers an original interpretation of timeless elegance, coupled with Italian style
In the past I have been fortunate in that I have been on a cruise to a number of the
An exciting opportunity for an owner looking to build one of the finest explorer yacht projects available has presented itself.
Behind the construction of every great yacht there is a story and in the building of Meira, it is one
