Bearded Engineer

I wonder if Titan/Micoperi has been contracted to remove the concrete bags and platfoms from Giglio or if that will be done by some other firm.

Being witness to such a big undertaking, even if remotely, has been awesome and such a learning experience. Just makes me wonder... what's next on you know who's mind. Not a single prediction he made came true:

 

* Ship would split apart during parbuckling.... it didn't

* Forward section had cracks in the hull and would fall at any moment... it didn't

* How would they put sponsons underwater... they did somehow

* It would be impossible to attach sponsons to the crushed starboard side... they did

* Sponsons were being put too high to provide bouyancy... sure enough, but they were lowered later DUH!

* Double bottom and starboard bilge plates damaged during parbuckling would not hold after refloat... they did

* The ship would break apart during towing... it didn't

* They were going to resink the ship 300 meters off the coast of Giglio... they didn't

I don't know if anyone ever looked at some of his other non-Concordia beliefs but here are a few from his website:

Re:911

-Airplanes could not cause buildings to collapse.

-The upper floors of a building cannot cause the lower floors to collapse no matter how high you drop them from.

-The fires in the building could not burn hot enought to weaken the structure

Re: Man visiting the moon

-It is not possible for a rocket to carry enough fuel to leave earth orbit.

Re: Atomic bombs

-Atomic bombs are physically impossible. No atomic explosion has ever occured.

His answer to any evidence that these things happened is that it is all faked and he will give you $1,000,000 if you can prove that any did happen. The only problen is that even though he claims to be a structural engineer, his mathematics are just bizarre and if you show him accurate math to prove your point he just tels you that you are wrong.

Yes, they are identical.

 

If you use my link (2 posts up) you can click on them and access all of their info.

 

Both were:

 

Built in 1987

Gross Tonage 2311 t

Net Tonnage 693 t

Deadweight 2499 t

Demensions 70 X 16 M

Draught 6.501 M

For some reason the Blizzard's listed bollard pull is a little less than the Resolve Earl. Maybe they have slightly different options.

I reckon they're making great progress!

...is for Resolve Earl - the bigger? of the two tugs...

but you'll see the entire flotilla

 

.

The Resolve Earl and the Blizzard are almost identical in size.

I just saw that too. Everything that was said indicated that 2.2 would be the speed. I wondered if they were feeling more confident about the situation, enough to increase the speed.

 

BE, another point. Isn't the command center on CC? Wouldn't someone need to be on board to monitor that?

 

Thanks aplmac. You posted as I started posting.

I'm sure there are people on board. I remember a quote from Nick Sloane way back at the beginning where he said when the Concordia left Giglio he would be on the bridge. That would be purely symbolic of course since all the action is in the control center.

A question was asked by Gator about if anyone is on board. It is my understanding that yes, there is "crew" on board, among them Nick Sloane. They are using the control room to monitor systems on Concordia.

They must have installed some lifeboats on the Concordia for the people onboard.

You both have it correct.

 

Remember, France chimed in about Concordia off the coast of Corsica even tho she would be several miles out.

After giving it some thought I imagine they took the western route around Elba so that they would get out of the protected marine sactuary as soon as possible.

Still heading southwest?

Now mainly west. Maybe they are going to pass Elba to the west instead of passing through the straits at Piombino.

The flotilla has made a 90 degree turn and is heading southwest. I wonder what's going on.

On a happier note.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2701579/Love-Island-Giglio-beauty-22-swept-feet-British-salvage-expert-36-working-Costa-Concordia-shes-moving-Kent-having-baby.html

I wonder how many salvage babies there will be.

A quick glance at the live stream shows that deck 2 is above water too. They were telling that the refloat would be to deck 3, however a deck 2 cabin window can be seen at the moment I type this through the gap between sponsons S2 and S3. Also, the mooring line holes in deck 3 are well above the water now. I don't know if this is a result of listing to port and if it will go under again when the ship levels again. Would post a screen capture but I am at work now and can't access the photo sharing sites.

They probably don't count it unless the actual deck is out of the water.

Bearded Engineer

 

This is a GREAT Story. Thanks for posting it.

 

John

I bet the crews of those two tugs had a pucker factor of about 10 1/2

Not that I expect anything like this to happen to the Concordia, here is an exerpt from an article on the USS Oklahoma that describes her sinking while being towed from Hawaii to San Francisco for scrap in 1947. She almost took the 2 tugs with her.

From: http://newsok.com/uss-oklahoma-escapes-indignity-of-scrap-heap/article/2377399

"

The identical tugs Hercules and Monarch, each with a crew of 14, left Seattle on May 2, 1947, and arrived a few days later at Pearl Harbor.

The Hercules, commanded by Capt. Kelly Sprague, and the Monarch of Capt. George O. Anderson, hooked up to the Oklahoma with 1,000-foot wire pendants, two inches thick. Navy tugs helped move the battleship out of the harbor.

As the tugs got under way, the crews reported, the Oklahoma was towing well, surprising to them, considering the ship's size, weight and damage.

In the interview with the Seattle newspaper, Anderson recalled that there was no reason to suspect trouble, because the ship had been inspected and approved for the trip.

"For the first 24 hours, everything seemed to be going well, and we were beginning to relax when it was noticed that the Oklahoma was developing a list to port (left). During the next four days, the list steadily increased, and when it reached about 30 degrees, we radioed the Coast Guard at Hawaii for instructions. We were told to return. " Anderson said it was during the end of his 6 p.m. to midnight watch on May 16 that he saw the Oklahoma - for some unknown reason - straighten up.

"Then suddenly, I was aware we were going astern and gaining speed," he said. "Behind us, the lights of the Oklahoma disappeared. " The crew had considered that the ship might begin to sink and had disconnected the electric brake on the towing winch of the Monarch, simplifying the release of the brake.

Anderson said he quickly ran to the stern to release the brake and saw the end of the towing cable disappear into the Pacific amid a shower of sparks. The weight of the ship had unreeled the wire, and none too soon. The Monarch's stern already was going underwater.

Meanwhile, the Hercules crew was involved in a battle for survival. The stern, normally four feet above water, was covered as the Oklahoma dragged the tug backward rapidly. That made it impossible for crewmen to reach the towing winch.

Just as it appeared the tug would follow the Oklahoma to the bottom, the winch exploded, showering the crew with metal, but freeing the craft.

The Oklahoma's plunge below the surface was recorded at 1:40 a.m, May 17, 1947.

The Coast Guard ordered the tugs to remain in the area until daybreak to see if any wreckage would hinder shipping. There was none.

An official inquiry found no absolute cause for the sinking. No one was aboard the ship to witness its final hours.

Most theories are that the patchwork on the torpedo holes from nearly six years earlier gave way.

Another, held by many of the men who served on the Oklahoma during its naval career, was that the ship simply preferred to die at sea. "

Good, so we can track the fleet now as they head across to Genoa. I assume there'll be no or little video footage of her once she leaves Giglio.

Don't forget this camera in Piombino. It should give a good view of the Flotilla going through the straights. It appears to be raining there at the moment. I hope someone cleans the lens.

http://www.comune.piombino.li.it/index.php?id_sezione=979

I see from the pics that the ship still has a list to port, wonder if they will make it level before the tow tomorrow ? weather permitting that is.

All the Starboard sponsons seem to finally be lined up now. In one of the TPP updates it mentioned that we would see them tilt the ship back and forth from port to starboard and fore and aft to allow any trapped water to drain from the recently flooded decks.

She is being used for marine life spotters...... I guess everything will cme to a stop if the spotters see dolphins swimming at the bow of cc while she is in transit to Genoa.

Am I the only one who thinks this is the dumbest thing ever? With the thousands of ships cruising the Mediterranean every day at 10 to 20 knots or better I'm sure the dolphins can get out of the way of a flotilla moving at 2 1/2 knots.

Direct link to the large version of the fleet photo here https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs_vjpBIQAAU78e.jpg:large

I wonder what the role of the sailing yacht KIDAN is in this convoy. Does anybody know? How practical is a sailing vessel in such a convoy?

 

As for the mystery about 30 million tons: Somebody probably read an original Italian press release where it said mille which is Italian for thousand. Anybody with even just residual knowledge of Latin from school would recognise this, but maybe jourrnalists aren't anymore what they used to be. I bet we're talking about 3,000 tons, because even 30,000 tons doesn't sound plausible, doesn't it? Divide by 400 kg per meter of chain, 3,000 tons give us 7,500 mtrs of chains. (For those who still use imperial units :D: 24,000 feet)

 

On another note, I find it quite funny that the team on the YouReporter video Live feed http://www.youreporter.it/live/Rigalleggiamento_Concordia_diretta_live_streaming are blissfully unaware about the live audio transmission: voices, washing up of plates etc etc are all audible. :D

If anyone is interested here is a chart giving the weight of all the common anchor chain sizes.

http://www.watermansupply.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=21&Itemid=36

400kg/m would be the 139mm size.

The 70mm size that will be used to tow the ship weighs 106kg/m so an 800 meter length will weigh 84 tonnes

And now the French have to have their say:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10975143/France-fears-pollution-from-towed-Costa-Concordia.html

Sea Diamond 5 Cleared ... Interesting story.

 

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/sea-diamond-sinking-appeal-court-clears-five-of-wrongdoing.html

 

Concordia ...

 

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/concordia-refloat-scheduled-to-start-july-14.html

RE: Sea Diamond - 5 years in prison or pay $12,500. I believe I'd come up the cash.

The latest press release from TPP:

 

http://www.theparbucklingproject.com/article/86/Refloating_of_the_Concordia_at_Giglio_Island:_accreditation_procedure_and_logistics

That had some nice computer generated pictures.

The close ups from this cam, when it circles around, are really good today.

 

http://www.isoladelgiglio.net/webcam.html

I think someone cleaned the lens.

Here is an interesting tidbit: The Buccaneer was captured by Somali pirates in 2009. I'd say that was a little ironic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Buccaneer_(1981)