How can such a small hole do this to a ship!?
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How can such a small hole do this to a ship!?
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Stricken Antarctic ship evacuated
The ship has a hole the size of a fist in its hull. The report mentions that it has water tight doors, which were fixed before it set sail. Just how can a hole so small do so much damage to a ship that is meant to have water tight doors?!!
Just what are those doors meant to prevent, a hole the size of a straw from sinking it?
The ship has a hole the size of a fist in its hull. The report mentions that it has water tight doors, which were fixed before it set sail. Just how can a hole so small do so much damage to a ship that is meant to have water tight doors?!!
Just what are those doors meant to prevent, a hole the size of a straw from sinking it?
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1969 ship?
Hmm, hole in hull on an aging vessel.....Insurance job springs to mind.
Get everyone to safety, before the bilge pumps somehow become "overwhelmed" due to the size of the leak. (or more likely switched off )
Hmm, hole in hull on an aging vessel.....Insurance job springs to mind.
Get everyone to safety, before the bilge pumps somehow become "overwhelmed" due to the size of the leak. (or more likely switched off )
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Age of vessel dictates single skinned hull, so 4" hole fills up the watertight compartment which only comes up to the maximum designed draught of the vessel. After that any ballast (possibly pumped to keep the vessel upright)and extra weight could be enough to overwhelm the watertight bulkhead.
The largest emergency suctions for bilge pumping are only in the engine room, if the hole was in a forward compartment then only a smaller bilge pump would be available to use through a smaller line. Eventually the pump would be overwhelmed unless additional pumps were set up and used i.e. salvage pumps.
As the end result was that the vessel sank then probably one of the above or more than one hole or a very big rupture.
The largest emergency suctions for bilge pumping are only in the engine room, if the hole was in a forward compartment then only a smaller bilge pump would be available to use through a smaller line. Eventually the pump would be overwhelmed unless additional pumps were set up and used i.e. salvage pumps.
As the end result was that the vessel sank then probably one of the above or more than one hole or a very big rupture.
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I was thinking there had to be something more. I know a massive amount of water can get through a 4" hole. Whatever watertight compartment that was behind the hole would certainly fill with water.
Its just the whole point of a watertight compartment is meant for just such an event. If the compartment is not capable in stopping the ship from sinking there is not much point in having them.
Maybe there was more than one hole, that would have caused it an issue.
Its just the whole point of a watertight compartment is meant for just such an event. If the compartment is not capable in stopping the ship from sinking there is not much point in having them.
Maybe there was more than one hole, that would have caused it an issue.
#11
Les
#12
#13
Age of vessel dictates single skinned hull, so 4" hole fills up the watertight compartment which only comes up to the maximum designed draught of the vessel. After that any ballast (possibly pumped to keep the vessel upright)and extra weight could be enough to overwhelm the watertight bulkhead.
The largest emergency suctions for bilge pumping are only in the engine room, if the hole was in a forward compartment then only a smaller bilge pump would be available to use through a smaller line. Eventually the pump would be overwhelmed unless additional pumps were set up and used i.e. salvage pumps.
As the end result was that the vessel sank then probably one of the above or more than one hole or a very big rupture.
The largest emergency suctions for bilge pumping are only in the engine room, if the hole was in a forward compartment then only a smaller bilge pump would be available to use through a smaller line. Eventually the pump would be overwhelmed unless additional pumps were set up and used i.e. salvage pumps.
As the end result was that the vessel sank then probably one of the above or more than one hole or a very big rupture.
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If it was holed in the double skin then it just shouldnt have sunk. However, most double skin vessels have a single skin vulnerability around the area of the A frame where the propeller shaff tube exits the vessel due to the need of the designed hull form.
As the end result is that the vessel sunk then i can only assume that a hole was made in a single skin area.
As the end result is that the vessel sunk then i can only assume that a hole was made in a single skin area.
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A 4" hole would take in a lot of water, but the bilge pumps should cope. If not there would be submergible pumps that would also be used. In addition, it wouldn't be left like that. The crew would try to stem the ingress of water with emergancy repairs - or so you'd hope.
BTW, I was in charge of various Damage Control parties during my time in the Royal Navy, so I do have a little knowledge about the situation.
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That's why I think that the pumps were switched off after all the passengers had abandoned ship. Obviously the report will say they became "overwhelmed".
#17
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#22
The watertight bulkheads come up to the level of the first outside opening that is not a watertight openening, in this ship that would have been at least as high as the top red stripe.
It would very unlikely have been double skinned, as neither would a brand new cruise vessel with a rating for ice. There would be tanks in the bottom of the hull though which would act as a double bottom.
It should also maintain stability and not sink with any 2 of it's watertight compartments flooded. Somewhere there has to have been a serious failure as a single 4" hole should not be an issue at all.
Above assuming a class 1a ship, don't see how it could have been otherwise.
It would very unlikely have been double skinned, as neither would a brand new cruise vessel with a rating for ice. There would be tanks in the bottom of the hull though which would act as a double bottom.
It should also maintain stability and not sink with any 2 of it's watertight compartments flooded. Somewhere there has to have been a serious failure as a single 4" hole should not be an issue at all.
Above assuming a class 1a ship, don't see how it could have been otherwise.
#24
Yes, maybe so, but that's a bit different though!
A 4" hole would take in a lot of water, but the bilge pumps should cope. If not there would be submergible pumps that would also be used. In addition, it wouldn't be left like that. The crew would try to stem the ingress of water with emergancy repairs - or so you'd hope.
BTW, I was in charge of various Damage Control parties during my time in the Royal Navy, so I do have a little knowledge about the situation.
A 4" hole would take in a lot of water, but the bilge pumps should cope. If not there would be submergible pumps that would also be used. In addition, it wouldn't be left like that. The crew would try to stem the ingress of water with emergancy repairs - or so you'd hope.
BTW, I was in charge of various Damage Control parties during my time in the Royal Navy, so I do have a little knowledge about the situation.
Les
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They'd don special suits capable of fending off the cold for enough time to carry out the repair. Well, it's a stop-gap really, they'd just plug the hole not weld it up! The worst thing would be cold hands and trying to hold hammers etc
#26
The hole appeared in a forward cabin and when the passengers in there got a bit wet, they shot upsatirs to complain - as you would! The crew then spent an hour ripping out the lining to get to the hole by which time the ship had taken on a significant list.
The list then caused a 2 inch diameter pipe that vented moist air from the cabins to go under water.
The 2 inch pipe laso fed into the engine room - water soaked the controls, all the electrics went out and the pumps stopped.
An hour later they got the engine going again by which time the abandon ship call had gone out and only the captain and first mate were still on board.
However the list was now too dangerous to stay so they too abandoned ship.
As the lifeboats waited 5 hours hours to be picked up, the engines suddenly fired up again when the ship was on her side, the prop was still engaged and began thrashing around pulling the ship towards the waiting lifeboats!
I was surprised they did not drop a patch over the side and then pull it into and onto the hole to make a temporary fix so that even if it leaked the pumps could more than keep up.
The list then caused a 2 inch diameter pipe that vented moist air from the cabins to go under water.
The 2 inch pipe laso fed into the engine room - water soaked the controls, all the electrics went out and the pumps stopped.
An hour later they got the engine going again by which time the abandon ship call had gone out and only the captain and first mate were still on board.
However the list was now too dangerous to stay so they too abandoned ship.
As the lifeboats waited 5 hours hours to be picked up, the engines suddenly fired up again when the ship was on her side, the prop was still engaged and began thrashing around pulling the ship towards the waiting lifeboats!
I was surprised they did not drop a patch over the side and then pull it into and onto the hole to make a temporary fix so that even if it leaked the pumps could more than keep up.
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I guess fitting an outside patch would be really hard. Made even harder due to double skinned hull. The outer hole could be non visible and not that near the inner hole. I don't know that much about this stuff to know if that would be possible.
I don't get why a vent would be so close to the waterline though. Pretty poor planning imo.
I don't get why a vent would be so close to the waterline though. Pretty poor planning imo.
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This is why I love internet forums. Everyone is an expert on everything. I never knew there was such a wealth of knowledge on ship hull design on this very forum
#29
Just think, if the Captain had come on SN instead of fannying about calling the coastguards in Falmouth, we'd have sorted him out in 10 minutes and the Explorer would still be afloat instead of 2000 feet down polluting the sea bed.
SN can save the World no less!
SN can save the World no less!
#30
I guess fitting an outside patch would be really hard. Made even harder due to double skinned hull. The outer hole could be non visible and not that near the inner hole. I don't know that much about this stuff to know if that would be possible.
I don't get why a vent would be so close to the waterline though. Pretty poor planning imo.
I don't get why a vent would be so close to the waterline though. Pretty poor planning imo.
I'd like to see the source that says it was double skinned. That doesn't make sense really.