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FlyingFortress
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Posts posted by FlyingFortress
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So I know this is second hand information.
I was speaking to a family on a HW Connoisseur this afternoon.
As usual with the loudest exhaust running.
Nice family and.as you know the temperature at night is very low forecast -2 again tonight.
They said that the moment they switched off the engine last night the heater stopped.
They called out the engineer this morning when the engine didn't start due to a low battery and the engineer replaced one battery. When asked about the heating tonight he.said put the oven on.
They were a lot concerned if this was safe.
I did say there should be a CO detector on board and the oven should have a flame out cut off but did warn that if a boat was going out on hire with that poor level of maintenance then I would not be confident that any systems on board would work.
Some friends of mine who are boat owners themselves hired from HW last year and basically the batteries were shot and they could not start the heater without starting the engine and also the fridge didn't work until day 5 of.a.7 day hire when they insisted the whole battery bank was changed.
This was September so later on in the season but the one today is very early in the season.
Also the outside of the boat was very grubby just like a lot of them were last season.
What is going on?
Or do we have to put up with another season of trying to avoid being anywhere near HW boat as it will be running it's engine continuously.
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Don't think Switzerland has a register but there is a landlocked country with a register but I cannot for the life of me remember which one.
As far as the Iran attack it was just cannon shells hitting the aft deck. Could have been much worse had they hit the much larger cargo deck of the tanker I was on.
Did have to change my underwear afterwards.
Only had to abandon ship once when the ship hit an oil rig and got ripped apart on Christmas day 1990.
Google Vulcan Service
So what did you do for Christmas. Rod?
Doggy paddle in a force 9 in the North Sea emoji
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A Flagged Ship of any nation hostile to another nation is a legitimate target.
I was once on a British owned and run ship but registered in Iran and we were hit by Iraqui fighter aircraft during the Iran Iraq war .
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Going back to UK flag and it being a Flag of Convenience there are also perks of being UK flagged such as reduced insurance premiums and The Tonnage Tax .
The Tonnage Tax exists to ensure that British Cadets (Midshipmen in RN parlance) get trained on British ships. However you will often find the Cadets are the only Brits on board but the company gets a reduced rate for having them on board.
There is no prospect for many of them for employment after qualifying.
Thankfully for them British Junior Officers are in demand in specialized fields such as the Cruise Sector.
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Don't really know TBH but it must be worthwhile as an awful lot have done so.
Trouble is that it is much more than simply the registration fees. There are many other factors involved such as Minimum Safe Manning levels.
I once was on a ship that changed from Dutch to Bahamas flag and the Safe Manning numbers were much lower. The company that I was working for realized that we needed more than minimum to operate the ship safely and manned accordingly.
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On 21/03/2022 at 03:18, ScrumpyCheddar said:
What I would like to know is that many ships are registered at Nassau ..
Do they ever have to report back to that port in anytime .?For an example, do they have to sail back to Nassau every 6 months or yearly or is just your registered here and no you don’t have to ever come here..?
Simple answer no.
In fact I would be amazed if very many of the ships registered in the two largest FOC s Liberia and Panama have ever been near these countries. Maybe Panama as they have to transit the Canal,but I did have to look up Vanuato ,not even sure I have spelled that correctly, when a company I was working for decided to flag some ships there.
These flags are just a money making scheme for the country
They employ their own surveyors ,who are not normally that nationality,and enforce their own standards usually lower than the more traditional maritime nations.
A small example of how they make money is that like a lot of other ships officers I have a Panamanian and Bahamas Masters Ticket alongside my British one. Both of these had to be paid for and were a requirement for sailing on ships of that country.
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So open again.
Scrumpy I will answer your question a bit later.
I notice that the hourly rate for the scab crew is now repoted as £5.50 per hour.
Bit different to what was reported on here and a lot more than the£1.60 an hour reported in the national news.
Can anyone see an addendum here or is it just me.
I was Very lucky in my seagoing career not to encounter the RMT in any force.
I did encounter the dockers union when they insisted it was a dockers job to offload cargo at an oil rig.
They lasted one voyage and decided it was a sailors job after all.
I have the upmost respect for a GOOD British sailor as I learned my trade from them.
But the lazy Drunk and Union protected sailor such as the one who left the doors open on the Herald of Free Enterprise I have no time for.
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I also note that my post informing people about how DP World run THE most efficient, and fastest growing Container Port in the country has also been moderated.
Thats London Gateway BTW just in case this post survives long enough for anyone to see.
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Sorry thread drift
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Never really understood the logic behind that system Griff.
When us MN worked back to back watches we used to do 6 on 6 off, 6 to 12 and 12 to 6. It meant that you could get into a regular sleep pattern even if the hours were arduous. eg 0000 to 0600, the doom watch, would get you finished at 0600 in time for some breakfast then bed, get up around 1100 grab some lunch and back on watch at 1200, off at 1800 have some dinner and a few hours social time before turning in again around 2100 ish to grab a few zzz before going back on watch at 2400.
The 6 to 12 was much easier and involved an afternoon nap.
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2 hours ago, dnks34 said:
Doing the maths at 2.60 per hour over 24hrs for an 8 hour shift it equates to around £7.80 per hour. I don’t know what the working hours or job role the 2.60 per hour is actually for but this is less than UK minimum wage however its dressed up. If its supposed to be Officers pay its an absolute disgrace!
You can manipulate figures any way you like.
So how about this for an example.
The going rate for a Ferry Captain is around 70k pa so I doubt any agency Captains would be working for much less.
Ferries work 365 days of the year so that equates to around £191 per day.
A Captains duty hours are 24 hours a day so that equates to just under £8 per hour.
Below minimum wage Yes?
But then they generally work a 1 on 1 off work rota so they are actually only working 6 months of the year so effectively they are paid £16 per hour which is more than minimum wage.
Also they have to sleep sometimes as well so they are getting paid £16 an hour to sleep.
I could continue along this route but I think you can see where I am going with this.
My point being that you cannot realistically measure seafarers pay on a hourly rate like you can a shore job.
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For the record
I am not for one minute defending the appalling actions of P&O but some of the wild stories flying around are simply untrue.
The agency staff that will now man the Ferries will be fully qualified and will not be working for £2.60 an hour in the sense that most people will think.
A seafarer is captive on board for 24 hours so you cannot measure the hourly rate that way.
The above of course is relevant to the longer crossings.
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And who is Gods Earth would want an Ukrainian Chief Engineer.
Not me for sure.
Personally I would prefer a Russian if given a choice of a bad job.
And yes I have sailed with both.
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10 hours ago, twowrights said:
Our local rag is reporting that the new crew will been paid £2.60 an hour, shameful. The old crew should have upped anchor and anchored in the Humber, failing that sent for a Ukrainian chief engineer!
I have written 3 lengthy posts in reply to this but I am certain they will be moderated as I am sure this one will be.
So in reply to this quote.
Utter Rubbish
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Unfortunately this is nothing new in the Shipping Industry.
For example in the middle 80,s BP did something similar and many thousands of seafarers were made redundant. An awful lot of them heared it on The Evening News before they heared anything from the company.
Shipping is a largely unseen and uncared for industry, its only when it inconveniences the travelling public it makes the news.
This is one of the reasons I despair when I see people dressed up as Pirates on the Broads when Piracy on the high seas is still a major proplem claiming the lives of many Seafarers every year. It is under better control these days but only a few years ago it was rife off Somalia. Other Piracy hot spots include West Africa, South America and The South China Seas. Most attacks involve the theft at gunpoint of the crews possessions and the cash carried by the Master. Other more organised groups hold the Ship and crew for ransom. Even the cargo is sometimes stolen if indeed it is high value and the Pirates are organised enough.
This is still happening in 2022
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FYI
I have just checked my Discharge Book and it was 1995 when I first sailed on a Red Ensign vessel as Master (thats Captain in common parlance) with a Chief Engineer who was not British as the requirement had been dropped.
I do not know when the requirement for The Master of a British vessel to be a British national was dropped but I qualified as a Licensed Pilot in 2000 and have Piloted very many Red Ensign vessels with not a single Brit on board.
I am not talking about the Pseudo Red Ensigns like IOM GIB or HK but ships registered in Ports such as London Southampton etc.
I dont agree with it just stating facts.
For the record I don't agree with Ferries working out of UK ports not having a single Brit on board either but the truth is The UK flag has been a Flag of Convenience for many years now.
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On
54 minutes ago, grendel said:does anyone know the situation regarding the requirement for pilots, I seem to recall that ferry captains also are required to hold a pilots licence for the ports they travel (as a commercial vessel)., i wonder if the 'replacement crews' will hold the necessary paperwork
I know very well the requirements for Pilots having been one for 23 years.
There is no requirement for a Ferry to hold a Pilots license.
A ferry Captain or Chief Officer will need to hold a Pilot Exemption Certificate or PEC which while being no more onerous than a Pilots Autherisation is not anywhere near the same as an Autherisation. A Pilot will be able to Pilot any vessel whereas a PEC can only Pilot a specific ship.
Very many Foreign Nationals hold PEC, s as I did as a Captain in Foreign Ports.
It may also surprise many that somewhere in the region of 30% of Pilots the largest Port in this country (London) are not British.
So yes the replacement crews will have to hold a relevant PEC or take a Pilot until such times that they take and pass The PEC examination. I am not an examinor but I am an Assessor and I will not grant either a Pilot promotion or PEC until they meet the reqired standard.
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The Red Ensign has been a Flag of Convenience for many years now.
Nobody noticed until a Ferry got Flagged out.
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2 hours ago, Vaughan said:
This is the same arrangement as Howard's drawing, taken in 2017 when we were moored at the Rushcutters, where there is a large rise and fall of tide.
Broads mooring ropes are always far too short, so I always bring a long one with me, to make the two springs. As Grendel says, the boat is about a foot off the bank, but cannot surge backwards and forwards, because of the spring lines.
That is not the arrangement that Howard shows on his diagram.
Head and stern lines should come from the offshore cleats as shown in the diagram.
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Guys,
I have recently had dealings with this company.
M. A. Autocool Ltd.
01603 879399
His name is Geoff and deals with both Webasto and Eberspacher units.
I can recommend as he got me out of a muddle before Christmas.
I also have a mobile for him as well if required.
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Hi Jen
We have a 35 fwd drive.
Had her for 18 years now and had a 29 fwd drive before that so there must be something good about them.
Went to the first meeting of the owners club at Salthouse last September. A 2 day meet although we could only attend the first day. 6 or 7 boats there and all very friendly folk. Was just a bit miffed that we had to leave just a they were adjourning to the Pub at Lunch time on the second day.
I believe the intention is to have some more meets this year. Hope to see you there.
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Welcome to Alphacraft ownership Jen
The site is as above and the Guy who runs it is Alan Green.
Nice bunch of folks.
The entry questions are fairly onerous...... Not
What model have you got,?
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Well done you for equipping your boat as you want it.
When I fitted a BT to my boat it was not in response to what was fitted on any Hire Boat but it was what I wanted and I could afford it.
My current boat was a 10 year old ex hire boat when I bought it from a pretty well regarded hire fleet operator who was shutting up and selling up.
The owner had a typical at the time attitude that he knew best. The conversation went something like this.
You dont need that bor
But I want it.
You dont need that bor it will never be needed
No Sir you dont understand
I want it or no sale.
Its just a flash in the pan never catch on
No BSS No sale. End of.
When I bought my current boat I had a full 5 year BSS so I knew that for the next 5 years I would not have to worry about my boat failing a safety inspection which IMHO although flawed was a massive advancement in boat safety on the Broads.
Its not keeping up with the Jonses its giving the customer what they want.
There is not a hope in hell that I would be going around the Broads in what is a motorised shed that was what was on offer in the "Glory days" of broads boating.
In 2022 a fridge, and warm air heating are not luxuries
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18 minutes ago, Broads01 said:
Interesting stuff, thanks. I'll give it a try next time I'm stern mooring.
Please don't think I am trying to say that BTs do not work going forward or stationary on a Leisure boat with massively overpowered BTs and STs when fitted, I am just advising how to get the best out of them in difficult conditions.
My own BT, underpowered by todays standards, will quite happily blow my bow out into the current when departing head to even the strongest tide at, for example, Reedham. If I then have to turn I will not operate the BT until I am stopped or have sternway. Judicious use of a BT saves a lot of backing and filling with the main engine/s.
One consideration when at work that translates to The Broads is Traffic density. As we all know it can be quite busy on The Broads and the sooner we turn the sooner we clear the channel for other users.
Same thing applies at work and we try to minimise the time a 400m ship is blocking the channel which is another reason (apart from our strong currents) that we use more tugs than other ports that handle these monsters. A 6000 Kw BT is roughly equivalent to a 60 tonne bollard pull tug. For Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS) the tugs must be 80t+ and we have a considerable sized tug fleet over 80t. When swinging one of these I will often have all 4 tugs on 100% and the BT on full.
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So What Is Going On At Herbert Woods
in Broads Chat
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Didn't know that Doug.
Maybe that is why they have looked so bad for the last few years.
Does not explain the poor state of the Alphacraft my friends hired last year.