Seems like the new PC locks hard not easy to get though..the tugboats do not have eno

Panama Canal Design Concerns Renewed After Ship Hits Wall

July 25, 2016 by Reuters

Damage to the MV Xin Fei Zhou.

ReutersA Chinese container ship hit a wall of the new lane of the Panama Canal, a Canal Authority official and a local ship agent said on Monday, the third such incident since the expanded waterway opened one month ago amid design concerns.

Thomson Reuters ship tracking data showed the Xin Fei Zhou, owned by China Shipping Container Lines, was anchored outside the canal after a photograph published by the maritime online news site gCaptain.com showed the vessel with a sizeable gash in its hull. The ship agent said it was undergoing repairs.

The latest incident comes after two other vessels have reportedly made contact with the newly expanded canal since the $5.4 billion project was inaugurated on June 26.

The expansion, which triples the size of ships that can pass through the waterway, has drawn criticism from industry groups that claim its design makes the transit of larger ships unsafe for the vessels and workers.

The Panama Canal Authority said its operations team was investigating the latest incident.

The Lycaste Peace, the first LPG tanker to pass through the new section of the canal, ripped off a fender during a collision in late June, causing some minor damage to the railing of the ship, according to a source familiar with the incident.

Lycaste Peace in the Panama Canal's new locks, June 27, 2016. Photo: ACP

Lycaste Peace in the Panama Canal’s new locks, June 27, 2016. Photo: ACP

The Panama Canal Authority did not respond to a request for comment about the Lycaste Peace.

The Authority has confirmed that the Cosco Shipping Panama, the container ship that made the inaugural journey through the canal, also made contact with its fenders, which a spokesman for the Authority said was normal.

A representative for MC-Seamax Management Limited, the manager of the Cosco Shipping Panama, said it suffered no damage.

While contact with fenders may occur in transit, the three events together are likely to renew concerns about the safety of moving expensive vessels through the expanded canal, which experts say has less space for manoeuvres than the original locks.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation commissioned a study of the expansion in response to safety concerns of its members. Among other issues identified in April, the study found the dimensions of the new locks were too small for safe operations and that the design left little room for error.

The Panama Canal Authority dismissed the study’s findings.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton, Marianna Parraga, and Eli Moreno in Panama; Editing by Terry Wade and Dan Grebler)

© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.

AKK

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The Panama Canal Authority dismissed the study’s findings.

 

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AKK

I love this.

Great article Skipper!

This will definitely not buff out! lol!

I can imagine cruise ships being very wary of using the new locks is their ships could come out with this kind of damage.

ex techie

Costa Maya ..... "it" happens

I suspect a learning curve applies with the new locks especially when the vessel is "new" max sized . . .

Just because something is there doesn't mean you have to hit it. This applies to cars, boats, and ships.

 

Costa Maya ..... "it" happens

 

I suspect a learning curve applies with the new locks especially when the vessel is "new" max sized . . .

Ouch! Which ship is that Capt?

ex techie

ouch Capt BJ!!...........that area around the tug bollard should be all reinforced.....She must have hit hard to open her up like that.:eek:

AKK

Capt JB has a good point, there may very well be a long learning curve in handling a vessels this big in the locks, with tugboats and water moving in and out.

I was also wondering why they went with Tugs and not with the proven mule system. Costs?:rolleyes:

AKK

Great article Skipper!

 

This will definitely not buff out! lol!

Ah, just a little compound and turtle wax and she'll be good as new. :p

Capt JB has a good point' date=' there may very well be a long learning curve in handling a vessels this big in the locks, with tugboats and water moving in and out.

 

I was also wondering why they went with Tugs and not with the proven mule system. Costs?:rolleyes:

 

AKK[/quote']

 

The mules were asking for too much hay.

The mules were asking for too much hay.

LOL......I guess good hay is expensive in Panama.:D

AKK

This will definitely not buff out! lol!

 

ex techie

Aaargh - you beat me to the punch. Every fiber of my smartassedness was pushing me to post "That'll buff right out..."

Capt JB has a good point' date=' there may very well be a long learning curve in handling a vessels this big in the locks, with tugboats and water moving in and out.

 

I was also wondering why they went with Tugs and not with the proven mule system. Costs?:rolleyes:

 

AKK[/quote']

 

BillB and I have been discussing this over on the Panama Canal forum. I don't know why they went to tugs, but Bill probably does, he's tight with folks still operating the Canal.

 

The problem I see is that while they are using the very maneuverable tractor tugs, when you put the tug on a hawser you lose most of the desirable maneuvering characteristics of the tractor tug. As BillB has mentioned, that lock does not have approach walls like the older locks and some of the newer ones, so there is no gradual "funneling" into the lock, and when a gust came from the wrong direction (its not the season for these right now), it pushed the ship into the corner of the lock entrance. BillB posted an ECDIS display of the incident, and there was a tug on the hip on the side the ship hit on, so even this tug could not respond in time due to the gust. There have been two other allisions in this lock since operations started, both just dents and torn off fendering.

 

And yes, there will be a learning curve both for the pilots and tug skippers in handling ships a totally new way, even after simulator training.

BillB and I have been discussing this over on the Panama Canal forum. I don't know why they went to tugs, but Bill probably does, he's tight with folks still operating the Canal.

 

The problem I see is that while they are using the very maneuverable tractor tugs, when you put the tug on a hawser you lose most of the desirable maneuvering characteristics of the tractor tug. As BillB has mentioned, that lock does not have approach walls like the older locks and some of the newer ones, so there is no gradual "funneling" into the lock, and when a gust came from the wrong direction (its not the season for these right now), it pushed the ship into the corner of the lock entrance. BillB posted an ECDIS display of the incident, and there was a tug on the hip on the side the ship hit on, so even this tug could not respond in time due to the gust. There have been two other allisions in this lock since operations started, both just dents and torn off fendering.

 

And yes, there will be a learning curve both for the pilots and tug skippers in handling ships a totally new way, even after simulator training.

Chief, somewhere there some Deckie in you my friend!

The bottom line you hit.........a tug on a hawser , especially in a confined space loses all the special handling abilities of the tractors.

The St. Lawrence canal/ lock system all use approach walls. I mated on the SS Texaco Mississippi back in the mid 70's, those walls made all the difference in easy of bring a ship into the locks.

I think it would be interesting to see the pre building plans and what was finally built.

AKK

Chief' date=' somewhere there some Deckie in you my friend!

 

 

The bottom line you hit.........a tug on a hawser , especially in a confined space loses all the special handling abilities of the tractors.

 

The St. Lawrence canal/ lock system all use approach walls. I mated on the SS Texaco Mississippi back in the mid 70's, those walls made all the difference in easy of bring a ship into the locks.

 

I think it would be interesting to see the pre building plans and what was finally built.

 

AKK[/quote']

 

Appreciate that Skipper. Just good seamanship, and years of watching the good skippers and the bad skippers, and fixing the latters' mistakes. :D