chengkp75

Yes, they do. Even if the prop is made by someone else, the cruise line would engage ABB to make repairs, and the reps from the prop manufacturer would be subcontracted to ABB. Thanks for the further insight.

Straightening, you are correct about the heat. But a crack can be welded up underwater, or as I say, sometimes they remove the bent/cracked section until a new prop can be installed in dock (though this reduces the speed the prop can run at). Some azipod props are single units, some have separate blades.

The art of straightening a blade in place, so that it no longer causes vibrations, or cropping a blade to remove the damaged portion (and the corresponding piece from the opposite blade, again to balance the "wheel"), is dying with the aging shipyard demographic. I know there are more of these guys in Europe than we have today in the US, so yes, in my opinion it could require some techs from some of the prop repair companies in Europe. Most of the manufacturer's technicians for most equipment on these cruise ships come from Europe, as the equipment is manufactured there. They will fly in techs for dry docks, from all over.

The pods can be entered, just not when running. Routine maintenance can be done while in port. Also, if the failure was in the azimuthing system (the electro-hydraulic system that revolves the azipod around), that is accessible within the ship, it is not in the pod. The frequency drive that alters the electricity to the azipod motor to allow for varying speed, is also inside the ship. Either one of these systems could stop the use of the azipod, and yet be repaired with the ship wet. But, I am still thinking it is a bent propeller problem, and that can be repaired by divers, or the shaft seal (that keeps the sea water from the oil in the pod bearings) could have failed, another diver capable job. The only real job that needs a dry dock for these older model azipods is to renew the thrust bearing.

The piping in vacuum toilet systems, and even the gray water gravity drain pipes are very thin steel (it's actually thin wall tubing, since there is no pressure). Personally, my experience has been that gray water pipes start leaking years before vacuum pipes do. Vacuum pipes tend to telegraph their imminent failure by losing vacuum through pinholes. So, while neither is acceptable, gray water is less nasty than black water from the toilets.

They would have to break this in Vancouver, and booking the two halves together would not be allowed.

But, as I say, bringing it onto the ship is the same as bringing it into Panama, so you would be violating Panamanian law by trying to bring it into the "country".

Since Panama only allows CBD products with a prescription, they would be violating the laws of the flag state, which are the laws that have jurisdiction, at all times on the ship.

Did they actually have zero THC? To be legal, hemp CBD products only have to have 0.3% or less, and since there is no regulatory body checking this stuff, the manufacturer can say the THC is zero, when it truly isn't, and is detectable by a dog. Hemp CBD products have shown up as THC positives on DOT/USCG drug screenings.

The water is not still, it is circulated for filtering and chlorination just like a pool. It's the aerosolization of the water that is dangerous, as legionella is an inhaled bacteria. Your gym or other places aren't regulated by the USPH/CDC.

As I said, even with identical ships, the two cruise lines may have different "risk tolerances" built into their SMS plans, so that one Captain is allowed by that cruise line to dock, but the other Captain is not allowed to dock under the SMS he/she has to operate under. Each company is allowed to tailor their SMS plan as long as it fits under the requirements of the ISM (International Safety Management) Code set by the IMO. It's just like if you feel that your car could fit in a tight parallel parking slot, and so you park there, but the owner of an identical car doesn't feel the car could fit, so he doesn't try. Risk tolerance. Everyone has it, corporations, too.

Get a mailbox at Mailboxes, Etc or UPS store, and have the USPS forward all mail to that box. USPS mail forwarding is 12 months, standard, with up to another 18 months optional.

Are these air jets or water jets? Many ships have removed the air jets from hot tubs, as use of these vastly increases the likelihood of promoting legionella.

While you may know that other ships docked, do you know what the differences in the SMS (Safety Management System) between the two cruise lines are? There may be differing policies and procedures for entering into "restricted waters" (entering/leaving port) in "restricted weather" (poor visibility, high winds). The Captain is bound by the SMS, and has to adhere to it's policies and procedures, unless he/she feels that following them would endanger the ship, passengers, crew, or environment. Also, what are the mechanical and physical differences between the ships? Horsepower of thrusters, number of thrusters, etc, etc. When you've received the training and experience to gain an Unlimited Master's license to Captain a cruise ship, and accept the personal responsibility for the ship, passengers, and crew, then I'd say you were in a position to question a Captain's decision about virtually anything done on the ship.

No. So long as a ship does not engage in certain activities (fishing, cargo operations, anchoring) in a country's territorial waters, they are considered to be undertaking "innocent passage", which is free to any ship. Also, it is not known whether the ship was in Cuban "territorial waters" (out to 12 miles from land), or within the Cuban EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), which extends to 200 miles offshore. The release by Cuban CG is similar to what happens when the USCG takes over a search and rescue from a ship. The ship involved in the overboard incident is required to continue a search effort until the cognizant government authority (whose waters the ship is in) releases them (either because the CG has deployed better assets to continue the search, or it is deemed a lost cause). If the search happens in international waters, certain nations have agreed to take over SAR for those areas (the USCG does most of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico outside of other countries' territorial waters, and a lot of the North Atlantic and North Pacific), and the ship will be released by that nation's agency.

They searched for him until released by the Cuban Coast Guard.

As I said, the standard to meet is whether a "reasonable person" would do what the victim did. Not easy to sue under the DOHSA, as you have to prove negligence or misconduct. Never said the Captain or cruise line "caused" this, nor am I saying that the Captain, or the cruise line. will be held accountable for this person's death, but the Captain is responsible for the person's life. Hey, if my midnight to 8am motorman, woking in the engine room, while I am blissfully asleep, does something he shouldn't have (like close the wrong valve), causes an accident, and hurts himself, who do you think gets drug and alcohol tested along with him and the watch engineer who was in the Control Room, not the engine room? Me. I am personally responsible for all my subordinates' actions, no matter how stupid, at all times they are working on the ship. That is what my mariner's license is all about. If the accident was caused by the person not being trained according to the company's SMS (safety management system), then I would be held responsible. If, however, all specified training was accomplished, and the crew member still acted wrongly, then the SMS is likely at fault, and needs an update for further, more specific training.

Well, in a way he does. Even if it is acknowledged that the person purposely jumped overboard, both the Captain, personally, and the cruise line can be sued under the Death on the High Seas Act, for failing to provide the necessary "quality of care" to prevent this instance. The Captain is the cruise line's personal representative onboard, as well as the legal representative of the flag state. Even in a situation where someone is "doing something they shouldn't be", if a "reasonable person" would consider doing the action, and the ship did not provide any means to prevent the action, or remediate the result, then they can be held liable.

While the EU does not have regulations restricting importing food from other EU member nations, there is no guarantee that all of the food on the ship is from EU origins. Many cruise lines will ship containers of food from the US to wherever the ship is homeported, in order to maintain consistency across the fleet. You are prohibited to "personally import" (brought in person) meat or milk products into the EU. So, taking these products off the ship could be a violation of EU law, and might be hard to prove otherwise, which is why some ports may just blanket disallow food to come off the ship.

Happy to promote my town anytime.

Panini's. Known specifically for their french fries fried in, wait for it, "Duckfat". Also known for their milk shakes. Poutine, using the duckfat fried fries. They do have a lobster roll, that is all knuckle and claw meat. Highly recommend, but it is small and a bit hard to get into.

If indeed the damage was ice induced, that would mean bent propeller blades on the azipod. Those can be replaced in water. It depends on where they have their spare blades, and how easily they can be shipped to where the repair will take place. Just need some shoreside crane assistance (a typical road crane will do), and a diver service. Could be Seward, but most likely Victoria, but again, drydock is not required for this. If it is not from ice, then it could be a bearing failure. If it is, then it will require drydock to repair, since the Radiance was built before the XO model azipod (upgrade with internal bearing renewal) came into service. In all, unless there is delay in shipping parts to the shipyard, 14 days seems excessive for the repair, unless they are including some "blank" days just to match back into the schedule. New propeller blades would take about 2 days from when the blades arrive, to install. An azipod bearing renewal is also about 2-3 days, plus 2 days for drying and flooding the dock, and a couple days to set keel blocks (but this could be done while Radiance is coming to the yard), but this all depends on whether there is a slot that they could fit the ship in, in the drydock's schedule.

A "Williamson" turn (actually more teardrop shaped than figure eight), if done at anything over about 6-8 knots will cause a cruise ship to heel over from the turn to the point where loose items like glasses and dishware will go flying, and passengers will be thrown off their feet, and likely result in injuries. So, first the ship needs to slow, and then turn. This will take a few miles to accomplish, but does, if properly executed, get the ship back on the exact opposite course line, retracing it's "footsteps".

Not sure what sonar would do in a man overboard situation, the target is too small to discern from surface clutter. Not all cruise ships have man overboard sensors, and not all the man overboard detection systems will sound an automatic alarm. They can go back and review footage to get the time, but that is time consuming. Yes, they may be able to pinpoint the time and place of the person going overboard, but they won't know the amount or direction of drift the person encountered after that. The USCG, with large crews on their cutters, all trained specifically in search and rescue at sea, who can therefore place many, many sets of eyes to searching, often lose the dummy sent overboard during a man overboard drill, even when the dummy is dressed in international orange clothing. A person floating in the ocean is only a head above the water, so you are looking for something like the "Wilson" volleyball from the movie "Castaway", in square miles of ocean, where the waves will block vision intermittently. As a professional mariner, I know that the odds of success become infinitesimal when someone goes overboard.

First off, there is a difference in how toilet paper and "wipes" are manufactured, that makes one acceptable to vacuum toilet systems, and one not. Toilet paper, and facial tissues, are made of "pressed" paper fibers that result in the paper dissolving when wetted. "Wipes" are designed to have "wet strength", and so use "woven" paper fibers (and in many cases, plastic fibers woven in), so that when wetted, they do not fall apart. This failure to dissolve causes the problems not only in vacuum toilet systems on ships, but as a poster noted above, they are also responsible for clogs of huge diameter municipal sewers as well. Secondly, if you knew the things that we have found flushed down ship's toilets, you'd never believe me. Swimwear, underwear, other clothing items, hand towels, cloth dinner napkins, rolls of paper towels, crack pipes, coke spoons, baggies of unidentified substances, ammunition, food bones, are just some examples of things we've roto-rooted out.