Heard about it last night. Surprised it has not had more coverage from the media. At least regular warnings on all coastal FM/AM radio stations along with the regular weather warnings of the dangerous sea conditions at the moment. Even in the article there is scant mention of the navigation problem. More concerned with the pollution problem. Depending on the way they are floating they could be spread over a couple of hundred miles now in the East coast current.
Currents off the NSW Coast
earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/surface/currents/overlay=currents/orthographic=-205.22,-30.30,2412/loc=152.768,-28.534
Copy and paste the whole link to get to the animated page displayed below.
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Currents off the NSW Coast
earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/surface/currents/overlay=currents/orthographic=-205.22,-30.30,2412/loc=152.768,-28.534
Copy and paste the whole link to get to the animated page displayed below.
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It's pretty scary to see just how far the floaters could travel!
The Sydney to Noumea race is starting Sunday morning and the fleet will certainly be passing through the area. Fingers crossed for them...
Considering we get fined for losing an ice cream wrapper into the water I hope the government is going to fine the twits who did it. Or make them go out and find them all.
yep impound the ship in the nearest port. and make the company hire every recovery vessel on the east coast to go get all those giant floaters !
I imagine wide publicity would have people flocking to the area. 4000 pairs of slightly damp Nike's soon to appear on gumtree?
Could shipping containers be fitted with some kind of tilt activated tracking device (like a EPIRB) that would activate if the fell off a ship so they could be located by whoever is responsible for them and also AIS so they would show up if you were sailing through the area
Regards Don
Could shipping containers be fitted with some kind of tilt activated tracking device (like a EPIRB) that would activate if the fell off a ship so they could be located by whoever is responsible for them and also AIS so they would show up if you were sailing through the area
Regards Don
Sure you could do it, but oy vey the hand wringing and screaming about the cost would be heard around the world.
Plus the unit would need to be attached in such a way that when it deployed it could float free to give open sky access to the antenna because there is no guarantee that the container will float the right way up. Let's face face it, realistically after a month they would all be stolen because if they are able to float free then they would also be an easy grab by sticky finger.
The insurance company would probably prefer to just write it off rather than mount a SAR mission to recover 4000 pairs of slightly damp Nike's.
Could shipping containers be fitted with some kind of tilt activated tracking device (like a EPIRB) that would activate if the fell off a ship so they could be located by whoever is responsible for them and also AIS so they would show up if you were sailing through the area
Regards Don
Good idea Don, but gee Don (tongue in cheek) there may end up being so many AIS signals appearing on the chart plotter, we may not be game to leave the anchorage. Maybe the TV weather reporters will be able to predict the next days contained density for areas off the coast. I wonder how many are out there already and if the latest bunch will make much difference. I know that a lot of containers have vents in them to let out air so they sink. But if what's in side them (like packing foam) likes to float, then they are there for the long haul
Mind you, if I was shipping my irreplaceable imported car ( Jaguar XKSS, Yes, the ones they've just built to replace the ones that got burnt, selling at $1 million each ) in one of those containers.....I think I'd be a bit pissed off.
maybe we should make the shipping mobs chain the containers together in large groups so if they go ....they are easier to find / hit ?
Containers are supposed to have soluble plugs that will dissolve in sea water. The containers, if they are built to regs, will sink.
Some might float for awhile if they are filled with stuff that floats but they should go down pretty soon.
If they break open the contents could float around for a long time.
Surly they could fit a gps locater/tile at minimal cost? If couriers can do it for vans surely the same technology could be used?
A few technical problems with GPS on containers. The satellite down signal is 1GHz which disappears under water, the container would need to float antenna side up and the antenna would need to extend out of the water. The location data for Uber and courier vans etc goes back to base by mobile phone network which keeps it cheap. No such thing at sea. It would need to be upped to a satellite and then sent back to base. Expensive. Even most passenger planes still dont have it. (ie. If you look at Flightradar24.com passenger planes location data disappears when away from land).
Location of the offending ship is below. I assume the purple boats are the Sydney to Noumea race fleet, CYCA must be very confident sending them right through Efficiencies track.
I was going to go down to Botany Bay and watch Efficiency come in this morning but she is still stuck out at sea motoring South at 3 knots (image just now). I bet skipper isnt happy.
At the moment I am sat just south of where a couple of containers or at least contents have been washing up along the NSW coast.
As others have said just what is AMSA actually doing to locate these 40ft long boxes of doom. If you hit one your yacht is probably screwed in a major fashion.
Having just recently purchased one to store the house contents in while I nick off for an extended period on the old briney I did not find any plugs which dissolve in water and on every container that I inspected before I purchased my lump of steel all of the vents in the top corners of the containers were taped over. Having used a grinder to cut various holes in them for ventilation vents etc I can attest to the far more sturdy than GRP construction after wearing out a few cutting wheels on the grinder.
If the container is a reefer full of meat or vegtables the gases from the rotting contents are going to keep it positively bouyant for a while as well.
If we hit one do we sue AMSA along with Port Botany and the shipping line? Will the Liberian registered ship dissappear mid ocean to rock up at some other port as a Panamanian registered vessel with a new name shipping company wound up and gone.
I had a look at the amsa web page... f-ck me it went strait to facebook and it's inane comments although this post did at least bring home part of the story www.facebook.com/groups/733202343469780/permalink/1539915972798409/?hc_location=ufi
So we can expect minimal help from those proportedly in charge of fixing this sort of mess and should you find one floating around if you have a battery operated drill and grinder on board please do your bit to help.
Going by the attitude of the bloke from the EPA on the news last night I would suggest nothing is going to be done about them. The locals are doing a clean up of the beaches and headlands on their own bat. The "authorities" are trying to discourage them! If you were to hit one of these containers it would be no different to hitting any of the large timber logs and other jetsam that floats along our coast. Your on your own!
My only suggestion would be to keep a visual lookout [Mk 1 eyeball} and avoid sailing at night for a few weeks.
Got this back from AMSA via facebook messenger... Roads and Maritime Services New South Wales has taken the lead on container recovery and is working closely with the ship's operator and contractor. RMS may be able to provide you with some detailed information about the clean up operation. Kind regards, AMSA
Now I just need to nail down RMS.
But yes the attitude is im alright jack you can go screw yourself is indeed apparent.