Engineer Honored for Using a Power Block to Rescue Shipwreck Survivors
The engineer of the pair trawler Guiding Light has been honored with a lifesaving trophy from the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society for his quick thinking during the sinking of the vessel's sister ship off the Shetland Islands last year.
On the afternoon of October 6, 2022, the Peterhead-based fishing vessels Guiding Star and Guiding Light were located about 45 nm to the southeast of the Shetlands. Conditions were challenging, including rough seas and winds approaching gale force. At around noon, the vessels hauled in their catch and were retrieving their trawl gear when they collided. The bow of the Guiding Light rose in a swell and struck Guiding Star towards the stern, penetrating the hull and flooding an accommodations compartment.
The Star began to sink quickly, putting the lives of the eight crewmembers aboard at risk. The Guiding Star was taking on water so fast that the lifejackets and immersion suits were inaccessible to the crew, as the compartment containing them had already flooded.
Guiding Light's first engineer, Kriss Leel, moved quickly to respond, starting up the deck crane and making heaving lines ready. The crew of the Guiding Light got one heaving line across and used it to rig a pulley system, which they used to transfer over their own immersion suits to the stricken vessel. The crew of Guiding Star then launched their life raft and abandoned ship, moments before the trawler foundered.
The Guiding Light maneuvered to rescue the eight men in the liferaft. Improvising, Leel used the crane and power block to hoist three crewmembers out of the raft, minimizing the swinging of the whip to bring them safely aboard. Moments later, a wave swept up and capsized the life raft, throwing the other five survivors into the water. Leel worked the power block to recover two more crew members directly from the water alongside Guiding Light.
The remaining three survivors hung onto the overturned life raft and drifted away. Luckily, an HM Coastguard helicopter based out of the Shetland Islands arrived on the scene and picked up the final three crewmembers.
“Kriss demonstrated exceptional seamanship in the face of a grave situation, in relentless conditions and under considerable pressure. While unconventional as a rescue, Kriss’s calmness and skill in operating the power block, supported by his fellow crew, resulted in the rescue of his five colleagues from a life-threatening situation," said Captain Justin Osmond RN, Chief Executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society. "Kriss is an extremely deserving recipient of the Society’s Lady Swaythling Trophy for 2023."
13 Rescued From Sinking Bulker Off Shanghai
On Sunday night, Chinese search and rescue authorities saved the crew of a coastal bulker that was listing dangerously off the coast of Shanghai.
That night, the East China Sea Rescue Bureau received a distress call. A bulker laden with sand and gravel had taken on a severe list off the mouth of the Yangtze. 13 crewmembers were aboard the ship and were in need of rescue.
The bureau dispatched a fast rescue ship, the Dong Hai Jiu 204 - a trimaran capable of 30 knots - and put a rescue helicopter team on standby. The seagoing rescue ship Dong Hai Jiu 101 was also nearby and joined in the effort.
As the response vessels got under way towards the scene, the ship took on an increasing list, and the responders ordered the crew to deploy their life raft and prepare to abandon ship.
With their vessel going down, all 13 crewmembers abandoned ship into life rafts. A nearby good samaritan vessel, the Shen Chang 7, was the first on scene, and its crew brought all of the survivors aboard.
By the time the rescue bureau's responders arrived, the distressed bulker had slipped below, according to state-owned CCTV. The Dong Hai Jiu 101 transferred over the survivors from the good samaritan vessel by small boat in order to bring them back to shore. All were delivered safely to the Shanghai Waigaoqiao terminal.
Rescuers transfer the survivors off of the good samaritan vessel Shen Chang 7 (East China Sea Rescue Bureau)
Dismasting of Historic Maine Schooner Kills One and Injures Three
The mast aboard a historic schooner operating cruises on the Maine coast broke this morning killing one person aboard the vessel and seriously injuring three others. The 141-year-old schooner Grace Bailey was returning to Rockland, Maine at the end of a four-day cruise, her last scheduled trip of the season, when the mast broke around 10 a.m. on Monday morning.
The vessel built in 1882 has operated since the 1990s offering cruises. The owners report on their website that the vessel, which is 118 feet in overall length, is in originally condition with the only major alteration being the addition of accommodations for 29 passengers. The ship was completing a Fall Foliage Cruise this morning when the mast without warning broke and fell on to the deck.
Charlie Weidman of a local marine service company told the Associated Press that he was among the first on the scene and found the crew already performing CPR. He reported that one of the victims had a head injury and that two others had had crush and spinal injuries.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports it received a distress call and sent a crew from Rockland to provide assistance. They rushed one woman with serious injuries to shore and EMS personnel, but reported she was pronounced dead. They then ferried EMS personnel to the vessel to threat the three others that had been injured when the vessel demasted. The three people were transferred to EMS at Rockland Harbor and taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
The Grace Bailey was towed to port and was alongside by noon. The USCG says that an investigation is underway. They are reporting it was about one mile east of Rockport with 33 people aboard at the time of the accident.
“My crew and I are devastated by this morning’s accident, especially since the safety of our guests is always our biggest priority. Most importantly, we are beyond heartbroken that we lost a dear friend,” said the schooner’s captain, Sam Sikkema, in a statement to the Associated Press.
Passengers who had been aboard the vessel for the cruise told The Portland Press Herald that the winds had been calm this morning. They said the vessel had not made any sharp movements before the mast just suddenly snapped. Pictures shows the sails were up at the time and the mast broke about two-thirds of the way up from the deck.
The vessel appears to have ben navigating back to its dock at the end of the cruise. The website reports it has no mechanical propulsion and if required it would be towed by a small vessel. The cruises operate without an itinerary exploring different coves along the coastline.
The vessel was due to go into winter storage with the Marine Windjammer Association reporting it was not due to make its next commercial trip till June 2024.
Five Crewmembers Injured by Chlorine Leak Aboard Ro/Pax Ferry
On Saturday, first responders in Cebu saved five crewmembers from a ro/ro after a chemical leak on board.
At about 1300 hours Saturday afternoon, the ferry Filipinas Surigao del Norte was preparing to get under way for Samar. The crew were loading a consignment of 20 chlorine tanks onto the ro/ro, and one fell over and leaked. According to local media, it dropped while it was being moved by forklift, and it hit other tanks, resulting in a leak.
Five crewmembers were injured by the chlorine leak. The Cebu City fire department and a special-purpose fire and rescue service responded to the scene, and a team evacuated the injured crewmembers. They were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
All images courtesy BRP Region 7
The ferry's passengers were also evacuated with the pier and given medical evaluations and care, a fire department spokesman told local media. The area of the chlorine leak inside the ship's cargo bay was flushed with water as a precaution.
According to the Philippine Inquirer, the crewmembers who were exposed to chlorine are in stable condition.
Filipinas Surigao Del Norte is a 500 dwt ferry built in 1999 at the Naikai Shipbuilding yard in Japan. She is one of a half-dozen vessels in the fleet of Cokaliong Shipping, a ferry operator based in Cebu.
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