JLMoran Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/02/least-five-injured-cruise-ship-smashes-dock-venice-9774386/ Per the article, the ship had a mechanical issue at the last moment and couldn’t be stopped. They didn’t just hit the dock like the collision in Roatan; they also hit a smaller boat in the canal at the same time. 5 people are injured, article doesn’t indicate how badly. MSC has not been having the best track record this past year. Still an infrequent thing for the number of sailings they do, but hardly a ringing endorsement for their older ships (if I’m remembering rightly that the Roatan dock crash was also with an older ship and was blamed on mechanical problems). Fuzzywuzzy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Both ships the same Lirica class. Perhaps the reverse gear has an issue in this class. Two azipods as opposed to conventional propeller shaft. Someone has some explaining to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2mybugs Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 I'm thinking this is the death knoll on big cruise ships in Venice. They have been been increasingly disliked and my guess is they will not let them be there or will decrease the numbers significantly. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auto Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Glad that I got to sail out of Venice while I still could! That canal is incredibly busy and those little boats have no chance except for being more maneuverable than the huge ships. Tough to do in the confined space of the cruise ship basin, though. Also, glad I saw this two weeks AFTER my MSC cruise! mom2mybugs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 If you search for cruise ship crashes it becomes apparent that it happens fairly often. Mostly with piers or docks and sometimes with other boats and rocks. Navigating and piloting open and near shore waters are governed by volumes of national and international marine rules and laws. Many times it simply boils down to "don't run into anything." Conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland. US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision. CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision. US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course. CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course! US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!! CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call. PS ... it is a joke .. this did not really happen. monctonguy, FionaMG, Fuzzywuzzy and 6 others 1 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 That video is stunning and scary. I know that particular ship isn't a behemoth, but still, she's huge when you're on the dock and she's coming right at you. If I were the king of MSC, I'd fork out some ducets and hire away a couple of RC Captains. And some RC mechanics, while I'm at it. RestingBird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 5 hours ago, Floski said: If I were the king of MSC, I'd fork out some ducets and hire away a couple of RC Captains. And some RC mechanics, while I'm at it. ...and the RC internet developers.... oh, wait..... Yo2slick, SpeedNoodles, Fuzzywuzzy and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Now we know that MSC is the acronym for Might Sink Cruise! WAAAYTOOO, Joe01, JLMoran and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 Here’s what I don’t understand because this is quite a frequent thing, the last happening in March in San Juan. OK, so the GPS is out of wack with ships computer, or the ships guidance system is not communicating with the engine room; really the mechanical issue doesn’t matter. There is a pilot that has boarded the vessel sitting in one of the command chairs, the captain is sitting in the other. (FYI: in these instances responsibility and fault falls on the captains shoulders, NOT the pilots) There has got to be at least a dozen people with stripes on their shoulders assisting with the docking. None of these dockings are anybody’s first time there. Collectively it’s hundreds of dockings if not thousands at any particular port; no matter what cruise line. So, with all that experience and human oversight. How do they not know “Hey, we should be much slower at this point in time” “Dude, there is another vessel that is way too frick’in close to our berth” or “We are Waaaytooo close to the dock” It seems awareness of a problem should have been known well before the ship collides with the end of the pier and some evasive actions taken beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 58 minutes ago, bobroo said: So, with all that experience and human oversight. How do they not know “Hey, we should be much slower at this point in time” “Dude, there is another vessel that is way too frick’in close to our berth” or “We are Waaaytooo close to the dock” I suspect they did know and may have been trying to do something about it. There is incredible momentum involved, even at slow speeds. "Reverse 1/3" "Engines not responding Captain" Captain can repeat or scream it all they want, if the ship doesn't respond to commands issued, that is a mechanical failure. In the case of Roatan they dropped anchors to try to slow it down. That takes time to do when the crew isn't expecting that command. Even when a Captain allows a staff Captain or first officer to make the approach, they will quickly jump in when they see things going South. Two ships in the same class a few months apart having the same outcome. Hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 4 hours ago, bobroo said: So, with all that experience and human oversight. How do they not know “Hey, we should be much slower at this point in time” “Dude, there is another vessel that is way too frick’in close to our berth” or “We are Waaaytooo close to the dock” It seems awareness of a problem should have been known well before the ship collides with the end of the pier and some evasive actions taken beforehand. Good points but in this case, they weren't trying to dock anywhere near where they hit. They were supposed to keep going down the canal and turn into the berths at the end of the island. Their speed may have been perfectly appropriate if the ship was going in the right direction. There were 2 tugs guiding the ship down the canal with cables attached. One of those cables broke at some point. I've seen some reports say it was after the collision and some before. I think before makes more sense because then the remaining tug could have accidentally turned the ship with its cable due to lack of balance from the other tug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said: Good points but in this case, they weren't trying to dock anywhere near where they hit. They were supposed to keep going down the canal and turn into the berths at the end of the island. Their speed may have been perfectly appropriate if the ship was going in the right direction. There were 2 tugs guiding the ship down the canal with cables attached. One of those cables broke at some point. I've seen some reports say it was after the collision and some before. I think before makes more sense because then the remaining tug could have accidentally turned the ship with its cable due to lack of balance from the other tug. Not sure I accept the tug inclusion. First we are talking about an Azipod ship. Bow thrusters, 2x azipods plus a stern thruster. If she was a shaft and rudder ship I might see it different I agree it was supposed to transit the channel but the momentum observed started long before she hit the pier and subsequently the River boat. The question is what drove the bow so off course and into the pier and river vessel. Did they know it was going to be bad and turned hard to starboard ? This would absorb most energy into the pier rather than destroying the much smaller vessel If they hit that small river boat first it would disintegrate. Perhaps the Captain is a hero who saved a lot of lives by driving into the pier when he/she knew it would be better to play their ship into the pier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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