Capsized Bangladesh ship being towed to Phuket

[webfact]

Capsized Bangladesh ship being towed to Phuket


The MV Hope which capsized off Phuket is being towed to the resort island. (Photo b Achadtaya Chuenniran)

PHUKET: -- Attempts are being made to tow a Bangladeshi cargo vessel to the coast of Phuket as rescuers still search for six missing crew members.

Vce Adm Tharathorn Kajitsuwan, commander of the navy’s Region 3, said on Sunday that a boat from Penang had been sent to salvage the MV Hope by taking it to Phuket for repairs.

The officer said the search still continued for six sailors who went missing after the ship capsized off Racha Noi island south of Phuket last Thursday.

Two members died and nine were injured and saved from rough seas after the ship with 17 crew struck trouble in the Andaman Sea as it was transporting ball clay from Penang to Chittagong in Bangladesh.

-- Phuket News 2013-07-08

[Dellboy218]

Damned fast work by salvors to right that capsized ship! Or is that 30(?) degree list the furthest she got I wonder.

[Suradit69]

Never heard of ball clay before so I had to wiki check it.

The ceramic use of ball clays in Britain dates back to at least the Roman era. More recent trade began when a clay was needed to construct tobacco pipes in the 16th and 17th century.^[4] In 1771 Josiah Wedgwood signed a contract for 1400 tons a year of ball clay with Thomas Hyde of Purbeck, enabling him to fire thinner walled ceramics.^[5]

^{1400 tons a year for smoking pipes sounds like a lot. Anyone have an idea how it's used in Bangladesh?}

[Payboy]

Bangladesh ship being towed to Phuket

That's a refreshing change, usually they're being towed out to high seas.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Bangladesh ship being towed to Phuket

That's a refreshing change, usually they're being towed out to high seas.

But this one has cargo that can be sold.

Come to think of it, the Thai officials did sell the humans on the other ones....

[Lite Beer]

Navy calls off search for cargo ship crew off Phuket
Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has now called off the search for the six missing members of the crew of the Bangladesh-registered cargo ship MV Hope, four days after the crew abandoned the ship in heavy seas to the south of Racha Noi Island.

Nine of the 17 crew of the Hope crew were found alive and two bodies were recovered. It is now assumed that the remaining six are no longer alive.

Meanwhile, the stricken MV Hope itself has survived and is under tow from the tug Confidence. It will be taken to a port in Malaysia so that repairs can be made.

Thus far it is not clear which port the Hope will be towed to and, in any case, towing the ship, which is lying half on its side, is likely to be a slow job.

The Navy earlier voiced concerns that the abandoned ship might drift into the very busy sea lane going to India or the Red Sea from the Strait of Malacca; that it would leak oil that would end up on the coast of Thailand; and that the cargo aboard the ship might damage the environment.

Now that the Hope is under tow, the first concern has been alleviated, and agents for the ship’s insurers have found no leaks aboard the Hope, and no cracks in the hull, so thus far oil leaks are not a concern.

The owners of the MV Hope, Singapore-based Manship Pte Ltd, at first would not reveal what the cargo was, but have now confirmed that it consists of clay for the manufacture of ceramics. The environmental implications of this are not yet clear.

The same team that inspected the ship for damage noted that the loose cargo of clay had shifted, which had caused the ship to list heavily and prompted the skipper to give the order to abandon ship.

Source: http://www.thephuket...huket-40713.php

-- Phuket News 2013-07-08

[Nobelcat]

Well that's not that bad then (for the ship). The ship is only leaning because the cargo is unbalance. RIP to the victims.

[Zolt]

That's sad for the victims, especially since they would still be alive had they stayed on board. Bad call by the skipper. But then, when your ship is listing by over 30 degrees it's hard to make calm decisions

Edited July 8, 2013 by Zolt

[webfact]

Search for MV Hope Bangladeshi crew called off as salvage efforts begin
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy today called off its search for the remaining missing crewmen of the Bangladeshi cargo ship MV Hope, which capsized in heavy seas south of Phuket on Thursday night (story here).

The news comes after the search yesterday failed to locate any more of the missing crewmen, Capt Thammawat Malaisukkarin, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs told the Phuket Gazette.

During the search efforts, five crewmen were rescued by the German container ship Buxmoon. The survivors were named as: 4th Engineer Md Abdul Hakim; Deck Cadet Moklechur Rahaman; D/fitter Cadet Mohammed Rubel; Oiler Mohammad Osman; and GS Saiful Islam.

The Navy air-sea rescue team recovered four survivors: AB Abu Bakar Siddique (story here); and 2nd Officer Mohammad Mobarak Hossain; Deck Cadet Raeq Fairooz; and E Cadet Mushfiqur Rahman (story here).

The Royal Thai Navy team also recovered two bodies during the search, which the Gazette was told this morning have yet to be identified.

The eight crewmen still listed as missing at sea are: Capt Rajib Chandra Karmaker; Chief Officer Mohammed Mahabub Morshed; Chief Engineer Kazi Saifuddin; 2nd Engineer Nazam Uddin; Electrician Mohammed Sadim Ali; AB Mohammad Nasir Uddin; Oiler Md Ali Hossain; and Chief Cook Nasir Uddin.

“Our next mission is to salvage the Hope,” Capt Thammawat told the Gazette.

“The Navy is providing support for the MV Confidence, which was commissioned by the Hope’s insurance company to render assistance and carry out repairs. The Confidence arrived in Phuket yesterday.

“A tow boat started towing the Hope south, away from the nearest islands so the repairs could be carried out safely away from land,” Capt Thammwat said.

“We were going to tow the Hope back to Phuket, but the salvage team went on board and discovered that the ship’s engine still works and that the ship does not seem to be taking on any more water,” he added.

The salvage team is expected to take about five days to repair the Hope so the ship can be sailed back to a safe port.

“If the weather allows them,” Capt Thammawat said.

“The Royal Thai Navy is providing a helicopter, a dive team and a speedboat to support their mission,” he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Search-for-MV-Hope-Bangladeshi-crew-called-off-as-salvage-efforts-begin-21578.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-07-08

[barrybankruad]

The law of salvage will no doubt apply here. I wonder how much the Thais will benefit?

[CIHUAHUA]

Sailors should know how to swim and put life boats in the water. Good training saves lives. If they would have stayed with the ship they would all be alive today. Sorry for the loses as it could have been avoided.

Edited July 8, 2013 by CIHUAHUA

[sabye]

I just saw this boat being towed east of Adang island about 2 hours ago. Listing hard to starboard it looks as though its cargo may have shifted in the storm and caused it to keel over. Looks like a long slow tow job for the tugboat.

[rakman]

Towing a capsized ship is pretty hard, towing the ship sideways may be even tougher.

I think the topic should have read "Listing Bangladesh ship is being towed to Phuket"