THE STORY OF THE 'KODIMA'

you severe Atlantic storms battered the British coast and English channel every winter and the winter of 2002 is no exception On February the second the general cargo vessel Kadima suffers an engine breakdown in bad weather conditions close to the coast the vessel needs assistance luckily a vise mana tug is close by this is the story of the Kadena's salvage 6,000 ton freighter is drifting towards the Cornish coast tonight stationed on the coast of Cornwall and that was that a Maltese registered cargo ship carrying timber raised the alarm just after five o'clock this morning was called the Kadima there was 16 people Royal Navy helicopters from cold roads were scrambled off the southwest coast when a Maltese flagship began sinking in mountainous seas off sent austell 16 Russian sailors were airlifted to safety and taping to coast guards warned that timber washed from the decks could pose a threat to shipping they've been trying to get a line to the vessel but those efforts have failed and tonight with tugs still on standby the Kadima has run aground the salvage operation will now be launched and your Burchard BBC news the salvage operation of the grounding vessel is handed over to Vice molar Salvage a part of Spitzer vice Miller at the vice miller salvage center in a mountain in the netherlands preparations begin immediately a vice molar salvage team is sent to the site of the casualty already while Kadima was still adrift the Lloyds open forum 2000 skopic incorporated was signed this fits of icmeler tug see goon was based near the location of the casualty and was soon behind the vessel every possible attempt was made to connect up to the abandoned ship however bad weather waves up to seven meters prevented boarding the Kadima tug sea goon followed the vessel until it finally ran aground near Plymouth in Cornwall the Kadima is firmly a ground with us turn to the see the list decreased to about 30 degrees close to the casualty the tug siguen is on standby at first daylight on February the 3rd the Vice mother salvage team is airlifted to the casualty for the initial onboard inspection however due to deterioration in the weather situation and the incoming high tide the crew is not able to board the vessel based on the first flyover the salvage team can report that the engine room seems to be flooded holds 3 & 4 are flooded water is running over the portside deck the situation is reported to the UK Secretary of State Representative and his team members first priority is given to inspect the conditions of the vessel and to prevent any oil later in the afternoon the team succeeds in boarding the vessel the first onboard inspection is carried out with the following main findings engine room is flooded and remains flooded with water above water level outside holds one to four are flooded in hold number four most of the cargo has disappeared and part of the hatches are missing the list of the vessel is 15 degrees the 24-hour salvage operation is coordinated from the vice world salvage Emergency Response Center in the Netherlands in the evening additional Salvage equipment is loaded on a truck departing for England at the same time taxi goon entered the port of Plymouth for briefing of the crew and to get a floating rope on board in the following days the weather is appearing to e slightly the forecast indicates a short period of potential workable weather however bad weather can be expected during the coming days the salvage team is taking a first batch of equipment on board the vessel this enables the crew to install the necessary blind flanges on the vent pipes careful actions are taken to prevent the seepage of fuel oil from the vessel at the Port of Plymouth the salvage equipment from I Mountain has arrived after inspection it is transferred onto the site of the casualty the rough sea makes it impossible to work with vessels close to the casualty the only possibility is to airlift the salvaged equipment to the stranded ship close to the casualty is an old military installation for trigonal the parking lot inside the fort is used as a base for preparing equipment to be slung over to the ship by helicopter a carefully planned load of Salvage equipment and supplies are ready spare gear must be available in case equipment is lost or damaged during transport or it operations on the vessel on February the 7th the plans are to start airlifting the equipment to the vessel however after the helicopter has lifted the salvage crew to the vessel the weather is once again getting worse the helicopter is forced to land at the fort leaving the salvage crew on the vessel if it gets worst and it is pod probably a question of sooner rather than later with the weather it looks like it might be any worse yes well then there is a possibility that the weather could close in more than it is at the moment we looked initially at the stern this morning the hover references were sufficient not ideal but what put me off completely was on two or three occasions we saw waves hitting the stone it takes a seeking helicopter from the Royal Navy rescue to pick up the salvage crew again from Kadima this aircraft is better equipped to operate in extreme weather conditions the following days bad weather prevents the helicopter from flying the 9th of February the weather is finally getting a little better allowing operations to begin as planned the new force elder business at the morpheme on yes pump out the home bacon cake the vice miller salvage crew on the site consists of 13 men highly skilled and each with their own speciality in charge of the operation is a salvage master a designated salvage officer hands the contact with the local authorities and with the owners of the ship it is indicated that the vessel is to be delivered to the harbor of Falmouth about 40 miles southwest of the grounding position the Vice molar salvaged naval architect arrives from I'm out further investigations have to be carried out in order to prepare the plan for refloating of the vessel the content of the fuel tanks is checked water came in through ventilation pipe damaged by the strong sea inspection of water and oil levels in fuel tanks is done by lowering down a measuring tape and applying chemicals the engine room is inspected and pump positions are planned water mixed with oil makes the floor and plating extremely slippery the 20% list of the ship adds to the problems of moving around in the afternoon of February 11th bad weather is building up again and the salvage crew is once again forced to leave the ship the next day the stranded vessel almost disappears in the strong wind and rain no flying today that battery in a few the massive hydraulic pumps have arrived and the crew is moving into the parking lot these pumps also have to be airlifted to the vessel a local blacksmith is employed to construct iron frames which will support the pumps while they're being used on board the vessel okay so Sophie if if the state is well drawings of Kadima have been obtained and at the hotel the crew is in discussion on how to proceed further with the salvage operation the main issue is the remaining oil in the fuel tanks of the grounded vessel there are two possibilities the first is to let the oil stay in the tanks during reef flotation the alternative is to remove the oil from the fuel tanks beforehand however removing the oil to another vessel especially in bad weather conditions might be dangerous and thus be a threat to the environment the weather is finally getting better enabling the salvage crew and the helicopter to continue their work back on the ship the power of the sea is very obvious this is how a part of the hatch of hole number 4 look when the ship was abandoned on February the 11th two days later after the storm the solid steel hatch has been bent like a piece of paper Timber is cleared from the deck in order to make the working area more accessible on the beaches are loads of timber originating from the vessel Beach is close to Plymouth our precious and quite popular especially during summertime as a consequence environmental organizations as well as the English authorities followed the salvage operation closely very popular facility in the north coast south coast a common people come from all over the UK the best surfing in the UK so depending on the weather they'll either go to the north coast of the south coast near is one of the best the foremast on Kadima is cut in such a way that it stays on board but without interfering with helicopter operations the helicopter is capable of lifting 2.5 tons the heavy hydraulic pump Power Packs press the helicopter to the limit the salvage team is making arrangements to establish power on the ship by means of generators the forward generator is started and connected up with wiring also a compressor is connected for the use of mobile winches hoses and pumps are placed in position and tested small pumps have emptied the upper part of the engine room and larger pumps are lowered further down into the engine room haha the placing of pumps in the engine room is a difficult operation due to the inflow of water mixed with fuel oil pumps of whole number one are already operating and emptying the hole at the Port of Plymouth the spits of ice Murtagh battle-ax has arrived the vessel takes onboard oil dispersant for use in its prey boom in case the situation at the grounded vessel deteriorates this equipment will be used for oil pollution abatement additional equipment for this use is ready on the key as well also in the harbour the small tanker whit us is on standby in case the fuel oil on Kadima has to be transferred no back on for example the blacksmith's custom-made iron frames are ready right what you don't have to do is get that frame with peas in in the water in the hole yes get the frame so with the tag line so they're going to turn it to the iron frames that hold the pumps have been custom-made to fit on the hatch combing x' allowing the pumps to be lowered further down into the flooded holes the pumps are connected to the hydraulic power packs and tested the scene is now set for the oncoming operation dive inspections are made around the ship special attention is aimed at the lost hatches the sea is now rather calm allowing tug sea goon to come in close to Kadima for transfer of personnel and equipment on the evening of February the 15th a part of the salvage team depart with the tug leaving a skeleton team overnight on Kadima I here today with later the same evening as Toxie Geun is entering the port of Plymouth a meeting is held together with the UK Secretary of State Representative a vice mullah salvage officer is informing the authorities about the final procedures of the salvage operation the plan is to reflect the Kadima tomorrow it is decided to refloat the vessel with the fuel oil remaining inside the ship during those dive inspections it was determined or it was possible to find two of the hatches so we found two of the edges there are next to the ship and I boy it off so if everything is okay in the boys stay there can easily identify them and pick them up at the hotel the naval architect is making the last calculations to trim the oncoming operation next morning at first light tug battle-ax is taking the salvage crew back to Kadima community in better life the day of the refloating operation is finally here as the tug arrives the salvage crew on Kadima has already started the pumps in the engine room the tog sagen is connected at the stern of the casualty Tugg battle-ax is connected up at the starboard bow to keep Kadima off the underwater hatch covers on the port side of the vessel the refloating operation is coordinated closely with the tide and the weather forecast the main pumps are activated at 10:30 in the morning the basic principle of the plan is to refloat Kadima by recreating its buoyancy the holes and engine room of the vessel are flooded as the tide lowers the pumps are activated first hold number one and the engine room Rd watered as the tide drops it is possible to start dewatering hold 3/4 and to the vessel is then refloated by the incoming high tide the Kadima is brought into an overall floating condition where after the tugs can move the vessel out the operation thus is not one with refloating by pulling force but one in which the vessel is moved only when the ship is floating in a stable condition time for a large coffee break on the listed vessel the salvage crew is awaiting the tide to complete their job soon it will show if the preparations and calculations have been done right for now all they can do is to wait the clinometer on the bridge of Kadima still shows a 14 degrees list slowly very slowly the vessel starts moving the salvage master orders Toxie goon to pull with 40% of its power just give it a little bit of stern power just to keep the bow steady so we can't steal a little bit bad lads Roger slowly tug Siegen pulls the vessel away from the English coast line while tug battle-ax is steering at the bow Kadima has been refloating power is established on the bridge of Kadima by the generators that were brought in earlier the vessel is prepared for her night voyage towards the port of Falmouth in the engine-room the salvage crew is preparing to treat part of the engine with chemicals to reduce damage done by the salt water under the guidance of the tow master tug según is leading the convoy towards farmer tog battle-ax of the stern is also acting as a pollution response vessel with the necessary equipment on board they're someone you sir as the ships approach the harbor of Falmouth the local port harbour tugs connect up Kadima is redeliver to her owners yet another vice miller salvage operation has been completed successfully

Channel: Svitzer Global

Views: 3,197,331

Keywords: Kodima, General cargo vessel, engine breakdown, salvage, salvage operation, re-float, force 8 wind, SVITZER, SVITZER Salvage, English Channel (Body Of Water)

Id: PTPeUXpOMh0

Length: 25min 38sec (1538 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 19 2014