Another near miss in Bella Bella B.C.

Rogue wave in the inland passage?? Thinking there would be more risk outside the passage.

There is a 20-30 mile spot between Klemtu and the light house that can get real nasty. Waves and swells from sw which is open to the Pacific.

markpierce said:

Rogue wave in the inland passage?? Thinking there would be more risk outside the passage.

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Did someone in DC write this fake news?

As much as it is asinine to be using ATBs in our waters and as much as I would like to see this nonsense ended yesterday, this was in open water, not the inside passage, nowhere near Bella Bella and it was not carrying millions of gallons of fuel.

Modern mainstream media has zero credibility

What's wrong with ATBs? You want wire boats?

Salty, I won’t argue with you because I have huge respect for you, your knowledge and experience.

Neither ATBs nor wire, should be used in this application and if fuel oil has to be hauled, then stick it in a proper damned tanker and go off shore.

Operating two-piece, pinned rigs, in the unpredictable November seas, on the BC Coast, driven by schedule and economics, is looking at the El Faro farm team.

They were extremely fortunate, to have been able to get two crewmen on that barge to deploy a couple of anchors, in those conditions, without tragedy.

Lousy reporting? Yeah.
You are paid to do a proper, professional job and if you do it half assed, you pay the price.

Worse, people take what they read for gospel

Hawgwash said:

Did someone in DC write this fake news?

As much as it is asinine to be using ATBs in our waters and as much as I would like to see this nonsense ended yesterday, this was in open water, not the inside passage, nowhere near Bella Bella and it was not carrying millions of gallons of fuel.

Modern mainstream media has zero credibility

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Sounds like you have a more accurate info source?

Hawgwash said:

Salty, I won’t argue with you because I have huge respect for you, your knowledge and experience.

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By no means looking for an argument, looking at other prospectives. There are a lot of people waiting for official reports to come out, the weather report I saw reported wasn't enough to pop that unit apart IMO.

They also have an emergency tow line in the event that happens, not sure why that wasn't used. And the 2 who dropped the hook lived on the barge, so they were already onboard.

Handy size tankers would be good, but then licenses become an issues and they would have to be built. ATBs allow tankers to be crewed like tugs, tankers would have to be crewed like tankers.

twistedtree said:

Sounds like you have a more accurate info source?

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Well, I tend to put a little more faith in AIS, CCG and the ATB O/O.

Statement from Harley Marine Regarding Tug Jake Shearer and Barge:
SEATTLE, WA, Nov. 27, 2017 /CNW/
On Sunday, November 26 at approximately 5 pm Pacific time an incident began when the articulated tug and barge, tug JAKE SHEARER and barge ZIDELL MARINE 277, reported a series of extreme waves hitting the vessels broadside while traveling northbound south of Goose Island, British Columbia. The large waves caused an alignment problem between the tug and barge and the unit was separated.

SaltyDawg86; said:

..the weather report I saw reported wasn't enough to pop that unit apart IMO.

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The very point of my comments.

SaltyDawg86; said:

They also have an emergency tow line in the event that happens, not sure why that wasn't used.

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It's called lazy, good enough or doesn't matter. Last year the Nathan E Stewart did run aground near Bella Bella and it was required to have a 2 man watch and they were to be awake. Neither happened. That is official TSB.

SaltyDawg86; said:

And the 2 who dropped the hook lived on the barge, so they were already onboard.

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I could be wrong on that one but I understood VHF chatter at the time was they were on the tug and needed to be put back on the barge.

Hawgwash said:

Did someone in DC write this fake news?

.... this was.... nowhere near Bella Bella and it was not carrying millions of gallons of fuel.

Modern mainstream media has zero credibility

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It was only 20 milles from Bella Bella

CBC Canada said it was near Bella Bella

The company managing the vessel said it had over 3 million gallons of fuel


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fuel-barge-off-coast-of-bella-bella-bc-1.4420713

http://www.newswire.ca/news-release...ing-tug-jake-shearer-and-barge-660393143.html

Is one of the reasons tug and barges are used is tankers cant get into all the places along the passage needing fuel?

psneeld said:

Is one of the reasons tug and barges are used is tankers cant get into all the places along the passage needing fuel?

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On that nonstop run, Vancouver to AK, no, not at all. It's economics and Salty at #8 pointed out the crew and licensing elements. He could explain it a lot better than I.

I get it.... just wasnt sure if it was a non stop or local delivery.

I'm familiar with the local delivery vessels and guys for that area. Not to castigate them but some pretty interesting and very old craft. Bottom line, no fuel was spilled and whatever systems were in place worked.

BTW, the sea state at that time was indeed bad, even for the fuel barge setup. I looked up the offshore buoys when "let go" occurred and tough conditions reached to the AK Gulf. Others can do the same and be their own judge.

psneeld said:

I get it.... just wasnt sure if it was a non stop or local delivery.

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Even so, cruise ships run tighter quarters than that ATB.

There is also a very large political (Federal, Provincial, First Nations, enviros) component that needn’t be gone into here. Tankers, moratoriums etc. etc.

I’ll concede the fuel volume debate. The initial CCG report had it at 3.5 million liters or, just under 1 million US gallons.

“20 miles” is irrelevant and inaccurate. Maybe as the gull flies, but not by boat. 20 miles on the BC coast can be a short hop or a tremendous distance. From where the Jake Shearer was to Bella Bella, can be anything from a nice afternoon cruise to a white knuckle adventure.

“Near miss, Inside Passage and Bella Bella” were used in articles, out of laziness, ignorance or for sensationalism. Either way; irresponsible journalism. People react to those hot button, buzz words, as I and others did.

Queen Charlotte Sound, Goose Island, Klemtu or even Hakai have no media traction.

Given the location of the vessels, it looks to me like they were taking the outside route. No?