Ever been at sea in a Hurricane? Believe me this relatively small vessel is no match

I can. Having worked offshore in commercial shipping for many years, it's quite easy for this to happen. 70knot winds (80mph) with ocean currents, swells and waves on top can push a ship backwards relatively easy. I was in the Atlantic off Morocco once and we were steadily pushed backwards at 2 knots for three days and the engines were going flat out. Unless you have worked on a ship and been in some real dandy storms you may want to refrain from making such outlandish statements.

And the ship looks like it was not loaded so it would have sat higher in the water as well.

Frankly, I think the captain of this vessel did a pretty good job. I know there is oil leaking, but it's from the engines and not from the 200 tons of fuel inside the cargo hold. Add to this the apparent fact of no one getting hurt or killed and I think this captain and his crew did a pretty good job.

Must be a conspiracy, right? Ever been to sea, Freakz?

Apparently you have spent little if any time at sea. Having crossed the Atlantic, albeit as a recreational sailor, I can attest the the power of the sea is beyond belief....remember, even relatively modest wind and wave action can knock buildings off their respective foundations during coastal storms!

So many sailors, so few weathermen.

oz-abroad.......

Agree.

I was on a U.S. Navy fleet tug which was ordered out of Hong Kong to assist in searching for survivors of a ship capsized by a typhoon. When we left the harbor, our ship was caught in a rogue wave (probably caused by the typhoon) and tossed 54 degrees to each side before it could be steered into the waves. Fortunately, our ship was "bottom heavy" and up-righted.

Or the time I was on the USS ENTERPRISE near the Aleutian Islands when waves hitting the bow severed all our 35 foot whip antennas (some weighing about 500 pounds) off their pedestals on our Port and Starboard sides.

These landlubbers have no idea how powerful these storms can be.

Come on newsviners, there's got to be a way to blame this on Bush and Cheney.

JK,

Just wait, I'm sure it will be...

I'm thinking that maybe Bush and Cheney should go to France and have a news conference on the beach where they deny responsibility, so that the French can then arrest them for their international war crimes warrants!!!

There are a dozen ships this size or larger sitting on the bottom of the Great Lakes due to storm wave action, along with hundreds of smaller ships too. Just one 3-day storm in 1913 sunk 12 ships, eight without a single survivor, and beached another 30 ships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipwrecks_of_the_1913_Great_Lakes_storm

Photos of a number of the lost ships:

http://talesofriverside.blogspot.com/2007/12/great-lakes-storms.html

The loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

The loss of the Carl D Bradley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Carl_D._Bradley

The loss of the Daniel J Morrell:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Daniel_J._Morrell

The loss of the Cedarville:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cedarville

During the Great Blizzard of 1978, Interstate 90 in Cleveland had to be closed as 30-foot waves were entering the harbor from the northeast and breaking right over the freeway between East 55th and East 72nd Streets. A large warehouse on the dock there had the first three floors of the building completely washed-out by the waves. And because people have a short memory, that building has since been remodeled into high-dollar waterfront condos!!!

The crew and owners of this ship got lucky, as this event could have ended much worse too!!!

BUSH AND CHeney can't leave the country, don't forget.

they would have to go the the world court for war crimes!! (but hey, maybe they should send rumsfeld, just to see what happens!!)

as well they should!

As a self proclaimed landlubber, I know nothing about being on a ship at sea. However, I have been swimming in the ocean and the currents can drag you without you really knowing it. My very first time in the ocean I ended up beyond the pier. I'm pretty sure I came very close to soiling myself at that moment.

I really wish people would stop posting asinine comments if they have no idea wth they are talking about.

As they do commercially in India, take it apart where it sits

With the cost of the ship as a factor, I wonder if it makes sense to remove the sand between the ship & the water & tow the ship off the beach. Remove the sand & the vessel could roll on to its side... I don't know how they would do it, just wondering if it could be done??? The ship is a thousand feet long. That would take one heck of a tow chain!!!!!!

If you look closely at the pictures from above you'll see how high the water gets at high tide. They'll most likely determine when the highest tide is predicted over the next 30 days then bring in several tugs to pull it off the beach at that time.

Shovel.

That's what I'd say too.

Yes you did!

Yes you did!

Yes you did!

Bluelake,

You thought of Obama and got a tingle up your posting arm...LOL

Um... Never been at sea before?

The ocean can toss that small ship around like nothing; no matter what was happening with the mechanical systems. Though most people do not realize that there is a huge delay (15+ seconds) from when you engage the throttle to when the gears actually start spinning (there's a prodigious amount of gearing). Think about trying to turn your car to avoid something but your throttle reacts 15 seconds after you press the accelerator... And don't even think about brakes.

And as for navigation, if you have not been on the ocean before then it is reasonable for you to not realize the complexity of navigating a ship on the ocean. GPS is not accurate; a binnacle doesn't really work in big storms; the coast (shore) always looks like it's 1000ft away, at night 'what shore?', the list goes on.

GPS is not accurate?! Oh, that's right, only to + / - 3 feet. : )

@chris Or a mile.... Or 1000ft... GPS is not the system to rely on at all.. It is merely a tool for assistance (quick check, logging). Oddly enough always getting a GPS single on the water (and a reliable one at that) is not as prevalent as one might think. Not to mention the fact that GPS data doesn't tell you when you are about to run ashore. Maps and charts do that. And sadly other then a few specific spots in the world (popular ports), the worlds coast line has not been accurately charted.

Assuming one is too far from shore to get a radar fix, how do you think most vessels navigate? Celestially? Loran? You cant just look at a chart to determine your location.

GPS is one of the most accurate ways of surveying available. if you are able to triangulate, GPS is accurate to less than an inch!

epic (fail)

yes I have been to sea and for you to falsely claim that a ship's captain did not know a storm was coming and take preventative action. That in fighting to stay out the ships mechanical systems may have failed or any of a number of scenarios that WOULDN'T be an act of God or nature rather informative of your lack of any critical thinking process.

Just as a side; I assigned no blame, just requested that msnbc do something radically different and actually report with clarity rather than their usual.

....some must think these corporations hire cab drivers.... YOU NUB

So true. Just crazy to think anything could drag a ship of that size that far onto shore. But you are totally right, the anchor chains are down and in the water. Must have been a helluva storm.

Not anchored, not off that coast, this was a last ditch attempt by the captain from ending up where he did

Another neophyte comment. The chains were probably dropped when they realised the inevitable was happening. The anchors would also prevent the ship from rolling over as it was getting beached.

The image of a "woman pulling away from the gas pump with the dispenser hose still attach to the car" just pop in my head when I see the trailing anchor :)

Hey Chris, I actually witnessed that once at a gas station & believe it or not, crzy fool just drove away like they didn't even notice the hose dangling and dragging. I told the cashier & guess what they said...really "Happens all the time. Nuttin' I can do about it!" REALLY??

I worked at a full-service station in the late '70s and the other guy left the nozzle in the car and they drove away, tearing the hose, causing gas to spew. He picked up the handle in a panic and was trying to click it off. My boss walked out there and calmly shut off the pump and asked him, "Are you ready to pull your head out of your ass yet?" He never did. Remember that Jaime?

the anchors could have been deployed in a last ditch attempt to keep the vessel righted when it came upon the shore. If that is the case; Hoorah to the captain in a bold attempt to save his vessel.

Land Ho!

Lol Coyote! Yeah, and the winner of the auction has to go pick it up!

I am thinking of turning it into a museum and an oil dispensery/refinery right on the spot.

Yea right. Here is your rope Alex......now repel your way down. Have at it! Better know what your doing least we need to remove that corpse.

The registry says the vessel weighs 6605 tons. The anchor winches are not strong enough to make any difference in freeing the ship.

I thought it looked like they had the anchors out so the ship didn't float away. I wouldn't expect the winches to pull that load off the beach.

o.0

OMG! Best post yet!