The following information is a summary of the report issued by the the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and the Swedish Accident Investigation Board (SHK) regarding an accident in the product tanker Prospero on January 2006.
NORDEN Tanker Turned Off Engine and Sailed by Wind and Sea Current
July 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A product tanker weighing 47,400 tons sailed a distance of 280nm having its engine shut off using only wind and sea currents to navigate through the sea. The tanker made it to the discharge port in time. but by stopping the main engine for 3-4 days, savings of 27 tons of fuel were made. So it appears that sometime traditional methods of navigation at sea may be more economic/fuel efficient compared to proposed technological improvements. Of course this cannot happen everyday but such an incident is worth mentioning especially during these times were everyone seems to be in panic of cutting costs and saving more fuel.
Explosion on Tanker Harbour Crystal Southwest of Cape Espichel
March 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The ship was adrift 13 miles southwest of Cape Espichel with 8000 tons tons of naphtha, a petroleum derivative. The ship had a crew of 18 on board. The explosion occurred at 8:12 a.m. for reasons still unknown in the area of the bow of the ship. One Filipino was missing since. At 8:34 a.m., the Centre for Maritime Search and Rescue (MRCC Lisbon) was alerted.
Officer of the Watch 