Oasis incident at Freeport Shipyard

[bowler15547]

1 minute ago, BillOh said:

I've never heard of this being done before, but I can see the logic of it.   I'd love to see pictures of the dams and how they work. 

James Van Fleet has pictures on his social media accounts. It is pretty cool. 

 

[Capt_BJ]

 

to get a lil technical ... Grand Bahama Shipyard has no 'dry dock' facility. What they have are three 'floating docks'

 

A 'dry dock' or graving dock is typically dug out of the land and enclosed at one end.  The vessel is floated in and gates closed and the water is pumped out leaving the vessel dry.

 

What you see here are 'floating docks' .. essentially large barges that can be intentionally sunk then a vessel is floated over them and the water is pumped out of the barge lifting the ship out of the water.  Both of these systems are used to facilitate the process of dry docking a vessel but the equipment is different.

 

Many of the large floating docks in operation today are actually veterans of WWII!!! Many were built during the war where they could provide PORTABLE REPAIR facilities .... The dock could be towed to new locations as the battlezone moved.  They were often built in sections that could be moved independently and then hooked together to achieve more overall length.

 

Point is tho ... many are old.  I know very well of a case a few years ago where a CG cutter was being lifted by such a tool and about half way up the back of the dock broke ..... and sank out from under the Cutter.  The side walls collapsed on each side like a clamshell on the cutter . . .  it looks to me like something similar has happened to the end section of such a floating dock.

[RFerrington]

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/oasis-of-the-seas-involved-in-casualty-at-grand-bahama-shipyard

[cello56]

James Van Fleet reported that they were using "Cofferdams" on Oasis to be able make the repairs she needed while still wet. Everything is still in the water floating, except they have built a cofferdam around the azipod that needs repair so that the workers can access it in a dry environment. 

[Capt_BJ]

They build the coffer dam in the floating dock

 

sink the dock and position the ship then raise the dock so that the 'dam' fits around the hull .. then pump the water out of the inside of the dam - a box - leaving the pods in a dry area .... the ship is still floating normally

 

sort of like having your boat in the water but sliding a big plastic garbage can around the outboard so that the top of the can is above the water level, then pump the water out of the can ....

[orville99]

35 minutes ago, BillOh said:

I've never heard of this being done before, but I can see the logic of it.   I'd love to see pictures of the dams and how they work. 

This is actually the second time Oasis has been in Freeport for Azipod repairs using the same wet dock. There were a ton of pictures on CC back when the first wet dock was done a few years ago, and it was a fascinating feat of engineering.

[cello56]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1112678138734149632

 

Here is a link to James Van Fleet's twitter page with video of the cofferdams in place this morning before the accident.

[Barklee]

Bahamas Press has a video from the side of the ship. You can see it listing to starboard. If my attached link doesn't work go to YouTube and search for Bahamas Press 

 

[willde]

27 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

They build the coffer dam in the floating dock

 

sink the dock and position the ship then raise the dock so that the 'dam' fits around the hull .. then pump the water out of the inside of the dam - a box - leaving the pods in a dry area .... the ship is still floating normally

 

sort of like having your boat in the water but sliding a big plastic garbage can around the outboard so that the top of the can is above the water level, then pump the water out of the can ....

 

Except that the azipods are below waterline...

So the dock and ship both float with the tides to keep the cofferdams from flooding?

Or is the ship raised partially out of the water and not completely floating?

That could explain the listing...

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by willde

[coaster]

Looks like there were cranes on either side. Looks like the one on the port side is still intact and the starboard side crane collapsed causing the list.

Edited April 1, 2019 by coaster

[Coralc]

51 minutes ago, jdg623 said:

While the recent Noro outbreak did happen, that's not why she was in dry dock - that was due to a mechanical problem from months back, which is why they cancelled the March 31 sailing (there was a big thread about this).  We are supposed to be boarding her on Sunday - not looking good 😖  Glad no one seems to have been seriously injured in this incident.

Boarding this Sunday does not look likely. Where were you supposed to be sailing? The articles say something about the transatlantic to Europe? 

[The Grumpus]

8 minutes ago, Barklee said:

Bahamas Press has a video from the side of the ship. You can see it listing to starboard. If my attached link doesn't work go to YouTube and search for Bahamas Press 

 

That's making be think the dock was dry and the ship fell to the starboard. Unless that crane is so heavy it is pushing down the ship

[jdg623]

9 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Boarding this Sunday does not look likely. Where were you supposed to be sailing? The articles say something about the transatlantic to Europe? 

Just a typical Eastern Caribbean. I believe they were doing the repair in preparation for the upcoming crossing and summer in Europe.  Someone on our roll call called RCI and was told we'll be informed tomorrow about the status of our sailing. Trying to be hopeful!

[cruisinfanatic]

There was a show on tv on this repair showing how it was done, but I can't find it

[travelplus]

Something look odd on the video with regards to the angle. Like another poster said the Dry Dock happens out of water hence the name. Unless they were testing something. We will have to wait for a report from Royal Caribbean in order to confirm what happened.

 

I hope everyone is OK but still not sure the validity of this video until we get official communication from Royal Caribbean. 

[rockmom]

2 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Something look odd on the video with regards to the angle. Like another poster said the Dry Dock happens out of water hence the name. Unless they were testing something. We will have to wait for a report from Royal Caribbean in order to confirm what happened.

 

I hope everyone is OK but still not sure the validity of this video until we get official communication from Royal Caribbean. 

Read back--it explains the dry/wet dock differences.  Not sure what you mean about the validity of it, multiple network news agencies are reporting about it.  The latest update is saying 8 injured.  

[willde]

Speculation only:

 

Floating drydock was partially lifting ship above waterline

Dock failed, broke, sank

ship stern is perched on the cotterdams shown in the Van Fleet twitter post

cranes on both sides of ship seem to be leaning toward it (picture below from video in prior post)

the "near" crane may not actually be leaning on the ship, and is tilting with the dock wall

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by willde

[SakeDad]

1 hour ago, bowler15547 said:

 

When a ship goes into dry dock, they pull the ship into the dock and then the water is removed from the dock to take the ship out of the water.

This was in WET DOCK, not dry dock. It is the same dock I just spent 2 1/2 weeks on Navigator of the Seas at. The crane that collapsed is actually on a barge in the water on the starboard side of the ship. My guess is the load was too heavy and the barge started to capsize and collapsed onto the ship. So happy nothing like that happened while I was there!!! Praying for everyone's safety!

[MaritimeR&R]

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida/crane-falls-on-florida-based-oasis-of-the-seas-cruise-ship

 

It's only been a little over an hour. They are ascertaining damage to ship, dock, and people.

[molsonschooner]

1 hour ago, CruiseTeacher7 said:

This is really unfortunate.  My thoughts and prayers are lifted up for anyone killed or injured.

A friend of mine sailed on the Oasis two weeks ago.  They had a great cruise but apparently there was a Norovirus outbreak and one of the engines went down.  This is why it went to dry dock.  

this wet dock has been scheduled for a few months now

 

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, MaritimeR&R said:

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida/crane-falls-on-florida-based-oasis-of-the-seas-cruise-ship

 

It's only been a little over an hour. They are ascertaining damage to ship, dock, and people.

 

Read the article you just linked, it happened at 1:45 EDT, almost four hours ago.  

[cruisinfanatic]

16 minutes ago, willde said:

Speculation only:

 

Floating drydock was partially lifting ship above waterline

Dock failed, broke, sank

ship stern is perched on the cotterdams shown in the Van Fleet twitter post

cranes on both sides of ship seem to be leaning toward it (picture below from video in prior post)

the "near" crane may not actually be leaning on the ship, and is tilting with the dock wall

 

 

Wrong. That's not how Azipods  are serviced

 

 

 

[willde]

9 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

Wrong. That's not how Azipods  are serviced

 

That post wasn't really about how the Azipods are serviced, but I'm interested to know how it is done.  Can you explain?

[billyboy41]

if I remember correctly, Allure went into "wet dock" shortly after initial launch to fix an issue with the "pods" sometime in early 2014.  There were a number of videos about the entire process, which was pretty cool on how they did it - creating a "hole in the water" to allow the engineers to complete the repair      I am looking to see if I can find the video and will post if I do.  Others, if you find it, please post.  

 

[hallux]

@billyboy41 this one?