Do large cargo/container, misc commercial/industrial ships all have dinghies or are they called tenders
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And I can see how on a ship that gives you considerable leeway, any performance issue would be dealt with harshly.
Well, many of those crew members are pretty immature. I'd imagine it requires being a cross between parent, summer camp counselor and juvenile court judge.
Well, many of those crew members are pretty immature. I'd imagine it requires being a cross between parent, summer camp counselor and juvenile court judge.
LOL!!! Yes! I mean, they strike me as the type that don't want to commit to a long-term career and are willing to take crappy treatment and lousy pay to "see the world." There are lots of those in lots of different fields, but without the gorgeous settings and Richie Riches!
I do appreciate the few non-drama elements that sneak in from time to time, like watching Cap ease them into a super tight slip, or getting a better understanding of how different kinds of weather impact what is safe to do by vessel size, the overnight anchor watch, etc. But it's overall just fun 'reality' tv!
I do appreciate the few non-drama elements that sneak in from time to time, like watching Cap ease them into a super tight slip, or getting a better understanding of how different kinds of weather impact what is safe to do by vessel size, the overnight anchor watch, etc. But it's overall just fun 'reality' tv!
Yep, that's it! Can't appreciate all the realities nearly as well if you've never been a boat owner/operator/crew. Some viewers drool over the catfights, others on the logistics. Especially the Sailing Yacht series. Can't imagine trying to cook a multi-course gourmet dinner in the typical galley for 9 snotty clients while under sail!!! Waiting with bated breath for the episode when they take a chunk out of the jetty...OMG the gelcoat! The gelcoat!
Most luxury yachts may exit state waters but do not have the capacity to exit federal waters, such that (for the US anyway) the Coast Guard provides assistance with their fleet of specialized vessels. That said, ANY vessel that becomes aware of another vessel in distress reports it into to the USCG.
Many do exit federal waters and travel throughout the world. Visit any marina in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Central and South America, among many other places and look where a very large percentage of the boats are documented.
In the fishing community it is quite common for owners to have their sportfishers (usually in the 60 to 75ft class) taken to those locations under their own bottom. Panama and Costa Rica have many American boats and crews. I myself have taken those vessels from Ocean City, MD all the way to Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica and the Pacific coast of Mexico on up to Cabo. The Bahamas is a short run off FL, not too much farther then we do day trips fishing off the Mid-Atlantic (60 to 100 miles out off MD---sometimes farter). Quite a few are towed by their larger motor yacht across the Atlantic to the Azores, Madaira, etc... or even across the Pacific to Australia and New Zealand.
I know me personally, if I would have an issue while fishing anywhere off the east coast I'd be on the local charterboat and private boat channels calling for assistance before calling the Coast Guard. A VHF is only line of sight from the top of the antennae. The CG may have to come out 75 plus miles but odds are there is another fishing boat near by. True, the CG may send a helocopter but that won't do much good if we're going down now.
None of what I mentioned even takes in the large motor yachts which go everywhere as well.
As far as ocean going commercial freighters and such, usually they will hire out a local service for picking up crews, if needed or even allowed. But any international shipments have to clear customs and immigration before anybody or anything is allowed off. Boats, ships, yachts, etc.. are under quarantine until cleared. Now smaller vessels can proceed into a/their slip and have 24 hours to call in.
But do you know whether or not the big containers ships have their own tenders, or do they outsource once near port, or outsource a helicopter?
Couldn't tell you. I bet a lot of them outsource. May depend on the company and what their purpose is when visiting ports. They may only do transfers while loading/unloading containerized cargo, so a tender isn't really necessary. They get tugged straight to the loading facility and leave from the loading facility.
Also I notice the yachts have rescue tenders some of then. If the ocean going cargo ships are out in middle of ocean and they notice a capsized boat, how do they render assistance without a dinghy/tender?
They probably keep a couple of inflatables stored on deck that they could deploy.
Or do they simply not do that because there is a chance its a ruse, and those in need are pirates?
I have heard of the Law of the Sea before. Doesnt it include legal cannibalism if stranded without food? But anyways if all boats are required to render assistance, they must have the means. Those ocean going, container vessels are huge. The deck is very high off the surface. How will anyone get to the water to render help? Is there a door, or some kind of davit from which they can launch? I never seen it on one of those vessels even on YT.
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Originally Posted by gus2
Generally, no, they do not. They coordinate with Class 1/2 vessels such as support vessels, crew ships, etc. in near-harbor areas if needed but primarily hang out in an offshore anchorage until some tugs can guide them into port.
Ocean-going vessels (OGVs) spend WAY too much time in open water to haul along tenders that are worthless while at sea. No tender within international waters could really get anywhere safely. Also, vessel owners/operators have GPS units to track their cargo; this will sound harsh, but the cargo they are carrying typically vastly outweigh the $ value of the limited onboard staff.
Most luxury yachts may exit state waters but do not have the capacity to exit federal waters, such that (for the US anyway) the Coast Guard provides assistance with their fleet of specialized vessels. That said, ANY vessel that becomes aware of another vessel in distress reports it into to the USCG.
ETA: I love Below Deck for the drama and the glimpse into "how the other half live"!! Such garbage entertainment and I can't get enough! But yachts are in zero way comparable to Class 3 vessels... the engine configurations, etc. are a whole different banana.
Do the ocean going container ships get tailed by smaller boats?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parnassia
Well, many of those crew members are pretty immature. I'd imagine it requires being a cross between parent, summer camp counselor and juvenile court judge.
That show is ridiculous. I wonder how much of it is staged. Like the time the bosun had sex with a crew mate in the laundry room.
The deck is very high off the surface. How will anyone get to the water to render help? Is there a door, or some kind of davit from which they can launch? I never seen it on one of those vessels even on YT.
There are ladders on the side to get up. Pilot vessels will drop the pilots off on the platform. That is also how they do any rescues. Many people have been rescued over the years by freighters.
There are ladders on the side to get up. Pilot vessels will drop the pilots off on the platform. That is also how they do any rescues. Many people have been rescued over the years by freighters.
What I can find on the internet is cargo ship crew being rescued. They have to climb down ladder to smaller ship amidst heavy swells. Looks dangerous. How will they get injured people off like that? Do they have cranes to lower them?
And if freighter has to rescue people down near the water line, equally difficult and dangerous the task will be. I found a vid of a freighter with this life boat that literally gets dumped into the water from high above. I wonder how common that is. And wont the people inside get a concussion?
What I can find on the internet is cargo ship crew being rescued. They have to climb down ladder to smaller ship amidst heavy swells. Looks dangerous. How will they get injured people off like that? Do they have cranes to lower them?
And if freighter has to rescue people down near the water line, equally difficult and dangerous the task will be. I found a vid of a freighter with this life boat that literally gets dumped into the water from high above. I wonder how common that is. And wont the people inside get a concussion?
Whelp, life at sea is dangerous.
Seem to recall seeing the inside of one of those rigid sided enclosed life boats in a movie (maybe Captain Phillips?). The passengers are firmly strapped into their seats, maybe wear helmets before they deploy them.
As for experiences with the logistics of transferring people from large commercial ships to smaller vessels, FWIW, I used to work for Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. An NPS tender took interpretive staff from headquarters out to meet every cruise ship entering the bay; 100+ each summer. There was no place for the ships to dock, so passengers never actually set foot on the ground inside the park. We'd spend 6-7 hours on board providing educational programs for passengers. I made the transfer many times.
The ships are on a tight schedule because their speed is restricted. Mostly due to whale and other marine mammal activity and concerns over shoreline wake erosion. Glacier Bay is a critical summer feeding ground for humpback whales. Along with viewing tidewater glaciers, they are one of the park's big attractions. Research has determined that ships of that size that happen to collide with a whale are less likely to cause lethal injuries if they are travelling at less than 13 knots. Whales are notoriously oblivious to ships. The massive hulls with various thrusters interfere with/distort their sonar so they get confused, swim toward instead of away from the bow, and end up being hit. So, ships are required to cruise at 13 knots or less in the bay. Another problem ships face while in park waters is that they aren't allowed to dump holding tank blackwater for obvious reasons...a large cruise ship with 2 thousand passengers/crew can't hold its tanks more than a few hours without dumping. It took about 4 hours for them to reach the main park attraction: three active tidewater glaciers at the head of the 68 mile bay. Then another 4 hours to get back out, drop off the park interpreters again, and a race to reach a "donut hole" (a designated offshore zone where they can dump their tanks underway). Then there's trying to hit a sweet spot in terms of engine stack emissions...too fast or too slow increases how much pollution they produce.
The transfer procedure was incredibly controlled and precise. Everyone involved went through intensive training each spring. The tender would match speed with the ship (ships don't stop, but depending on sea conditions slow to about 10-12 knots). The tender would pull as close to the hull as possible (no tying off to the ship), and staff, along with waterproof cases packed full of books, literature, and visual aids, climbed a rope ladder up several deck levels to a cargo loading door in the hull. In all the decades the park has done this I recall they've only had one or two minor injuries. Amazingly, no one ever went swimming which would probably not end well. Besides getting sucked under one or both hulls, that water is about 40F even in summer. If conditions were too rough they cancelled the transfer. If conditions deteriorated while we were onboard, the ship housed and fed us for a day or so until it reached another port. Then we'd fly home.
Last edited by Parnassia; 04-13-2021 at 03:03 PM..
The transfer procedure was incredibly controlled and precise. Everyone involved went through intensive training each spring. The tender would match speed with the ship (ships don't stop, but depending on sea conditions slow to about 10-12 knots). The tender would pull as close to the hull as possible (no tying off to the ship), and staff, along with waterproof cases packed full of books, literature, and visual aids, climbed a rope ladder up several deck levels to a cargo loading door in the hull. In all the decades the park has done this I recall they've only had one or two minor injuries. Amazingly, no one ever went swimming which would probably not end well. Besides getting sucked under one or both hulls, that water is about 40F even in summer. If conditions were too rough they cancelled the transfer. If conditions deteriorated while we were onboard, the ship housed and fed us for a day or so until it reached another port. Then we'd fly home.
I saw that with the pilots we would pick up on the sportfishers I worked on when going through the Panama canal. We would wait for the pilot and as the boat approached they would tell us to speed up to about 10 or so knots if I remember and the pilot vessel would pull along side and while moving the pilot would hop onto our vessel. I thought it kind of strange but when underway at that speed your not really rocking so I guess it makes sense. That's how they board the freighters as well.
If it's for the Captain, it's called the Captain's gig, but for general use, it's a tender. Many times you'll see smaller boats with T/T and the larger boats name, which is Tender To Minnow. It avoids having to register the tender, with a list of restrictions on use, which everyone ignores. Those orange pods are lifeboats, not tenders, and they are shaped like that to fall into the water with people aboard.
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