Queen of Nanaimo - grounding incident at Mayne Island

[Chris City]

Saw this on Twitter, don't have any details yet. On AIS you can see it at Village Bay north of the slip.

[Starsteward]

Looks like maybe the Master got broadsided by gusty winds. At least the grounding is within eyeshot of the terminal and not half way into her sailing.

[Mike C]

www.cknw.com/2013/11/02/10945/

BC Ferries is calling it an "operational issue". This will taint all of my future encounters with this phrase on the Service Notice page.

[Koastal Karl]

How is it the SOVI and SOBC are cancelled but the New West is not as of yet??

[Nick]

According to AIS the CG hovercraft Siyay is on site. News reports are saying she was heading back to Long Harbour after cancelling the afternoon sailings, so there were only 2 passengers on board.

[Mayne]

BC Ferries are saying that she never actually ran a ground, and was stopped by dropping both anchors. She will be towed by tug back to Salt spring.

www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=831234

[Low Light Mike]

Nov 2, 2013 11:27:55 GMT -8 Mayne said:

www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=831234

Here's that full press release: (for the sake of thread history)

For Immediate Release
13-031
12:00 noon November 2, 2013

QUEEN OF NANAIMO SET TOWARDS SHORE BY HIGH WINDS
VICTORIA – The Queen of Nanaimo was set out of position due to high winds while departing the Village Bay terminal on Mayne Island at approximately 10:45 a.m. this morning. The Captain and crew followed emergency procedures and deployed both anchors to keep the ship from being set onto the shore.

There were no reports of any injuries to the crew or the two passengers that were on board the vessel at the time of the incident.

At this time, BC Ferries does not believe that the ship ran aground, however divers will conduct a dive to confirm. The Queen of Nanaimo came into contact with a private float on Mayne Island, which did sustain some damage. Soundings of the void spaces on the ship have been conducted and it does not appear there is any damage to the vessel.

BC Ferries will be conducting a full investigation into this incident. BC Ferries does not believe there were any mechanical issues with the vessel. The Queen of Nanaimo will return to Long Harbour on Salt Spring Island with the assistance of tugs. The remainder of the Queen of Nanaimo’s sailings are cancelled today. A further update will be issued when more information is available.

This thread will be the place for posting all things related to this incident, including the eventual investigation's report.

[Dane]

Hmm interesting the potential inaccuracy of reporting here if it did not run aground.

All the major media is reporting run aground on the Twittesphere.

[Low Light Mike]

Nov 2, 2013 11:46:40 GMT -8 Dane said:

Hmm interesting the potential inaccuracy of reporting here if it did not run aground.

All the major media is reporting run aground on the Twittesphere.

I think I shall modify this thread title slightly, until we know more.

[Ferryman]

It could be a bit of a bugger for them to retrieve both of those anchors, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to get out of there.

Meanwhile, the tug "Storm Bandit" is just arriving at Village Bay. I had a look on the AIS not long after the first reports of this online to see which tugs were nearby. Storm Bandit was in Saanich Inlet with her destination set for Bamberton. I'm not sure if she was towing anything though at the time, but she was only making 4.3 knots. I checked on her an hour later and saw that she was making 10 knots, and was just off of Fulford Harbour.

[Ferryman]

Perhaps I spoke too soon. The Storm bandit is now towing the Nanaimo from her stern

[Blue Bus Fan]

Will the Queen of Burnaby replace the Queen of Nanaimo during the time it takes her anchors to get fix? Since, BC Ferries will need to fix them in anyways.

[Ferryman]

Nov 2, 2013 14:15:33 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Will the Queen of Burnaby replace the Queen of Nanaimo during the time it takes her anchors to get fix? Since, BC Ferries will need to fix them in anyways.

No. The crew was able to retrieve the anchor right away and the Nanaimo actually sailed back to Long Harbour under her own power. She was only towed as far as Enterprise Reef which is when she spun around.

The Queen of Burnaby is very much in drydock already.

[Scott]

Video of the event from across Village Bay on YouTube:

[Koastal Karl]

And all sailings between Tsawwassen and the Gulf Islands have been cancelled today due to ongoing inspections. Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen and the route route 5 ships will be busy today!

[Nick]

Contrary to BCF's earlier reports, it seems that the incident yesterday was, in fact, a grounding. She has sustained damage to her starboard propeller and shafting and will require drydocking.


QUEEN OF NANAIMO SUSTAINED DAMAGE IN HIGH WIND INCIDENT
Sailings temporarily cancelled between Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands

VICTORIA – BC Ferries’ Queen of Nanaimo, which usually sails on the Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands route, sustained damage to the starboard aft side of the vessel during a high wind incident yesterday. The vessel has been removed from service until further notice.
Divers conducted a full underwater inspection of the ship last night and confirmed damage to the starboard side propeller and shafting, as well as a limited portion of the aft hull. A full investigation is underway in order to determine the root cause and events leading up to the
incident and the subsequent damage.

The Queen of Nanaimo does require drydocking to affect repairs. BC Ferries is treating this with the utmost priority to make arrangements to secure a drydock to make the necessary repairs and return the vessel to operational service as soon as possible. Customers will be updated as soon as the full out-of-service timeframe is determined. At this point, it is anticipated that the Queen of Nanaimo will most likely be out of service for at least a week.

All scheduled sailings between Tsawwassen and the Southern Gulf Islands are temporarily cancelled until further notice. Service to all Southern Gulf Island destinations is being provided through Swartz Bay. Due to fleet refits currently underway, another vessel is not
available to replace the Queen of Nanaimo. In the meantime, BC Ferries’ Operations and Customer Care teams are reviewing
opportunities to enhance throughfare processes for customers.

BC Ferries will issue an update tomorrow when more information is available.

www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=831196

[Ferryman]

The next question is, where will she go to be drydocked? The Burnaby just got settled into drydock in Esquimalt, the Norad is still in drydock in North Vancouver, although she could be almost ready to go back into the water. There's only one drydock big enough to lift her out of the water in all of Vancouver, since the Seaspan Careen is in Esquimalt to be used for one of the Canadian Sub refits.

[Mike C]

Nov 3, 2013 11:16:39 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

The next question is, where will she go to be drydocked? The Burnaby just got settled into drydock in Esquimalt, the Norad is still in drydock in North Vancouver, although she could be almost ready to go back into the water. There's only one drydock big enough to lift her out of the water in all of Vancouver, since the Seaspan Careen is in Esquimalt to be used for one of the Canadian Sub refits.

I am not sure what the regulations are surrounding this, but is there a possibility of her being sent to Washington? They have sent work here more than once...

The most likely scenario seems to be to put the NorAd in the water, and send the Nanaimo in. They wouldnt do two drydockings for the Nanaimo this year, would they? Things could get interesting.

[northwesterner]

Nov 3, 2013 11:30:25 GMT -8 Mike C said:

Nov 3, 2013 11:16:39 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

The next question is, where will she go to be drydocked? The Burnaby just got settled into drydock in Esquimalt, the Norad is still in drydock in North Vancouver, although she could be almost ready to go back into the water. There's only one drydock big enough to lift her out of the water in all of Vancouver, since the Seaspan Careen is in Esquimalt to be used for one of the Canadian Sub refits.

I am not sure what the regulations are surrounding this, but is there a possibility of her being sent to Washington? They have sent work here more than once...

The most likely scenario seems to be to put the NorAd in the water, and send the Nanaimo in. They wouldnt do two drydockings for the Nanaimo this year, would they? Things could get interesting.

There shouldn't be any regulatory reason why the Queen of Nanaimo can't come down here for drydocking (though there would be some additional paperwork required). However, she appears to be too long for both Dakota Creek and Lake Union, and Vigor/Todd's big drydock has the Puyallup in it right now. Todd's other two can handle her, but they're probably occupied. 

[SolDuc]

Nov 3, 2013 11:43:49 GMT -8 northwesterner said:

Nov 3, 2013 11:30:25 GMT -8 Mike C said:

I am not sure what the regulations are surrounding this, but is there a possibility of her being sent to Washington? They have sent work here more than once...

The most likely scenario seems to be to put the NorAd in the water, and send the Nanaimo in. They wouldnt do two drydockings for the Nanaimo this year, would they? Things could get interesting.

There shouldn't be any regulatory reason why the Queen of Nanaimo can't come down here for drydocking (though there would be some additional paperwork required). However, she appears to be too long for both Dakota Creek and Lake Union, and Vigor/Todd's big drydock has the Puyallup in it right now. Todd's other two can handle her, but they're probably occupied. 

Here's brief summary of what there is in WA right now:
- Fairhaven Shipyard: 12 meters short in length, but at DCI they overrun the drydock by 10 meters on either side for the supers.
- DCI: 34 meters short. Maybe a bit too much.
- LUDD: way too short, and also occupied
- Vigor: all three can handle her, as of today it seems like the one next to the Tokitae is unoccupied.

Or there's the drydock at Kethcikan.

This is surely going to be interesting. Count on me is she happens to come down.

[WettCoast]

Some members here will recall that a few years back the Queen of Prince Rupert was sent to Ketchikan for emergency work.  I believe that this occurred when there was no vessel available to 'cover' for the Rupert and they needed her back in service PDQ.  So there is precedents of BCF work going to US yards & vice-versa.

---

Edit - The QPR went to Ketchikan in the fall of 2006, seven years ago.  See this archived thread for more info.

[DENelson83]

Too bad the Bowen Queen is at Deas Dock right now, or she could have picked up some of the slack resulting from this incident.

[hwy19man]

Nov 3, 2013 18:39:36 GMT -8 SolDuc said:

Nov 3, 2013 11:43:49 GMT -8 northwesterner said:

There shouldn't be any regulatory reason why the Queen of Nanaimo can't come down here for drydocking (though there would be some additional paperwork required). However, she appears to be too long for both Dakota Creek and Lake Union, and Vigor/Todd's big drydock has the Puyallup in it right now. Todd's other two can handle her, but they're probably occupied. 

Here's brief summary of what there is in WA right now:
- Fairhaven Shipyard: 12 meters short in length, but at DCI they overrun the drydock by 10 meters on either side for the supers.
- DCI: 34 meters short. Maybe a bit too much.
- LUDD: way too short, and also occupied
- Vigor: all three can handle her, as of today it seems like the one next to the Tokitae is unoccupied.

Or there's the drydock at Kethcikan.

This is surely going to be interesting. Count on me is she happens to come down.

Could any shipyards in the state of Oregon (Portland and areas along the Columbia River) do this work?

[SolDuc]

Nov 3, 2013 21:18:51 GMT -8 hwy19man said:

Nov 3, 2013 18:39:36 GMT -8 SolDuc said:

Here's brief summary of what there is in WA right now:
- Fairhaven Shipyard: 12 meters short in length, but at DCI they overrun the drydock by 10 meters on either side for the supers.
- DCI: 34 meters short. Maybe a bit too much.
- LUDD: way too short, and also occupied
- Vigor: all three can handle her, as of today it seems like the one next to the Tokitae is unoccupied.

Or there's the drydock at Kethcikan.

This is surely going to be interesting. Count on me is she happens to come down.

Could any shipyards in the state of Oregon (Portland and areas along the Columbia River) do this work?

Vigor Portland could, but it'd take a lot of time to get there and there's lots of risks related to bringing any ferry, even the Nanny, out in the Ocean at that time of the year.

[hwy19man]

Nov 3, 2013 21:24:32 GMT -8 SolDuc said:

Nov 3, 2013 21:18:51 GMT -8 hwy19man said:

Could any shipyards in the state of Oregon (Portland and areas along the Columbia River) do this work?

Vigor Portland could, but it'd take a lot of time to get there and there's lots of risks related to bringing any ferry, even the Nanny, out in the Ocean at that time of the year.

Thank you for the information. I looked at the interesting Vigor website and two of its three drydocks in Portland could handle the Nanaimo. Yes, the winds on the Pacific would make such a journey difficult.

 vigorindustrial.com/services/drydocking