Titanic & SOLAS

As with every disaster, lessons are learnt.  The Titanic disaster was no exception & the loss served as a tragic reminder that life at sea is dangerous & unpredictable.

Out of this tragedy though came some good.  The disaster brought about a number of long overdue changes in commercial and passenger trade on the sea. In 1914, a number of seafaring nations gathered to consider the hearing information from the US Senate and the testimony given the British Board of Trade.

This was done in the wake of the great ship's loss, and the continuing public outcry for increased and mandatory shipboard safety. A convention was convened in London, and representatives hashed out new rules and regulations for human safety at sea.

Thus in 1914, two years after the Titanic disaster in which 1,503 people perished, maritime nations gathered in London & adopted the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention)  taking into account lessons learned from the Titanic disaster.

The 1914 convention as superseded by SOLAS 1929, SOLAS 1948, SOLAS 1960 (The first to be adopted under the International Maritime organization) & finally SOLAS 1974.  Which with amendments & many updates is still in force to this day.

Some of the measures put into affect due to the tragedy are :

1. Adequate distress alert capability including a 24-hr radio watch.
2. Ship's public address system which is understandable by all aboard.
3. Adequacy of working lifeboats with covers to minimize exposure.
4. Well-trained lifeboat crew and those who launch the boats.
5. Information for passengers on safety precautions and drills.
6. Immersion suits for cold water travel.
7. International Ice Patrol.
8. Helicopters and rescue craft available at all times with trained SAR staff.
9. Ships must reduce speed in known danger and ice areas.
10. Evacuation chutes for escape.
11. Electronic methods for locating ships in distress and monitoring all ship traffic.
Had all of these mandates been in effect in 1912, it is probable that the loss of the RMS Titanic would have been a footnote in a maritime history book instead of a cult phenomenon.

Gas Company finds 12 shipwrecks in the Baltic

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STOCKHOLM – A gas company building an underwater pipeline in the Baltic Sea has found a dozen centuries-old shipwrecks – some of them unusually well preserved.
The oldest wreck probably dates to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while the others may be from the 17th to 19th centuries, Peter Norman of Sweden’s National Heritage Board said yesterday.
“They could be interesting, but we have only seen pictures of their exterior. Many of them are considered to be fully intact. They look very well preserved,’’ Norman said.
Thousands of wrecks – from medieval ships to warships sunk during the world wars of the 20th century – have been found in the Baltic Sea, which doesn’t have the ship worm that destroys wooden wrecks in saltier oceans.
The latest discovery was made during a search east of the Swedish island of Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile pipeline between Russia and Germany.
The 12 wrecks were found in a 30-mile-long, 1.2-mile-wide corridor, according to a Nord Stream spokeswoman.
The Heritage Board said three have intact hulls and are upside down at a depth of 430 feet.
It’s unclear whether any of them will be salvaged, but the board said it hopes divers will explore them.
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company. (source)

Scrapping of City of Adelaide clipper ship delayed

The ship has been in Scotland since 1992. Plans to scrap one of the world's oldest clippers have been postponed in the hope campaigners can raise enough cash to fund a salvage operation. The City of Adelaide, built in Sunderland in 1864, has been rotting away on a Scottish quayside since 1992.



Owners the Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM) had intended to begin breaking up the vessel later this month. But a move to transport the ship to Australia has been given until the end of May to prove itself viable. The vessel, also known as the SV Carrick, is five years older than the Cutty Sark and voyaged annually from London to Adelaide with passengers and a cargo of wool.

Her sailing days ended in 1893 and she was purchased by Southampton Corporation for use as a sanatorium and floating isolation hospital following a cholera outbreak. She has been on a slipway in Irvine, Ayrshire, since May 1992 while a debate has continued about her future.


The City of Adelaide last sailed in 1893 A SMM spokesman said: "In January 2010 the museum received a proposal from the Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Limited, Adelaide, Australia. "The proposal has been accepted as being technically feasible and the organisation has made a planning application to North Ayrshire Council to remove the vessel.

"Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Limited have not provided evidence that they have the funds to complete the project. "But, after receiving assurances from the Scottish Government, the museum has temporarily halted the deconstruction plan to give the group time to put funding in place. "The museum will not extend the halt in the deconstruction beyond the end of May 2010.

"The museum has not received any other detailed proposals for the preservation of the complete vessel." Last year a Sunderland councillor staged an occupation on board the vessel to highlight a campaign by the Sunderland City of Adelaide Recovery Foundation (Scarf) to bring it back to the city.

BBC News

Wreaks

We are always on the lookout for great Maritime Pictures here on Crew 2 Crew.

One of the members of our Community, sent us this picture of a wreak off the Coast of Roatan. They were sailing on the Noordam & she berthed over the bay from this wreak, which I think as
seen better days!



















If you have any images you would like included on this blog, please contact me.