Oasis incident at Freeport Shipyard

[ShillyShally]

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Clearly based on all the images...this is not a short term fix.

 

On the plus side...there has been no news of significant injuries. On the down side...Oasis looks to be "out of commission" for a while until all the repairs can be done.

 

That one balcony being destroyed, plus the damage in the AquaTheater area won't happen in just a couple days time. Then there will be the required inspections.

 

Major OUCH!

My thoughts exactly - just UGH and I feel for all passengers now worried about upcoming cruises.  So thankful injuries seem minimal, this could have been far worse I'm sure!

[FlyhotmommaVT]

2 hours ago, mousefan73 said:

I really hope there is no  major damage. we are all paid, flights/hotel booked for the June 13th rome sailing.

Worse case scenario what does the cruiseline do? Assume full refund as mechanical. But do they give other goodies? Rebook of other options, OBC?  We have insurance but From a customer POV many are going to be upset and out tons of money. Sure weather can happen. But something like this is different.

We were on the LOS sailing when Hurricane Harvey hit in Aug 2017.  Couldn't dock at Galveston, big nightmare.  It seemed like RC learned from that experience on future sailings and had their PR coming out quicker, plan of action in place, etc.  as it definitely wasn't there for our sailing.  Luckily, we had travel insurance and that covered our flights home to TX from Miami, where the ship was diverted to, extra meals/drinks from Sunday until we got home, rental car from airport, etc.  I heard some pax talking onboard about future cruise discounts, etc but never saw that.  Since that happened during our sailing, at the end of it and beginning of another week sailing, there were 2 groups affected.  However with no pax onboard now, and it being Tuesday, they can plan ahead - the good news.  

 

What concerns me is the safety of the ship for the transatlantic.  If what others are saying is true, that even with minimal damage the inspections could take awhile, then unfortunately many may be affected.  Guess we all just need to grab our popcorn and watch this thread come 5p ET (and it will melt down, as it did everytime we had a PR for our Harvey cruise!)....

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, fsjosh said:

 

I get that if the ship struck the dock, it would cause the crane to go towards the ship. I'm just trying to figure out why, if just one side of the dock sank, the ship would have hit the dock. The dock wall and crane should have started moving the same direction the ship was going when it started going down. 

Remember that the dock is providing support to the ship, so once the dock sank just enough on that side, the ship is no longer stable, and will move to the unsupported side, and given the mass, it will roll a lot further than the dock.  I would be willing to be that the ship is displaced off the blocks on the high side, and the bottom of the ship slid towards the high side of the dock, allowing a greater list.

[chengkp75]

18 minutes ago, bajathree said:

But that still leaves the propulsion issue that the ship was in there in the first place. Like I say it will be interesting to see what other damage there is that we can't see. I would have to assume that the weight of a big crane smashing down on the aqua theater deck may have done damage to the deck (decks) below....but I'm not a ship builder.

Probably very little structural damage from the crane, especially in an area of the ship like that, there is more stiffeners and frames than the midships areas, to carry the load.  But the propulsion issue would not preclude the ship from  sailing, albeit on a possibly deviated itinerary.  She sailed for many months without one pod when GBSY first came up with the cofferdam idea.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Remember that the dock is providing support to the ship, so once the dock sank just enough on that side, the ship is no longer stable, and will move to the unsupported side, and given the mass, it will roll a lot further than the dock.  I would be willing to be that the ship is displaced off the blocks on the high side, and the bottom of the ship slid towards the high side of the dock, allowing a greater list.

 

I'm sure it's too early to tell, but if the ship slipped enough such that the azipods impacted the bottom of the dock, I would think this could be very serious.

[Bobal]

1 hour ago, Lionesss said:

Thank you for posting what I was thinking.

 

Taking a nap today.

 

Do not want to miss the fun.

 

This should be good.

 

Safe travels.

 

Well hope you napped well 🙄

 

But I can assure you it's neither good nor fun for those of us who are due to travel on in it the next few weeks 😩

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Clearly based on all the images...this is not a short term fix.

 

On the plus side...there has been no news of significant injuries. On the down side...Oasis looks to be "out of commission" for a while until all the repairs can be done.

 

That one balcony being destroyed, plus the damage in the AquaTheater area won't happen in just a couple days time. Then there will be the required inspections.

 

Major OUCH!

 

24 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

My thoughts exactly - just UGH and I feel for all passengers now worried about upcoming cruises.  So thankful injuries seem minimal, this could have been far worse I'm sure!

I don't know.  One photo shows the screen at the Aqua theater appearing to be showing a picture while the crane lays at its feet. That implies to me that the screen is okay.  They may take a few cabins out of inventory due to wrecked balconies, and they may have to reduce seating at the theater.  Will she be 100% for the next few cruises?  Likely not, but they will try to get her moving and generating revenue as soon as possible.  How long was the Oasis supposed to be in the shipyard this time originally?  The regulatory inspections are going on right now, and will not hold up the start of repairs, nor are they the governing time line for the repairs, the actual work takes longer than the preliminary and final inspections.  The problem will be getting steel to the shipyard, amazingly the yard doesn't stock much, each ship must order and supply what is needed for each drydock, but as others have said, money talks, and RCI can mobilize a lot of bucks to get things shipped over.

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I'm sure it's too early to tell, but if the ship slipped enough such that the azipods impacted the bottom of the dock, I would think this could be very serious.

If the weight of the ship is bearing on the pods, yes, it could be.  If just a blade gets bent, this can be straightened by the Lips propeller shop in the yard.  Each blade is separately bolted to the hub, and these can be removed underwater to straighten the ones that need it.

[TravisP]

8 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 

I don't know.  One photo shows the screen at the Aqua theater appearing to be showing a picture while the crane lays at its feet. That implies to me that the screen is okay.  They may take a few cabins out of inventory due to wrecked balconies, and they may have to reduce seating at the theater.  Will she be 100% for the next few cruises?  Likely not, but they will try to get her moving and generating revenue as soon as possible.  How long was the Oasis supposed to be in the shipyard this time originally?  The regulatory inspections are going on right now, and will not hold up the start of repairs, nor are they the governing time line for the repairs, the actual work takes longer than the preliminary and final inspections.  The problem will be getting steel to the shipyard, amazingly the yard doesn't stock much, each ship must order and supply what is needed for each drydock, but as others have said, money talks, and RCI can mobilize a lot of bucks to get things shipped over.

I think I read some posts from people saying they were supposed to be cruising on it this coming Sunday. 

[ShillyShally]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 

I don't know.  One photo shows the screen at the Aqua theater appearing to be showing a picture while the crane lays at its feet. That implies to me that the screen is okay.  They may take a few cabins out of inventory due to wrecked balconies, and they may have to reduce seating at the theater.  Will she be 100% for the next few cruises?  Likely not, but they will try to get her moving and generating revenue as soon as possible.  How long was the Oasis supposed to be in the shipyard this time originally?  The regulatory inspections are going on right now, and will not hold up the start of repairs, nor are they the governing time line for the repairs, the actual work takes longer than the preliminary and final inspections.  The problem will be getting steel to the shipyard, amazingly the yard doesn't stock much, each ship must order and supply what is needed for each drydock, but as others have said, money talks, and RCI can mobilize a lot of bucks to get things shipped over.

She's supposed to have passengers again Sunday - I'm sure they'll weigh costs to cancel and rebook everyone or sail if possible and give OBC for missing Aqua Theater or such.  Even though the Aqua Theater shows aren't always a given due to winds/seas, the screen and venue is utilized for many events too.

[ShillyShally]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

If the weight of the ship is bearing on the pods, yes, it could be.  If just a blade gets bent, this can be straightened by the Lips propeller shop in the yard.  Each blade is separately bolted to the hub, and these can be removed underwater to straighten the ones that need it.

Thank you, this info is so interesting to me!

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, TravisP said:

I think I read some posts from people saying they were supposed to be cruising on it this coming Sunday. 

 

I guess we will hear more from the 5pm news conference.

[fsjosh]

18 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Remember that the dock is providing support to the ship, so once the dock sank just enough on that side, the ship is no longer stable, and will move to the unsupported side, and given the mass, it will roll a lot further than the dock.  I would be willing to be that the ship is displaced off the blocks on the high side, and the bottom of the ship slid towards the high side of the dock, allowing a greater list.

 

Yeah, I'm up to speed now. The crane not being anchored down was the part that I was mainly missing. I'm guessing that the cranes on the other side are fixed though as in some pics they are clearly leaning.  Combine that with the ship listing more than the dock, and it makes more sense. 

 

I'm still in the camp that the biggest worry are that the azipods are sitting on the bottom or on the cofferdam. Or that the ship itself is sitting on them.

 

At this point, if theres no hull damage, would the next steps be to cut the collapsed crane loose from any part that's not on the ship then lower the high side of the dock? Then they can get the ship out and fix whatever happened to the dock. 

[SunshineLuvr]

11 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

She's supposed to have passengers again Sunday - I'm sure they'll weigh costs to cancel and rebook everyone or sail if possible and give OBC for missing Aqua Theater or such.  Even though the Aqua Theater shows aren't always a given due to winds/seas, the screen and venue is utilized for many events too.

Friends are supposed to sail Sunday.  Very upsetting.  So relieved that no one was seriously injured.  

[CRUISEFAN0001]

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The problem will be getting steel to the shipyard, amazingly the yard doesn't stock much, each ship must order and supply what is needed for each drydock, but as others have said, money talks, and RCI can mobilize a lot of bucks to get things shipped over.

Even if the inspectors allow them to do some "temporary repairs", it would seem that the impact to access/use of the AquaTheater area will be significant until permanent repairs are completed (and safety inspection approvals).

 

In the one photo, for example, part of the fallen crane seems to be on top of at least a portion of the elevator floor units used in the pool...so what damage (if any) has been caused to the AquaTheater pool, as well as what impact that will have to even using the AquaTheater are for any shows is still an unknown. Closing that part of the ship (especially for an extended time) would seem to be a major downside to passengers on Oasis.

 

No doubt there will be choices...any one of which will result in some form of lost revenue. 

 

It's a shame...we've been on this fine ship twice, most recently a year ago. Resuming things to "normal" ASAP will be a good thing.

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, fsjosh said:

 

Yeah, I'm up to speed now. The crane not being anchored down was the part that I was mainly missing. I'm guessing that the cranes on the other side are fixed though as in some pics they are clearly leaning.  Combine that with the ship listing more than the dock, and it makes more sense. 

 

I'm still in the camp that the biggest worry are that the azipods are sitting on the bottom or on the cofferdam. Or that the ship itself is sitting on them.

 

At this point, if theres no hull damage, would the next steps be to cut the collapsed crane loose from any part that's not on the ship then lower the high side of the dock? Then they can get the ship out and fix whatever happened to the dock. 

They will likely bring in a floating crane to remove the collapsed crane, then after a diver survey to see what's what underwater with respect to the dock itself and the relation between ship and dock, yes, they will most likely sink the high side, but getting the cofferdam "doors" down may be a trick if they have been damaged or their controls damaged.  These have to be folded down to get the ship clear of the dock.  And just sinking the high side will take time, as there will need to be divers down to survey how things change between the ship and the dock as the positions change.

 

A lot of possible damage to the pods will depend on whether they had them locked down or not.  If the shaft was free to turn, and the azimuthing gear free to rotate, then contact with the dock could just have rotated the shaft or twisted the pod to one side (the hydraulics would have lifted their safeties and allowed the pod to turn).

 

Yeah, not feeling good for the next cruise on Sunday, though the one after that is possible.  It all depends on how much money is involved with cancelling a lot of cruises, or partially refunding some, vs the cost of repairs.

[cruisinfanatic]

12 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

She's supposed to have passengers again Sunday - I'm sure they'll weigh costs to cancel and rebook everyone or sail if possible and give OBC for missing Aqua Theater or such.  Even though the Aqua Theater shows aren't always a given due to winds/seas, the screen and venue is utilized for many events too.

That ship may be out for quite awhile, but there certainly is no way for Sunday. There is obvious structural damage plus other possible problems with what we don't see. On top of that, the repair that it was in dock for still has to be done

[ShillyShally]

2 minutes ago, SunshineLuvr said:

Friends are supposed to sail Sunday.  Very upsetting.  So relieved that no one was seriously injured.  

Agreed, and I feel for the passengers because there are very limited back-up options now!  I wonder if they'd offer a shortened cruise if they don't think they can sail Sunday but expect to a couple days in?  I'm quite certain they are weighing every possible outcome against what info they know and are trying to come up with the right announcement to avoid over-promising but maintain as much revenue and good will as possible.

[ShillyShally]

1 minute ago, cruisinfanatic said:

That ship may be out for quite awhile, but there certainly is no way for Sunday. There is obvious structural damage plus other possible problems with what we don't see. On top of that, the repair that it was in dock for still has to be done

True, I'm really curious what the update will be this evening.  I feel for all affected.  

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, cruisinfanatic said:

That ship may be out for quite awhile, but there certainly is no way for Sunday. There is obvious structural damage plus other possible problems with what we don't see. On top of that, the repair that it was in dock for still has to be done

Well, your definition of "structural" and mine must be totally different.  There is nothing that I've seen that indicates structural damage to the ship that would preclude it from sailing.  There is damage to the superstructure, in areas that do not add or detract from the ship's seaworthiness, just her ability to have passengers access the area.  So, that becomes, as I've said, a financial decision on RCI's part as to whether or not they sail with some of these areas roped off.  And, as I said, unless there is some unknown reason for the drydocking, there is no reason the ship could not sail with one pod out of service, as it has, and many other ships have, in the past.  Yes, they wanted to get the pod repaired at this time for the current itineraries, and the transatlantic, and it was done at this time because the dock was available (does anyone know how long one pod was out of service?), but her present itinerary may allow her to operate on two pods at higher load, and not 3 pods at low load.

[aruss]

When was Oasis scheduled for the TA?  What is her itinerary for the next few weeks?  Would they just cancel the weeks leading up to the TA and get her ready to go across to Europe? 

[Rogerandsue]

1 minute ago, aruss said:

When was Oasis scheduled for the TA?  What is her itinerary for the next few weeks?  Would they just cancel the weeks leading up to the TA and get her ready to go across to Europe? 

TA is scheduled for 21st April, we are supposed to be on it.

[bigdaddy324]

38 minutes ago, TravisP said:

I think I read some posts from people saying they were supposed to be cruising on it this coming Sunday. 

We are scheduled to sail this Sunday. Not looking good at this point, but hopeful! Anxiously awaiting 5P. 😒

[Clarea]

12 minutes ago, aruss said:

When was Oasis scheduled for the TA?  What is her itinerary for the next few weeks?  Would they just cancel the weeks leading up to the TA and get her ready to go across to Europe? 

 

Depends on too many factors.  We will likely know more after the press conference today.

[jdg623]

We are also supposed to be on this Sunday's sailing. Following this situation very closely. Will the press conference be live streamed? Would they contact the affected passengers individually? Wondering if I should be waiting for a phone call or email.