HATCH COVER ADRIFT IN DOVER STRAIT

[proud_ionian]

Source: MGN

THE UK's Coastguard emergency towing vessel Anglian Monarch has recovered a 25 tonne ship's hatch cover which was floating in the busy Dover Strait this week. The country's Maritime and Coastguard Agency is puzzled as to how the the hatch, possibly from a panamax bulker carrying grain, could have fallen off a vessel.

The floating hazard off Dover, was reported to the Coastguard by a passing vessel on Tuesday and the Anglian Monarch was sent to locate and recover the object. Anglian Monarch is now alongside at Folkestone. If operations permit, the hatch cover will be landed and stored at Folkstone.

The MCA says: “The size of the cover is approximately 12 metres square and an estimated weight of 25 tonnes. The cover appears to be in good condition with the wheels and several cleats free and can be turned by hand. It is not clear if it is a fore-aft hatch or an athwartships as the hatch seems to be a centre section of three or possibly four. This would be consistent with a fore-aft layout but it is hard to see how it could have fallen over the side if this were the case. There is evidence that a grain cargo was being carried according to Anglian Monarch crew and judging by the size of the cover it is estimated to be from a vessel approaching 60,000-70,000 tonnes, if not bigger.

Toby Stone, MCA Head of Counter Pollution said: "This hatch cover had to be removed from the busy shipping lanes and would certainly be capable of causing catastrophic damage to a small vessel like a yacht and could even damage the hull of a larger vessel if hit at speed."

[Angelos]

είναι φρικτό έγκλημα των ναυτικών του πλοίου από το οποιο έφυγε αυτό το hatch να μην το αναφέρουν πουθενά!

Ευλογούμε και μιλάμε για έλλειψη ναυτικών και τούτο είναι τρανό παράδειγμα της ποιότητας!

Για να μην φανεί στην κλάση? Για να μην καθυστερήσει το πλοίο? Για να μην χαθούν τα ασφαλιστικά premiums? Για πιο λόγο ο καπετάνιος έχει κρυφτεί? Σεναριολογία άπλετη αλλα με τα πρώτα δεδομένα μονο ντροπή κολλάει!

[Angelos]

να μια τροπη που δεν ειχα σκεφτεί παραπάνω!

Hatch-cover mystery solved

The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) thinks it has tracked down the ownership of a 25-tonne hatch-cover found floating in the Dover Strait last week.

MCA's head of pollution control Toby Stone tells TradeWinds the organisation is “pretty sure” the hatch belonged to the 3,200-dwt general cargoship Jork (built 1978), which sank in the North Sea early last month. The owner has yet to confirm this.

But he also said a Dutch tug had picked up another floating cover, with reports coming in of more drifting in UK waters.

The Polish master of the Jork was charged with being drunk in charge after it hit an unmanned gas platform.

Zbigniew Karkowski was one of seven crew rescued after the ship began listing following the clash with the ConocoPhillips rig Viking Echo off the coast of Norfolk.

Jork was owned and managed by Hans-Uwe Meyer Bereederung of Buxtehude, Germany.